When someone has a history of enrichment, bringing high standards or inspiring quality their is a name that should be treated with respect. In the past time of letterboxing there are names of letterboxes and their creations that are respected. Regionally we are going to recognize a few different people who have contributed to letterboxing in a way that their competence is respected. It is a rare individual who is recognized inter/nationally for their contributions. Although I do not feel that anyone should be held up as a god, I think that recognizing that their name, creations and clues deserve respect. I think that respect can be reflected in the way we treat their name, clues, imprinted stamp images, location of and their letterboxes.I admit to having done stupid thoughtless things in my life and I try to learn from them. An example is that I now I do my best to try to wait until after I have stamped into a letterbox before I pull out a snack. Even though a hike might have been exhausting, I know eating away from the box location will give it a better chance of being enjoyed by others. I try to respect the effort of each artist/creator/planter and when I fail, I try to learn for next time.
My disappointment has been generated by an incident I have become aware of where a special creation of a highly respected letterboxer was photographed at a child's birthday party. My imagination races with images of the dearly crafted logbook's entries (dating back over 6 years) being smudged with purple frosting from a Hannah Montanna birthday cake. The care taken in choosing the paper alone for the creation of the logbook does not deserve to be handled with greasy potato chip hands. I worry that whole box was passed around like a party favor, it's delicate stamp being mashed into logbooks as iced tea might be again spilled by an exurberant birthday celebrant. Obviously it was special enough to snap a photo of it and post it and mention it by name on the event page. My dismay is that it wasn't special enough to be respected and taken to a table that didn't have drinks on it. I question why a special letterbox with such a legacy and limited log space would be brought to any event. I had left it in a well crafted letterbox in the wild to reflect how I had found it and give it the special treatment it deserved.
My hope is that others will have a chance to enjoy this hitch hiker that I felt was very special. I hope that when it is released into the wilds again that no critters will smell any tantalizing food scents on it and try to eat it. I hope that after being at an event that the pages of the log book still have space for others to stamp in. Posting this photo at a child's birthday party does not reflect the respect any Legerdemaine box deserves if you ask me.
Since a picture is worth 1000 words, I will add the other ~450 (or however many it takes me) to your blog entry just to add some clarification since I am the one who currently has the hitchhiker in question.
ReplyDeleteYes, there was a Legerdemaine hitchhiker at the event. Yes, it wasn’t hidden away as a secret special thing that only those who are “worthy” can see. Yes, someone took a picture with me holding it. But like I said, one picture doesn’t tell you everything.
When talking generally about letterboxing at the event, one of the attendees was excited to share that they actually had a hitchhiker with them that was created by someone "famous". Apparently it had been in a hitchhiker hostel somewhere for a while and they had rescued it a few months ago but had been unable to move it along. They wanted to get it back out in the wild so I took them up on their offer.
I treated this box with the same respect I would any other box. Those sitting at my table had been done eating for 30-40 minutes. Before opening anything, my hands had been washed since I don’t want grease on my own stamp and logbook, nevermind anyone elses. The cake was still in the box on a different table and remained uncut for probably the next hour. The only thing on my fingers was ink, not purple icing or potato chip grease (or pizza actually, no chips). All plates and silverware had been cleared and I believe the glasses were all empty other than some leftover ice but don't really know other than my own, which had no ice at all. There was no food on the table, only logbooks and stamps. The hitchhiker logbook was not passed around and other than when taking the stamp out and snapping the picture, it remained inside the baggie and well out of the way of all the other stamps on the table. Plus since it was not passed around no one stamped into it either, meaning there are just as many pages remaining as when the day started. However, I will concede some people did ink up the stamp for their logbooks, which has been "standard procedure" for as long as I have been boxing when it comes to hitchhikers, no matter whose name is on it.
All I am trying to say is while I appreciate your comments and concerns, the actual situation may not represent the impression you got from looking at a few random pictures. Besides, I don’t see it as disrespect; I see it as allowing those who don’t have the privilege of finding his boxes or seeing his carvings to at least catch a glimpse and wouldn’t take it upon myself to deprive them of that.