"Bus seats are like airplane seats, just fuzzier. No really." So starts the story I had asked my
niece to write about her visit to Phoenix on March 12th. As you may recall, her
troop was invited to participate in the State Capital recognition of Girl Scouting
in Arizona. So, she went, "in one of those huge buses, like
the kind that football teams use. You’d expect them to be a little
comfier…"
My niece loves Girl Scouts! And she loves new adventures! So this trip to Phoenix from Tucson, on a weekday, to
celebrate the Girl Scout 100th was right up her alley. The girls arrived, and "my leader,
Mrs. Brown, called us up to the stairs. I led my sister Girl Scouts (and fellow
members of Troop 1852) up the stairs… and another flight… and another flight…
pausing at the third level… going up to the fourth… until finally, Mrs. Brown
gathered us ominously in front of two glass paned doors. “No talking once I open these doors” she ordered in a stage whisper.
I waited tensely as she opened the door, half expecting to be thrust in front
of a hoard of flashing cameras and jabbering spectators… gasping as I find
myself...on the top story of a balcony composed of carpeted steps. No chairs,
or tables, or anything."
" I wish I could report that the speeches made by the congresswomen
and important Girl Scout leaders were illuminating and brilliant. In truth,
they were sorta boring....the pinning ceremony, in and of itself, was actually pretty short.
The girls went to their assigned congresswoman, gently pinned the World Trefoil
pin onto their honorary Troop 1920 (chosen because women gained the right to
vote in that year) that includes GS alumnae from all over the US."
Her group also went to the Senate building, where they sat
in the Gallery and listened to, "the President of the Senate droning
through roll call, and then giving permission to senators to introduce guests
in the Gallery." The actual time for Scouts sounded like it was pretty short, and there was not a whole lot of fanfare.
"It was nothing like
I expected. Okay, maybe I had
anticipated the heat, and the stiletto heels, but really, aside from that, it
was completely surprising. Unexpected. Unanticipated. Unpredicted. Unforseen.
Bewildering.
And I guess that’s why I’ll remember it."
I love this age girl, and how she looks at the world. And granted, I'm a bit biased about this one, since she's my niece! I'm looking forward to hearing about how her troop takes a Journey, and how she/they select their Silver Award Take Action Projects. And I'm pretty sure I'll ask her for another guest blog post in the future, but for next, time, I'm going to ask for 3 paragraphs, not 3 pages!
