Thursday, July 31, 2008

Busted! (What Else is New?)

Funny how I wrote this post so long ago.
About an actual love letter I received.
And funny how I read it now, and it convicts me.
Because God gave us his written word so we could understand him.
All we have to do is read it.
Read, and read, and read.

http://pancakesandtea.blogspot.com/2007/05/love-letters.html

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Saving Our Environment--One Cookie at at Time

Now, I'm not one to get political (at least not typically in blog-form). . .but there is something that has been on my mind.  My dad and I were opening up a delicious box of Kashi cookies, and were both dumbfounded at the ridiculous amount of packaging for a less-than-desirable 8 cookies.  
Seriously. . .a two-ditch tray holding a total of only 8 cookies?  First of all--name one person who can make 8 delicious cookies last long enough to justify throwing away a box, plastic tray, and a foil wrapper?  [Well, to be fair in Michigan, we get to recycle those things, so Michiganders insert "recycling" in the place of "throwing away"]  Secondly, do they think the effort required will make one want to savor the cookies?  Or maybe not eat them as often?  Because let me tell you--all that work to get to them makes you want to take more than one so you don't have to go through it all over again.
But I digress--this article isn't about obesity.
It's about lame amounts of packaging.
Aren't we supposed to be saving our earth or something?  
You know, every little bit helps?
We stop driving trucks.
We spend thousands of extra dollars on products made from things that actually use more natural resources than they save.  
And even more on cars that do the same thing.
We reduce.
Reuse.
Recycle.
We plant trees.
But how do we package cookies?  Like they're going to taste less delicious if they're bent or broken.

Let's take--for example--my very favorite Girl Scout Cookie: The Samoa.  Delicious chunks of coconut, caramel, and cookie all dipped in chocolate.  Placed delicately in 3 rows of five in a plastic tray, sealed in plastic, and then put in a box.
Here's my proposal.  My contribution to saving the earth.  One delicious bite at a time.

Keep the box (I mean, that's a trademark), but lose the tray.  Fill that clear plastic bag with just delicious and savory Samoas, seal it, and sell it.  I promise you, not one person will complain about there being more than 15 in that bag.  "But they'll stick together!" the scoffers cry.  Again, I can assure you, the world will be a happier place when those hands reach into that bag and pull out not one, but TWO (or if you're lucky: three!) crunchy confections of chocolately caramel coconut.  

Think about it, Girl Scouts of America.
Help make the world a better place.