[ScudEast]

A couple of questions from an interested foreigner.

1) "American Heritage Girls" - is "Heritage" a word that appeals to young people in America? It seems like a bit of an old person word to me. I'm a big fan of things with Heritage in the title but I'm a nostalgic old fart.

2) (frivolous I'm afraid) - Girl scout cookies - I had heard of these from various American films and always assumed the girls baked them themselves. I heard a rumour that they didn't - is this true?

[Tax-chick]

1. I think "Heritage" does appeal to youngsters, once it's defined in terms they understand. The success of the "American Girls" dolls (historical figures with books and other accessories) is an example. Children respond positively to traditional values and patriotism, at least in my experience (which includes seven children under 13, at the moment).

Boy Scouts seem to do best when they emphasis the founding principles of the organization - the outdoor skills, self-sufficiency, and patriotism - and explicitly emphasize the history. My husband teaches his Cub Scouts about Lord Baden-Powell and the Boer War, and has them play games based on military skills, and the boys love it. For their campout next month, they're doing an American Frontier program: gold mining, arrowhead making, blacksmithing, tracking, outdoor cooking ...

2. The original Girl Scout cookies were baked by Girl Scouts, back in Oklahoma in the 20's (don't hold me to the date, please). Now they are commercially baked under contract with the GS-USA; names and types are copyrighted so that nobody else can sell Thin Mints or Trefoils.