Just a week or two before the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, our local Girl Scouts reappear with their annual supply of trefoils and thin mints.  There’s something wonderful about this fundraiser which teaches girls about business, while feeding the craving masses.

Today the Girl Scouts were set up in Montclair Village, and selling their stash.  We watched and recorded ’em in action below.  First, the scouts marketed and hawked cookies with plenty of verve!

Then it was time to check out the goods up close, artfully displayed and ready for the taking.  Did you know the cookie boxes all say “courage, confidence and character” on them?

At around 2pm, the girls were experiencing a lull in the post-lunch crowd.  Like all good retailers, they patiently waited for shoppers to stop by their stand.

Within minutes, we caught one happy buyer and seller in mid-transaction.  No matter what happens over the decades, the buyers still want these cookies and are pleased to fork over $4 per box.

There were several signs that we’re living in 2010, though.  One buyer didn’t want to be photographed acquiring her contraband, explaining that she was buying it as a gift.  Plus the Girl Scouts now sport nicer-green vests festooned with earned badges, which seem much cuter than we remember.

Cheers to these girls, hard at work.