Don't Look Now But . . .

Yeah - that's right, Cooties!

Love 'em or hate em? Here's a story I thought I'd share . .

I heard through the boxing grapevine (you know my ear is always ready for some boxing gossip!) that there was a small gathering held recently in an area where many new members attended. This mini meet was held purposely to introduce the wave of new boxers to the local community; just like the wave of new boxers joining around the country since the latest Family Fun magazine articles.

At this event, a young child planted a cootie in the pocket of a backpack of a gentleman. Gentleman is the wrong word; since this guy went ballistic on the youth! Now our impression is that cooties originated for kids. They were the ones who derived the most pleasure from them since they could imprint their inked-up finger print and fashion a little print drawing in the cootie logbook. I've seen some adults as well who enjoy these little buggers.

The outrage of this man brought about a question - do you like cooties? Are they an annoyance to you? The boxer who sponsored this event had a bunch of suggestions as to how to better provide a cootie-friendly atmosphere. This host/hostess thought about a separate area that would be a "cootie free zone" where boxers could place their backpacks and belongings without fear or worry that they'd be infested.

Sue & I had a ball with cooties dropped on us at the gathering honoring us and Deanne & Dave in OR this past June. Those boxers out there are brazen! I had 2 cooties dropped into the pockets of my hiking shorts and would never have known it if they hadn't been metal and clinked against each other! When I turned, of course, no one was there! I suspect it was Der Mad Stamper or one of the others that attended but talk about stealthy cootie playing!

A cootie free zone sounds like a good idea to us - an area off limits to cooties for those who don't want to participate. We've heard some boxers say that they live in remote areas and don't see a lot of other boxers so getting a cootie would put it out of commission for a long while. Others have told us that they hate cooties.

Below - in our new Poll of the Week - please vote! Cooties - Love 'em or hate 'em? Regardless of what we vote; they're here to stay and so they should. Maybe ideas like a "cootie free zone" might make them more palatable for those that do not want to participate in this bugged out frenzy! In the meantime - be careful out there! We hear there's an infestation that's being worked on this winter that will hatch this spring - just in time for the beginning of the letterboxing gathering season!