First, thank you Jay, for your response to my question. I have really
learned a lot about letterboxing the last few days--and I am glad. I
definitely would have been committing serious breeches of ettiquette had I
not read the various opinions. I appreciate the kindess, respect, and
tolerance shown to me as a "newbie" All of the discussion made me consider
what iti s about this sport that intrigues me so. After all, why would an
overweight 30-somethign mother of three small children want to tromp about
in this humidity braving spiders, snakes,a nd worst of all, mosquitos on the
off chance of collecting an inked image? Heck, ya don't even get to keep
the stamp!

So, here are my thoughts--mundane as they are--from a newbie about the
appeal of letterboxing.

First, it is an activity I can do with my family, outdoors, away from the
tv, requiring a moderate amount of physical activity (sometimes strenous if
I take the baby and forget to check the trail for accessability). This is
always a good tihng in our house. We can do it together and everyone
"succeeds".

It is educational. Not only do we learn about different parks and landmarks
in our area, we are exploring new places on our trips as well. I never
woudl have realized "car on a stick" was real. My hubby is quite excited to
see it and I know the kids will love it. We learn a bit of history, a bit
of geography, some map reading skills, some logical deduction, and some
creative thinking, and some math skills. Especially when we are tryign to
figure out how many of our paces equal one of the placers. (Some of you all
have LONG strides!) We need ot brush up on local flora (poinon ivy /oak
/sumac), and fauna, especiallythe reptilian, arachnid, and insect varieties.
If nothig else, leterboxing is a great form of aversion therapy! While I do
not homeschool formally, I do informally and think this is an awesome
awesome activity for those of that mindset.

And it is just plain intriguing. I love logic puzzles. This is a whole new
dimension, literally. It is like looking for lost treasure. Did we solve
the clues correctly? Will it be there? What will it be?

So, I will strive to respect the integrity of the sport and appreciate those
who are taking the time to explain it. Yeah, I will probably screw up now
and again, but good intentions and willingness to listen and learn seem to
go along way around here. That's good enough for me!

Searching for a boxing name....

Pam in Cinci



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