The Girl Scout Garage Sale 15 June, 2006 Jenny Slaght

Anne Fitzpatrick, whose age will not be disclosed for fear of scientists beginning the search for the missing link (yet again), is glad to be a part of the Alaska Great Lakes Project. She is an experienced leader and a first time driver; although the driving portion is definitely a questionable opinion. “Her driving is decent, but a little misdirected,” explained youngest daughter, seventeen year-old Erin Fitzpatrick. It would seem that Anne tends to put forth the appearence of being directionaly challenged. Of course, the more time that I spend in the van with her driving, the more I believe it isn't an act.      I soon came to find that genetics, the excuse I got from Anne, do not directly effect your driving skills. . . unfortunately, I discovered that she’s been driving this way for at least nine years. You see, it all started with the idea of a trip for the girl scout troop of the group her oldest daughter Megan was then in.      “Are you all set?” Anne asked as the girls piled into the van. The sun was shining in the sky as the final door slammed and the van set off. The line of vans started off one by one. The destination was a secluded area where the group would set up camp. It was one of those areas that has several different roads to get to the destination. That alone was where the problem started.      She explained that the paths tended to cross quite a bit. Well, as I understand it, that can get very confusing. At one point Anne lost sight of the van in front of her. Not for very long, she claimed, but apparently long enough for another van to cut in front of them. “It looked just like Kathy’s van,” said Anne. Kathy was one of the leaders going on the trip, so she decided to follow it.      If you have ever been in the woods, you know that after a while all of those trees start to look the same. You also know that with all of those trees around you, getting lost is quite simple. Add this to the confusion of repetetive vehicles, and you've got a story to tell.       So Anne decided to follow the van, thinking it was Kathy's. They drove for a long while through the wilderness following the van. At some point, the said van left the woods. It didn't dawn on poor Anne that their campsite would probably be stationed in the wilderness and not within the modern culture of suburbia.       It was not long before "Kathy's Van" parked against the curb. Anne watched in confusion as an elderly couple climbed out of the vehicle and approached an ongoing garage sale.       Thoroughly entertained, the car full of girlscouts were driven back through the woods. This time, Anne consulted the map and found the campsite. As they got there they noticed the other leaders were all sitting there and waiting with the girls.       The next day, all of the other mothers had tied bandanas to their cars just for poor Anne.

<<Return to Interviews