There have been several news reports about the extreme blood supply shortage that our nation is facing now. I have a close friend that relies on regular blood transfusions to maintain his life, so it really hits home to me.

According to the American Red Cross that has just declared its first ever Nationwide Blood Crisis and supplies about forty percent of the nation’s blood (along with independent blood banks) a large factor is the diminishing number of healthy donors who are willing to donate blood.

According to the Red Cross they usually keep five days of inventory but now are down to less than one day. This is a critical situation and I worry about my friend being able to get his monthly transfusion. According to their site redcross.org, there will be two upcoming local opportunities for everyone to donate.

On Wednesday, February 9th from 10-3:00pm a blood drive will be held at the Ted Stroebele Recreation Center, 10 Jefferson Street in Monticello. On Wednesday, February 16th between the hours of 2:15-6:15pm a blood drive will be held at the Eldred Central School at 600 Route 55 in Eldred. To register go to www.redcross.org, click the Give Blood tab to find a donation site.

I have donated blood many times without pre-registering and walk-in donors are always welcome at the donation sites. All Covid protocols are in effect and, if a donor has no symptoms, they can make a blood donation after the health screening.

For additional information go to the Red Cross webpage listed above. Please, if you can possibly donate blood consider doing so to help during this shortage. See you at the Eldred School on Wednesday, February 16th!

One of my annual New Year’s resolutions is to get into better physical health through the tried-and-true method of a healthy diet and more exercise.

So, I’m off to a great start and then pow- I see the first announcement that the Girl Scouts are now starting to take orders for their cookies. Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia with the “aim of building girls of courage, confidence and character” I am not quite sure how it ended up with selling these great cookies to all Americans who, if the truth be told, tends to be somewhat on the “pudgy” side.

I feel a keen sense of loyalty since growing up in metropolitan Boston I was both a Brownie and a Girl Scout. I had a built-in customer base for my cookie sales since my dad was the neighborhood doctor. I just sat in his waiting room dressed up in my Girl Scout uniform and pushed my cookie sales.

Today its all-social media and QR codes and ordering online. You don’t get to meet the local scouts and admire all the badges they have earned learning new things and doing great community projects (and I am utterly ashen faced to tell you that now those merit badges are self-stick where in my day you were required to sew them very neatly on your uniform and sash.)

The cookie line up this year has twelve selections-Lemon-ups, Caramel chocolate chip, Trefoils, Do-si-dos, Samosa, Tagalongs, Toast-Yay! Thin mints, (the most popular Girl Scout cookie of all time) Girl Scout s’mores, Lemonades, Toffee-tastic, and the newest cookie Adventurefuls (indulgent brownie-inspired cookies with caramel flavored crème and a hint of sea salt.)

Quite a selection and a far cry from the very first Girl Scout cookie sales made in 1917 when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Oklahoma baked cookies and sold them in local high school cafeterias as a service project.

Each Girl Scout Council sets its own price for the cookie varieties they sell but expect to pay anywhere from $5.00 to $7.00 per box. The net revenue made from cookie sales stays with the local councils and funds their activities, service projects and camp initiatives.

I am sorry to say there isn’t a Girl Scout Troop in Highland any longer and the closest one is in Narrowsburg. For more information about the Girl Scouts of the USA and the cookie sales go to www.girlscouts.org.