It is with a heavy heart that I find myself involved in yet another
imbroglio on this List. However, as a fellow Texan and letterboxing
friend of Barefoot Lucy, I am duty bound to defend her. Let it never
be said that chivalry is dead!

First of all Inspector Bacon, I must say that I have not been
impressed by your shotgun approach to solving this crime. Casting
blame without facts is beneath you and indicates a lack of
information resulting in desperation. Your great, great, great,
great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Sir Francis
Bacon, who was a proponent of a planned procedure of investigating
called the Scientific Method, must be turning over in his grave.
Your father, the Honorable Macon Bacon, must feel ashamed at your ham-
handed approach to this situation. And speaking of ham, I'm sure
your distant relative, the esteemed letterboxer Funhog, is trying
desperately to increase her distance from you and this entire pig sty
you have created.

In response to your accusation that BL is responsible for the theft
of the Store of Good Manners, I say "In a pig's eye"! She is one of
the most beloved and respected members of the letterboxing community,
and the thought of her even being considered as a suspect in this
crime is repugnant. Her heart is as big as Texas and her compassion
for fellow boxers, along with countless hours helping scouts, has
earned her the nickname "The Barefoot Den Mother of Texas". She even
has a letterbox dedicated to her.

Now it is true she is a little rough around the edges, but what self-
respecting country girl wouldn't be? In the early days, Texas women
had to be tough to survive, and that trait continues as a badge of
honor. However, it is a mistake to equate toughness with
impropriety. There is not a dishonest bone in her body, except maybe
her feet when it comes to shoes, but that is to help her be stealthy
when hunting boxes, not to steal them.

As to her letterboxing manners, I must say that she exhibits
exemplary behavior there, too. She respects nature and is a strong
proponent of "Leave No Trace", especially when it comes to leaving a
letterbox better hidden than when she found it. On most of my clues
I end with a plea to "Please re-cover well", and she takes this
literally. On at least 2 occasions that I know of, she has gone out
of her way to re-cover a well that was near a box, possibly saving
many boxers from drowning! I also concur with her statement that she
is diligent about keeping her boxes maintained and clues updated. So
far I have found 28 of her boxes, and not one of them was missing or
out of place. I submit that she has no motive for stealing Good
Manners since she already possesses them.

In conclusion, I reiterate that Barefoot Lucy is innocent of all
charges and I sincerely hope my testimony has shown that she is
incapable of any crime, let alone this one. So, Bacon Boy, unless
you want to join the ranks of your lesser brethren and become known
as Turkey Bacon, I suggest you apologize to BL and aim your shotgun
elsewhere. Just remember, as the University Of TX alma mater
says, "The eyes of Texas are upon you"!

Sincerely,
Silver Eagle



> And since I am sure you are not yet convinced of my innocence, I
suppose I
> am going to have to embarrass myself further and ask my
letterboxing mentor
> to speak on my behalf. Certainly if you can't believe me when I
say I am
> innocent, you will believe Silver Eagle a true gentleman of
letterboxing
> and an example to us all and the one who, along with his brother
Baby Bear,
> has taught me everything I know about genteel letterboxing. I
apologize,
> Silver Eagle, for putting you in this position, but this relentless
> Inspector Gadget will not believe that I hold dear good
letterboxing manners
> unless someone of your caliber speaks on my behalf.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> BarefootLucy
>
> "It's not about footwear, it's about not having stinky feet"