Frostpup and I (dragging along my partner - the Tomato Fairy) ventured
into the wilds of the Pentagon City Mall for the "It's A Holiday"
stamp on Saturday.

We decided to meet there, retrieve the stamp and have lunch. We found
the landmarks quite easily and went straight to the spot and found to
our dismay that someone was sitting on the bench.

Quietly huddled behind him where he couldn't see us, we stared daggers
at him to no avail. Should we distract him? Hit him over the head?
Push him over the rail? We thought about sending the Tomato Fairy
down a few benches to start making a scene and screaming incoherently
in hopes that it would draw the man from our particular bench.
(Everyone loves mall drama.)

Instead, we went to a restaurant for lunch and maneuvered a table
where we could spy on the spot.

During the entire lunch we gazed through the window, distracted from
our meal, and hungry for the kill.

Of all the benches in all the malls in all the world, he had to park
on that one. Finally, he up and left, we were ecstatic. "HE'S
GOING!" We exclaimed, turning the heads of nearby munchers. Noticing
the attention we were drawing, we quickly applied our exclamation to
the sports game on the television. "WHAT A GREAT PLAY!"

The Tomato Fairy offered to watch our meals so we could swoop in, but
we decided to finish eating first.

THEN SOMEONE ELSE SAT DOWN WITH A BOOK! Ack! What is this? Is our
letterboxing karma so bad because we haven't placed a box yet? Could
this be our punishment?

She eventually left and, instead of lingering over iced tea and polite
conversation, we threw money at the waitress and quickly circled our prey.

The rest of the story was simply and uneventfully retrieve, stamp,
stamp, replace.

Loved it! Thanks!

(This Letterboxing account is loosely based on a true story)

Poison Ivy


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "be ma" wrote:
>
>
> This box is so tempting! But, I can't think of anything scarier (even
> Claude Moore Park way in the back at sunset) than the mall right before
> Christmas!! EEEYIKES!
> BeMa
>
> >From: "thedoubtfulguests "
> >
> >Reply-To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> >To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [LbNA] Nern VA new - Its a Holiday temporary indoor LB
> >Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 19:11:12 -0000
> >
> >VA Webmaster: No need to post this letterbox as it is probably
> >temporary for the holidays. My Webmaster, Knights of Columbo, will
> >post in on my website (please) and those snowed in frustrated local
> >letterboxers will no doubt find it.
> >
> >It's a Holiday
> >Placed by Scarab of the Doubtful Guests
> >December 13, 2002
> >Arlington County
> >Arlington, Virginia
> >Hand made stamp
> >Easy, indoors & probably temporary
> >
> >Twas the nightmare before Christmas
> >And all through the mall
> >Anxious shoppers were rushing
> >Praying Pentagon City had it all.
> >I arrived by the Metro
> >And went straight to the top
> >To consult with the Wizard
> >And visit his shop.
> >Puzzling place. Puzzling Wizard.
> >"Which it's the number of brown tiles between our doorway you wants."
> >"For what, want for what?"
> >"Only Santy Claws and that Scarab fellow know and neither one of
> >them is telling me.
> >Go ask that Joseph at the bank around the corner.
> >That's the place to look if he deposited somethin' int it?"
> >Joseph, I discovered, was full of hang ups.
> >"I haven't a clue," he answered to my enquiries,
> >"but you remind me of that puzzling fellow I saw the other day.
> >He walked away from our window around the curve of the balcony
> >counting the small potted trees.
> >Did it several times like he was trying to be sure of something.
> >I don't know how long those trees have been there myself,
> >Nor how long they'll stay."
> >One, two, three ... Finally I sat in a long white bench with a fine
> >view.
> >Behind me immediately over my right shoulder was a mall map.
> >Across the wide atrium from me the glass elevator rose and fell.
> >Almost directly below me I gazed down the tree at Santa on his
> >golden chair.
> >"Wow, a natural Santa."
> >"What's an unnatural Santa, Dad?"
> >I pushed the bench towards that potted tree on my right,
> >Made like I was looking at something in my hands,
> >And surreptitiously reached under the faux grey moss.
> >"May I help you?" asked the guard suspiciously.
> >"OH, um, I thought I lost my keys" I said while holding the black,
> >dual film cannisters in one hand,
> >"Wait, here they are in my other pocket."
> >"Alright then, happy holidays to you."
> >"And to you." Whew.
> >I spent a pleasant time recording in the scroll and enjoying the
> >expansive view.
> >Then I went all the way around and all the way down to celebrate in
> >the food court.
> >Merry letterboxing to all, and to all a good hike.
> >
> >Please be discreet. Please do not root around in a lot of tree's
> >moss if you're not sure. It is very likely I will remove this dual
> >black film cannister letterbox after the holidays. I will note so
> >here before I do. If you find this letterbox missing or damaged or
> >are puzzled about the clues write theDoubtfulGuests@y...
> >
> >
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

I haven't gotten to the Pentagon City Box yet, but I had a similar
experience with another Doubtful Guest box - the one by the Titanic
Statue in DC. There was a wino sitting on the bench right near
the hidden treasure! I couldn't dig around in the bushes with him
sitting right there. I had to sit two benches away, pretending to
watch the river, and constantly looking at my watch so that I wouldn't
overextend my lunch hour, while waiting for him to leave or pass out.
He finally finished the contents of his brown paper bag and then got
on his bicycle and pedaled away. A wino with a bicycle! Is this a
great country, or what?

So if anyone wants to start a Patience of Job letterbox, send it my
way.

Mary



--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "poison_ivy_letterboxer
" wrote:

... and went straight to the spot and found to our dismay that
someone was sitting on the bench.
>
> Quietly huddled behind him where he couldn't see us, we stared
daggers
> at him to no avail. Should we distract him? Hit him over the head?
> Push him over the rail? We thought about sending the Tomato Fairy
> down a few benches to start making a scene and screaming
incoherently
> in hopes that it would draw the man from our particular bench.
> (Everyone loves mall drama.)
>
> Instead, we went to a restaurant for lunch and maneuvered a table
> where we could spy on the spot.
>
> During the entire lunch we gazed through the window, distracted from
> our meal, and hungry for the kill.
>
> Of all the benches in all the malls in all the world, he had to park
> on that one. Finally, he up and left, we were ecstatic. "HE'S
> GOING!" We exclaimed, turning the heads of nearby munchers.
Noticing
> the attention we were drawing, we quickly applied our exclamation to
> the sports game on the television. "WHAT A GREAT PLAY!"
>
> The Tomato Fairy offered to watch our meals so we could swoop in,
but
> we decided to finish eating first.
>
> THEN SOMEONE ELSE SAT DOWN WITH A BOOK! Ack! What is this? Is our
> letterboxing karma so bad because we haven't placed a box yet?
Could
> this be our punishment?
>
> She eventually left and, instead of lingering over iced tea and
polite
> conversation, we threw money at the waitress and quickly circled our
prey.
>
> The rest of the story was simply and uneventfully retrieve, stamp,
> stamp, replace.
>
> Loved it! Thanks!
>
> (This Letterboxing account is loosely based on a true story)
>
> Poison Ivy
>
>