Be Prepared, For People

(My Girl Scout troop is having a table at a craft show, selling sweets and fire starters. We also have a dip mix for sale. At the same time, we have a bowl of dip at the very back of the table, behind a sign, that we are eating from. It is clear that it is not a sample for the dip that we’re selling, and we’re eating the pretzels right out of the bag. We’re all about 17 now.)

Lady: *points to fire starters* “How do you eat these?”

Fellow Troop Member: “Those are fire starters. You can’t eat them. You just light them and put them in a fireplace or campfire.”

Lady: “Oh, well, I never go camping! Hey, what’s this?”

(The lady proceeds to reach over the sign, take multiple pretzels sticks from the bag, and take a large portion of dip out of the bowl we’re eating from.)

Me: “Um, that’s not a sample. Many of us have not had lunch yet, so we have something here to eat.”

Lady: “But you’re selling the dip right here!”

Me: “Yes, but it’s not the same kind. This is [Flavor #1], and what we’re selling is [Flavor #2].”

Lady: “Oh, well, it looked like a sample!”

Me: *sighs and turns to others after she leaves* “I can’t wait until my ride gets here so I can leave. I am so done with people.”