kophykupp

I've been working with vulnerable children and families for 20+ years, and I know first-hand that those in my field sometimes develop a skewed sense of the world. We know bad things sometimes happen and because we see a lot of bad things, we can begin to believe they are inevitable. Then we try to protect - against possible danger everywhere. That's just what we do. I was impressed with the well written responses - I'm seldom tactful so I admire that in others. Geocaching reviewers have never crossed my mind when considering the issue of child luring. I have little actual knowledge about what they do - I assume they get the submitted cache info, plug it into Google Earth, check proximity to other caches; make sure general guidelines are being followed, and respond to cache complaints and such. They don't work on the business side and I am comfortable they don't have a clue who I am. Except for my reviewers, who probably remember me from events as that mouthy bitchy woman who has an opinion on everything. When my work induced paranoia does hit, I point the finger at Average Joe Geocacher. The psycho with the fake account who lurks at events, and maybe one day leaves a little surprise in a new cache to watch the FTF go bang. Now that's a creepy thought. Our reviewers are from a different geographical area - Average Joe could be anywhere, but odds are he lives closer, and he might know what I look like. I might have rubbed him the wrong way in the forums. That is very possible. You have to especially beware of the quiet ones. "He seemed like such a nice man. He was quiet, and pretty much kept to himself" We are part of a cyber community, and we open ourselves to the world. Protecting ourselves is our responsibility, but keep it practical. Every community is a random sampling of the general population. Some people aren't good people. That doesn't mean we request child welfare or criminal checks from our neighbours, unless we're wanting them to babysit. Even then, we're usually pacified by character references, and reviewers do seem to be screened in that way. Average Joe is not. I applaud the parents who keep an eye on what their kids are doing - they are doing the best job of child protection. Meanwhile, I'll book a counselling appt with my employee assistance provider - I haven't gone for a FTF in over a year!! Peace

Wow just got the notification. Not sure how I feel yet. Happy for the finder and yet Oh so blue. I haven't been around the forums lately so had to read through the last 2 pages of nonsense to get caught up. So much drama, I wanted to laugh but mostly I just felt irritated. I'm always amazed at what gets some people's panties in a twist. Anyway, this cache will always be on my list. Sorry the Obama pin has been traded out, that was a panty twister all on its own - I wish I had it. And VP, after your email, this was the conversation I considered having with my boyfriend: "Honey, I'm going to take some time off to meet a guy who I've never met in Cancun. Take a bus to Belize and charter a boat to some island so I can find a cache ok? You don't mind do you? Can I have the credit card?" hehe...still makes me laugh. Lets start with an Alberta cache ok? I'll meet ya in Red Deer WTG Sailor on a memorable cache experience that transcends finders.

Sexually Transmitted Infection (used to be called STD)

I don't usually write much in the physical log, name, date, time if it's a FTF. Maybe a sentence or two, a note on the weather. But I'll type my fingers off in the online log. That's what I want on my caches, to share your experience good or bad. Did you enjoy it? Did anything interesting happen? My DNF logs are usually way more fun than my found logs, because there's usually a little bad luck or a brain fart involved.

I hope they weren't polyurethane - those are friggin' expensive! Seriously, why do people get so bent out of shape about condoms? Personally, I wouldn't trust one I took out of a cache, in case poking them with a pin first was somebody's idea of a joke. Perhaps if everyone was a little more comfortable with condoms, there would be a decrease in the number of unplanned pregnancies, not to mention STI's. So if you're caching with your kids and you find a condom - don't faint. If they're too young - tell them it's a handwipe or something. If they're old enough, use that opportunity to have a conversation.

Would that be a throw down cache? Maybe you could build a spud gun and launch a film can at the island from afar? At least then you'd have to actually search for something before claiming a smiley. True, that doesn't sound like the best way to do it and would take away from the validity of the FTF. Perhaps we should do as wavector suggested then and mail him one? Anyway, this cache is very far away, but very close to my heart, so I would love to see it continue on.

That ammo can is amazing!! Very cool. Biggest cache I've found was a 4 man tent. One of the trade items was a 3 man tent. I only had a $10 gas certificate on me so I had to leave it there. I really wanted to take the giant pencil but it was part of the cache

You can count me in for a donation too...Although it would absolutely kill me if Viajero got the FTF on this one. I'm still hurting from his FTF on Yam Boulders But I suppose I could take some solace in having it go to a neighbor. I suppose. Maybe. Yeah I'm in. A cache like that - I would be happy to log it no matter where I was in the log book. So....I'm not sure of the etiquette around this, but could you just take a replacement cache with you? All we would really need for verification is some stunning photos of the area, and one of you and Richardo with the cache!

So many great ideas! FTF prizes are so nice, I love getting them and I love giving them. I think what I look forward to most in many of our area caches are finder's cards. They're a very nice touch and quite inexpensive to print and laminate. I usually do a sheet of 10 with a special card for the FTF and one each for the next 9 finders. These are my favorite things to collect. As FTF prizes I have received a $25 gift card, $20 cash, $10 cash, coffee cards and certificates, a very nice First Aid kit, and several unactivated geocoins, one dollar coins, two dollar coins. Each FTF "gift" was a thrill no matter what the size. I have never hidden a traditional cache. When I do, I will probably include a coffee card for the FTF. All of my caches are puzzles and a couple are quite complicated. I really wanted to reward the first finders on these caches, so the FTF prizes I've included are unactivated coins, gas certificate, and a pair of miniature binoculars worth about $30. If it was a traditional that just came down to a race, I wouldn't be that generous.

I really hope a bunch of different people won't decide to call Richardo. If you decide to contact him in this manner, I hope you will agree on a representative. I would personally prefer to leave things as is, with HaZzMaTt (and the rest of us who understand the value of dreams), continuing to dream about the day when we may be able to go and see this place for ourselves.

I'd like to hear the reasons people have for wanting it archived. I haven't seen any on the cache page. I've been watching this cache since I started geocaching and when I win my 43 million tomorrow night, it's tops on my To Do List.