So is this the first step in the 12 steps at 120 degrees?

And is why all these trailnames, no real names?

And why newbies should be 'sponsored' for their first visit to the
field in case they need help along the way?


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "speedsquare_lbxr"
wrote:
> Admittedly Addicted to Letterboxing:
>
> 1. speedsquare
2. [sewsowbizzy]

My first time

Uhum..uhum.

My name is Heartland
..and er....and er I am a..er
A Letterboxer.

{pause for a chorus of Welcome Heartland}

It started just by chance you see!

{I catch a few soft baleful murmured whispers of we
know, we know}

I was working out of Boston and had to take a work
trip of two weeks up in Vermont and so I drove up and
stayed in a really nice little motel in such a lovely
town....

{uhumph}

Oh yes... well the weekend I was sorta at a lose end
and went for a stroll in a local park and saw two guys
and a woman and two kids taking something out from
behind a tree.

They looked kinda OK and they were obviously very
excited by their find, so I asked em what were they
doing.

They were kinda cagey and instead gave me a little
card with this LBNA web site URL.

{I am sure someone muttered Oh no Oh no Oh no}

I punched it into my lap top back at the motel and
found out about Letterboxing. It sounded sorta neat.

So when I was driving back to Boston I took a short
detour and followed these clues and I FOUND ME A
LETTERBOX

My FIRST Box.

You know how that feels???.

{Yeah we know. Go on}

I stamped up on the back of my motel bill and wrote a
howdy in the book and put the box back and hid it
and well it was way cool

I was a Letterboxer

Well actually I was a NEWBIE and ...er hooked.

So that night I fired off about 18 emails to the LBNA
main site asking for help.

{Groan}

I got this nice off-list email from a guy called Ryan
who asked me to post to the newbie site (whatever that
meant.)

So Monday in Boston in my lunchbreak I got me a blank
notebook and a store bought stamp as my trail stamp.

{more groans}

So that next weekend I went out hunting me Boston
Boxes !

I found three !

I actually found five, but two had odd things in. One
had some gum wrappers and a plastic frog and the other
some very old damp cookies and a Clinton campaign pin!

{some laughter}

I stamped a page from my book and put them in each.

{more laughter}

When I got home I went back in to the LBNA site to
tell folk about my great day and to write a long
SITREP only to find that I had committed two very
serious crimes ..I had used a store bought stamp and
had been Geocaching!

{There was a loud hissing noise and the controller
smiled at me and said We dont use THAT word in here
my dear!....but do go on; do go on }

The next Monday I was back at the art store asking for
Xacto and pink stuff..which they did sell me over the
counter in clear sight of regular customers, but yes
it was in a plain brown bag.

{Shame}

Well it just went on from there ... Ive been to group
meets and discuss the various types of adhesives and
blade types and ink and ....hitchikers

{an sharp intake of breath}

and Postal Boxes

{lets keep it clean! someone yelled}

and X counts and V counts and H and H+ counts and then
I started in with some..er some ..

WOM letterboxers.

{Loud gasps}

Im out every weekend, and in the evenings Im locked
in my room carving, I have Hitchiker records; I use
AtlasQuest and other even more unsavoury sites, even
one where a Sewer Rat runs it !

{Go for it someone called out}

I do cryptics and even carry letterboxes overseas in
my hand luggage..I even do cheeseracing..and have
actually seen The Maplines from a distance...from a
distance!

{universal Gasps!}

Is there any way out ?

Is there any hope?

An addict.



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