I agree wholeheartedly with your "no comments please" message..I do hope
it wasn't me musing on the UK systems that caused all this flurry...
I agree with you about skills and abilities viewpoint ..I often can't find
a box ..and very rarely believe it is missing...Heck that's a huge part of
the challenge..your US clues seem easy peasy compared with ours but I am
often "box crazy" when I can't find em...If it were all so easy what would
be the point ?
But... I do ask the owner though...
In the UK we have mobile phones much more than in the US ..in my sons
classroom at school there are 30 kids and at least 40 mobes !
So I even call the owner from the (unfound) box if I am in doubt ..Not
that they always help
I do call though esp if the box is wet and or trashed...
The other side of UK boxing is that many boxers do carry a "repair kit" of
blank new books, zip lock bags, post cards etc and even some empty
tupperware/pill-boxes to restore cracked or damaged containers ...
..I've never replaced a stamp in a box before though but I liked that
idea..I could make some "couldn't find it", or "Missing in Action" stamps
which would be nice idea!
..but see below..
I still haven't gotten over to your green State yet ..is it really a whole
year boxing possibility then, no real bad weather times ?
It looks more and more tempting each month on the postings ...maybe next
year I'll be there..
..and you say
Finally, I would like to suggest that the most important thing about a
letterbox is not the box or the stamp or the logbook. The coolest thing
is
that someone has written a set of clues that lead to a private little
hiding place in the wilderness.
Bravo ..That is what it is all about ..Bravo Encore !
and again you say..
Rather than publish info online about missing boxes, I would rather
encourage
this sort of personal communication.
That is exactly what has happened in the UK ..we call em WOM ..word of
mouth boxers / boxes...
All things go in cycles methinks...you recall I am sure in the very first
communications when there was only Erics site (even before Daniel's site )
that UK boxers were saying that keeping the secret is a key
component...and now as the scale of US boxing has begun to reach good
levels that secret part of the hobby is becoming more significant...Its
really about private rather than secret in US speak maybe...but you are
speaking the truth that spoiling is no fun...Rather hunt and fail that
just pick up stamps..not to say a "find by chance" isn't cool either !
Oh and finally and CONFIDENTIALLY !..we have a new box wrecker about in
the UK atm...he has had some cheap stamps made up saying..."You've been
robbed"..all the same ! , all boring ! and he swaps out your hand mades
etc..very nasty that imho...I wouldn't advertise this publicly because
it's not a good idea to "advertise and explain how to be stupid" imho !
Keep on boxing...best wishes
Graham Howard