We've Pulled the Puglia Trip

We've decided to cancel our group 2009 trip to Puglia, Italy.

After some careful consideration, Sue & I have decided to visit Italy on our own instead of heading up a group trip. While this was never intended to be a letterboxing trip per se but just a group effort, we have come up with another alternative in Italy in which we'd like to participate in a solo fashion. We have pulled the trip info from Atlas Quest.

Also - we will be taking a hiatus from posting here for a while as well.

It's Back to Normal . . .

With the holidays over for another year, it's back to normal - screaming alarms at early hours, traffic on the commute and cubicle sitting for the day!

We do look with excitment at the upcoming letterboxing schedule of events for the year, the new boxes yet to be planted and that fact that we'll be out there boxing during this current January thaw, April-like weather that the East is now experiencing.

Realizing that winter is probably not too far away; we'll enjoy the days of respite that we have while we have them. We hope you, as well, get out there and enjoy the weather and do some Tupperware hunting!

A Letterboxing Tempest!

Looks like we struck a nerve with our "A Disturbing Statistic" post (see below.) Our inbox has been jammed with support from boxers around the country and we appreciate it. But, we also realize that those that don't agree with us aren't as apt to email us directly.

But, Chuck (of Chuck & Amy) made reference to our post on Atlas Quest and the thread about my post (Posts entitled "Disturbing Statistics) continued for a few hours at near record pace. While there were some that agreed with us; others didn't and some that didn't quite understand our point. Regardless, things stayed pretty civil and if nothing else, we hope we've created an awareness that traditional letterboxing is done outside.

Someone called the other activities - virtuals, boxing buddies, postal boxing - the "gravy" in letterboxing. That's a pretty good analogy. To take it a step further, would you have a meal where the side dishes were larger or more important than the entree? While the gravy or sides might complement the meal, the main meal is the entree. Some people don't like sides or gravy - just meat. That's all we were saying.

My purpose was to shake things up and I hope we accomplished that. My post was done in the spirit of a parent (both of the Dartmoor groups have nicknamed me "The Daddy") who every now and then needs lecture their child to reinforce a life (letterboxing, in this case) lesson.

Consider yourselves lectured!

Love Dad

A Disturbing Statistic

I will preface this post with the caveat that some of you will be upset with what I say here but it's something we feel must be said.

In looking at Atlas Quest's new statistics page, a glaring and very disturbing pie chart jumped out at me! Look at the "Found" pie chart. It shows that almost half of the boxes being logged into boxers' logbooks as being found are Virtual letterboxes. And the remaining quantity to equal exactly half is made up of Postal boxes.

Now we've always maintained the different strokes for different folks mentality when it came to boxes other than traditional but half of all boxes found are completed by never leaving your home! Does this seem right? Not in our opinion!

Sure, some people are infirmed and others are stuck inside but half? This is a very upsetting statistic and one that we hope will change as letterboxing should involve the outdoors! As someone who looks back frequently at what our letterboxing pioneers intended for this game, it's amazing that only half of the logged finds are done by people actually getting dressed and venturing outside. Unbelieveable. Do you realize that letterboxing began as an activity to walk and commune with nature and spend time outside with your family? It's whole purpose was to get children and adults out in the fresh air and discover new places while make new memories. Out in the wild, in the fresh air - not in front of your Dell in your bunny slippers!

Am I the only boxer upset with this?

Please - put on some clothes, pack a lunch, leave your homes and get the hell out there and box!!!

Anything short of that is just doing yourself and our beloved hobby a real injustice.

A New Addition to our Interview Series

The 11th installment of our Interview Series is now complete.

This interview is with Daniel Servatius, a name that may not be on the tip of every letterboxer's tongue but one of the early names that helped formulate this game that we all love. We hope that you all enjoy it!

To read our other 10 interviews, check out our Interview Series page.