Brownies still appeal

[fgoodwin 23]

Brownies still appeal

 

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/03172006/emily/93077.htm

http://tinyurl.com/zrme7

 

By Emily Bailey

ebailey@seacoastonline.com

Public Emily Archive

 

I was a bad Brownie. I forgot my dues. I didnt care how many cookies I sold, only that I could have a cellophane sleeve of Thin Mints for myself. I hated the Girl Scout-issued brown jumper and would only wear the sash (which usually wound up crumpled at the bottom of my knapsack before I got to school). Ive never been much of a joiner.

 

But the other little girls, they were good Brownies. At 7, they already had their roles. There were the pretty girls and the prissy girls, the tomboy girl, the messy girl, the kiss-up girl, and the girl who tries really hard but always gets left out. We met at the Catholic church. The troop leaders fed us snacks, we sang the Brownie song, went on field trips, and of course, sold cookies to our neighbors and the same girl always sold the most boxes because her mother sold them for her.

 

People say times and children have changed. But Brownies are still very much the same. Right here in Portsmouth, Troop 2148 met last week in the art room at Little Harbour Elementary School. They had oranges and graham crackers for snack and reported on their good deeds: "I made my bed." "I pulled my tooth out." "I wrote a letter to my friend Delilah."

 

The same characters were present, brown sashes and badges intact. The Jennifers and Tiffanys have become Julias and Biancas, but they are just as earnest and eager to please as "my" Brownies were.

 

After snack, the girls sat in a circle on the floor in front of the art room chalkboard to have a talk. They were just about to learn where their next meeting would take them. First, it was time to recite the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law.

 

The Girl Scout Promise

 

On my honor, I will try:To serve God and my country,To help people at all times,And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

 

The Girl Scout Law

 

I will do my best to behonest and fair,friendly and helpful,considerate and caring,courageous and strong, andresponsible for what I say and do, and torespect myself and others,respect authority,use resources wisely,make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

 

Keeping true to their promises, the troop then made plans to spend some of their cookie proceeds on supplies for homeless kittens and cats at the N.H. Society for the Protection of Animals. Afterward they played a game of animal charades, and even the grown-ups took part. I was reminded just how loud 7- and 8 -year-olds can be when they squeal in unison.

 

I had thought so little about my own Brownie experience, but last week, in the elementary school art room, I was right back there again. I remembered the excitement, how important the girls in my own troop felt by wearing the uniform and having tasks like selling cookies and doing good deeds like helping animals. The hand signs, recitation and ritual are like practice for adulthood and we all know how much little girls like to impersonate adults.

 

The next time someone tells you that children have changed, point to the Brownie Girl Scouts. While the Scout Web site now tells you that you can substitute Allah (or your deity of choice) for God in the Promise, the mission and appeal for girls remains.

 

Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low (an iconic woman with a history that included overcoming deafness, a miserable marriage and subsequent friendship - some sources say more - with the founder of the Boy Scouts, and keeping cancer a secret), the Girl Scouts now number 3.6 million. To find your local troop, visit the Web site of the Girl Scouts of Swift Water Council at www.swgirlscouts.org.

 

Emily Bailey is the community editor of the Portsmouth Herald. She can be reached at ebailey@seacoastonline.com. For a complete archive of Public Emily columns, visit www.seacoastonline.com/news/wiggin.htm