My Fellow Letterboxers,

With the smell of sawdust still in the air, I left the big state of Texas in my big brand new shiny silver Lincoln Towncar, headed for O-Town.

The Florida Classic is not only a game; it is a performance of outstanding dimensions. Football plays second fiddle to the half time show of the 2 rival marching bands. When the bands took the field the bathrooms where empty, along with my beer. I didn't miss a beat and the guy in front of me never did figure out where his drink went.

The next day I headed off to a temple of love, Coral Castle, in Homestead. My question would not be how a 5-foot man from Latvia managed to move over 1,100 tons of coral, not to mention sculpture them using nothing but hand made tools. But rather, I would question, "Why do this for a dame who has humiliated and spurned you?" Must not have been the brightest tool in the shed.

Every Thanksgiving finds me in a soup kitchen carving the turkey. This year was no exception as Immokalee was in desperate need of a master carver. Expecting 3,000 for dinner, not a sliver was to be wasted. With carving knife in hand, I dashed from house to house carving the 200 birds that volunteers had slaved over. For those of you who thought I, Investigator Francis Bacon, had no heart - eat crow.

Key Largo is home to some of the best sailfishing around. I picked up some ballyhoo and goggle eyes and headed out to the deep seas with the Fins & Feathers. While light tackle is preferred, a cane-pole and bent safety-pin hook is not going to do the job. I have it from good authority that Wassamatta_u was out to prove that a sailfish could be caught using this method. Wassamatta_u, no matter what your "uncles" have said, the Scientific Requirement for "Measurable Evidence" shows that catching a sailfish using a cane-pole and bent safety-pin hook can not be done. But, I did not come here to talk about football, love, turkeys or sailfish; I came to talk letterboxing.

If hiking in the wilderness of Florida beware of alligators and bears. They will try to avoid you but will harm you if startled. Know what the weather is going to be; storms can be violent in Florida. A word of advice, stay away from the chiggers; those little devils itch! Florida letterboxing has grown rapidly, along with its own difficulties. Many state parks frown on letterboxes and will confiscate them. When planting, keep in mind that nature decomposes quickly in the warmer climates and that log will not be there in 3 months. Check if the park you are planting in has planned burns; many in the state do. At this point there are 33 mysteries in Florida. Sounds good until you compare numbers. Over 700 letterboxes, only 33 mysteries. What a shame!

Sincerely,

Investigator Francis Bacon