Wow - 3 wonderful days in a row of terrific local cross-country
skiing (even with my strapped up ankle!), and now how exciting to
stop by the Cross-Mills library and find several more entries to add
to the PFX 500 club! Letterboxing certainly is growing nicely all
across the nation - we now have reports of PFX 500 from "Maiden"
(Melanie) from the boxious state of Oregon, "Schizokeet" (Becky) from
lovely Virginia, and "Silver Eagle" from the great big state of
Texas! We've been finding Silver Eagle's boxes spread out all over
the country lately, so he definitely gets around, but now it looks
like Texas has become quite a "letterbox draw" in itself, so we'll
have to try to get out there ourselves one of these days, even if not
in time for that Texas Rodeo Gathering that "Silver Eagle" is
planning to have in just a couple of weeks!

And then, of course, let's not forget about Silent Doug from PA! He
may be living in CT now and pushing PFX 1000, but he certainly has
letterboxed in many different places, and actually reached PFX 500
back in August while still living in PA, so we're very happy to have
him as our first representative from that friendly state!

Then from CT we have new members "Donutz716" (Donna), who says she
was glad to get a big boost from the Monster Mash, as well as another
fine couple, Carolyn & Bob, who call themselves "Voyageur", and think
they took a long time to reach PFX 500, but really didn't! After all,
no matter which way you look at it, it still takes a tremendous
amount of effort and determination to reach that goal, so I really
think that NO ONE could possibly be so mean, insecure or controlling
as to belittle these wonderful people's accomplishments, or try to
make them feel bad about their counts in any way!

Actually, we've met almost every single person on the PFX club
list,and I'd have to say that they are just about the finest group of
people you could ever hope to find anywhere! Many of them are fairly
quiet and unassuming, and some rarely if ever post to talk lists, but
all of them have given so much of themselves in various ways to this
amazing little hobby of ours, whether it be through spreading
enthusiasm, offering encouragement, planting, carving, or whatever!
NO ONE knows just how much these people have contributed to the
overall growth of letterboxing in this country, and it would be a
real shame if jealousy, pettiness, or intense personal hatred were
allowed to bully the many inspired and inspiring people coming along
in this hobby into being afraid to "stand up and be counted"!

Fortunately, most people can easily see through thin disguises and
realize that PFX-ness is not the real problem even for just a few.
It's actually a very good sign that NO ONE fell into the trap of
faulty thinking that giving a little bit of recognition to people who
had worked hard to deserve it was some sort of "contest"! Thanks and
kudos to everyone who saw that through!

Mostly I'm just grateful that there are so many kind and gracious
people in letterboxing, knowing that NO COUNT OLAF, hiding behind
whatever various nefarious dark disguises, could ruin this wonderful
hobby. For me, like the Baudelaire orphans, it's just "no contest".
Perhaps someday I'll explain why. Meanwhile, I'll just keep trying to
wear rosy glasses, stick to the "high road" and hope that many other
folks will, too!

Cheers,
Wanda

(and as Lemony Snicket might say, STOP right here if you do not wish
to run the risk of reading something that may be very disturbing to
you. I suggest that you turn off your computer immediately, or you
may be forced to find out that several days back when I wrote my
first message after a very long time, I must have still been in the
throes of a delirious fever, because I made the mistake of typing in
F6500 instead of F6650, thereby shortchanging myself of one hundred
fifty letterboxes! And now in the meantime I have skiied out to find
and plant another box in the snow, replace one that was in for
repairs, and surprise a hitcher in another box while doing box check,
so my total is at present P109 F6652 X 781. I wish I could have
spared you the misfortune of having to eyeball these wretched,
boring, grotesque, miserable numbers, but then I really did try to
warn you!!! :-) ( So much for my Lemony Snicket imitation! I'm
sorry, I really don't mean to offend anyone, but, as Ryan so aptly
said, I just really DO like having so many things TO count! Hope at
least some of you can share my excitement about how this hobby is
growing all across the country by leaps and bounds!)