Re(2): [LbNA] The dogs are out.....

2 messages in this thread | Started on 2001-02-20

Re(2): [LbNA] The dogs are out.....

From: Graham Howard (ghh2@tutor.open.ac.uk) | Date: 2001-02-20 07:51:52 UTC

Dear Amanda Briles
aka The Paisley Orca

What a wonderful posting !

I loved the tale of your adventure taking Travis discovering
Letterboxing...The whole bit, the excitement, the learning of new words,
and the opening up of awareness and understanding of the world that
brings, (EG I assume that the new word "Serpentine" was either when you
found a sample of the mineral , or maybe a big old winding S shaped
valley):

Don't you think, that in that special moment when we are able to identify
and name new things and realise that we can see and appreciate stuff on
our old planet which was there all the time, but we just didn't see it ;
is like a special gift and so much joy ?; especially for kids ..of all
ages ?

I learn new stuff from each letterboxer I meet on every outing !

Your story captured that sense of discovery so well for me !

Just a wonderful tale imho

I enjoyed reading of the other discoveries you made on your outing too,
like finding out what are Travis' favourite things at school. It made it
a purely delightful tale.. Once again I remember why I enjoy this simple
naive old hobby...

These are magic moments and you recorded em so well !

Many many thanks for sharing them.

...But just one thing more !!!....................!!

All this "cloak and dagger" seems to me to be a sad, lost "Letterboxing
moment", imho !!

Please let me explain ! !! !

Saying , .."Are you kind of a tall guy with a beard?"..and "I have short
dark hair and glasses,and I was wearing a dorky hat" .... is all a great
missed opportunity....imho !!!

On Dartmoor we'd be saying " Hi are you carrying a Traveller ? ", and
suddenly you'd know if you'd met another boxer ...and hey presto "up goes
your X count"...(We call it a T count of course ! )

Maybe you all need a better "password" or "pass-phrase" than our one
..Down deep in Portland letterboxland, the kids yelling out , "Hi are
you carrying a Traveller ? " might sound just too weird, and scare away
the locals ! !!

But if you do invest in a "group question" all over LbNA land it would
make the connection between letterboxers "in the wild" just so much easier
! jmho

Just a thought from across the water !

Once again....a tale of a great outing....Just the most golden times of
Letterboxing imho!

Savour em well ....They are magic moments imho ! Thank You !

Happy Letterboxing !

Graham Howard
aka The Moorland Wizard

Re: Re(2): [LbNA] The dogs are out.....

From: (paisleyorca@webtv.net) | Date: 2001-02-20 03:42:07 UTC-08:00

Gosh!

I feel so honored that The Moorland Wizard responded to my comments
about letterboxing for dogs with Travis.

This is such a new and exciting deal for me and in all honesty I'm
absolutely SHOCKED this hasn't caught on as big for us out here as it
has for those on the East Coast of the USA. I think Der Mad Stamper and
Thom Cheney have done a great job of stoking the embers out here for the
past three years.

I was on the website checking out clues for those New England states and
little old Rhode Island seems to have 72 letterboxes. I'm generally not
good at numbers, but looking at a map and seeing how big Rhode Island is
compared to Oregon (not to mention the Pacific NW as a whole) just makes
me realize what really wonderful opportunities lie ahead for us out here
and those who visit!

As for missed opportunity on the trail, that's no joke! We're just
stumbling along out here, not really expecting to meet up with fellow
letterboxers, as a general rule, I think. So to think we'd meet up on
the trail the way people seem to in Dartmoor and parts East of here must
means we're progressing. Maybe it's time for me to carve up a
"Traveller" and carry it with me always or something and consider
trading images with fellow letterboxers the way you all do in the UK.
What's the etiquette on that? I'd better get reading.

Graham...will you be coming to our letterboxing summit here in the
Portland area in April? It will probably be a terrific event if Thom is
working on it.

I really hope we get a good showing of letterboxers from all over for
this Earth Day thing. We'd get the privelege of meeting you all, and
you would (if you haven't already) be introduced to one of the most
beautiful urban and suburban areas of the USA -- I'm not bragging, now,
it's true. If you don't believe me, then I dare you to come out here
and prove me wrong!

Thanks for the kind words. Happy Letterboxing to all!!!

Best regards,

Amanda Briles
aka The Paisley Orca