Passed At and Passed Up

On Sunday it was another Scouting Adventure, as C and I set up with her GirlScout troop at a local WAWA Gas Station to sell Girl Scout Cookies. Booth Sales are a great way to boost sales and also a great help to people who either missed their local scout, or who don't know a scout personally. Before children H & I used to panic every year when we realized that we didn't know a scout and had missed out on an opportunity for cookies for an entire year! So, while it is most definitely a boon to our sales, it is also a great way for the troop to experience a little bit of the life that is outside our immediate neighborhood.

I am the first to admit - I shelter my children a little too much. I am also the first to admit that I do my best to compensate for that when I see an opportunity. For example my children go to a school that is completely representative of... well, pretty much ONE class and race. We were unaware of how monochromatic it was when we moved into the area. So, to compensate, we go to an eclectic church filled with diversity from all walks of life.

The cookie booth sale was definitely a sampling of all types, most noted by the flavor of cars we saw displayed. There were Bubba Trucks, shiny Lexus's, Subarus caked in mud with bikes racked on top, BMWs, SUV's, compact cars and JEEPS with their tops down and dogs barking. The people were representative of every race of man, woman and child, and about 80 of them stopped by our sale and bought a box of cookies or two. We sold 148 boxes, that's a lot of cookies for a few hours.

The most notable group of people who came up to us were the group of darkly dressed goth individuals wearing baggy jeans, collars, chains and black t-shirts with white lettering that read "Devil DOG Derby". They arrived at the station, purchased cookies, and when the one individual placed "their" order, I referred to "them" as a "she" to motivate the girls to get moving on the sale. I think my girls were scared to respond to this pierced, chained, collared, head shaved, large individual. I credit all those years of stranger danger videos shown at the public schools.

"She'd like 3 boxes of Thin Mints".

My initial thought was female, but after I said she, I looked up to check. And found her looking me in the eye with a curious expression, as though I had revealed a secret. She was clearly a woman who enjoys the benefits in life that would come from dressing and acting male. She wore nondescript clothing that disguised her feminine attributes, and her weight was enough that it was hard to tell if she is a heavy male with the curves that come alone with obesity, or a female with enough weight that her curves are lost. But I know she was a woman. With a an aggressive stance, shaved head and face piercings.

I'm not intimidated by lesbians who feel the need to be aggressive. Once they're out of their 20's and realize that they don't need to be mean, many grow into lovely women. So following my example the girls handled her sale as they would any other sale, politely & gracefully thanking her for her support.

Admittedly, our girls were OBSERVANT and got a little giggly as the group went into the service station to make their other purchases. To which I simply said, very quietly, "Girls - resist the urge and rise above expectations."

MY girl knows what that means. Interestingly, the troop leader addressed her own child with, "Child of mine, Listen to Mrs Finn and think about what she is saying." The third child, without the participation of her peers, ceased all naughtiness.

Well, when the group came out they didn't return immediately to their car. Instead they came back to, uh, linger at the Girl Scout table. The woman came all the way up to us, while her friends hung back a little. And guess what? You'll never guess: I now have a phone number. And an open invitation for SKATING lessons so I can join the roller Derby Team.

So here's my gripe of the day. Why, when I get hit on by lesbians, is it always by someone who isn't my type, at all? I mean, seriously - a shaved head and a face stud?