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I noticed too late that I was being watched.


CoinOnTheCob

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The last cache I found was in a park that is known to be a hobo camp. I looked around to see if I was being observed. With no one in sight, I pulled out and opened the ammo box. As I got it open I became aware of someone watching me from the trees. There was a bum camping there and watching what my daughter and I were doing.

 

I explained that the can was part of a game people play with GPS receivers and there wasn’t anything of value in the ammo can. I feel bad for putting a greatly hidden cache in danger of being muggled but there was nothing I could do. The damage was already done. Short of murdering the bum, what would you have done?

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In my opinion you have done enough already if the owner knows about the situation. If the cache owner knows about the homeless in immediate area and still chooses to keep the cache there then that is his problem and not yours. Personally I would question why one would put a cache close to such population to begin with.

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Possiably have carried the cache out with me and returned later to put it back (unobserved hopefully).

 

If I really felt that the cache would be in danger I would probably do this as well. If I couldn't get back I would try to get the cache back to the owner.

 

I know this happened with one of my caches and the finder kept the cache and mailed it back to me. I was grateful that he did so. I replaced it a few days later and all was well.

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Short of murdering the bum, what would you have done?

 

You have already mentioned that this was a homeless person, so why the last statement? I certainly hope it was meant in jest. Just because a person has reached the last resort, and is living out of a cardboard box, it does not make him/her a thief.

 

Granted, some are there of their own free will and would steal your dead Gramma's gold teeth, but a blanket statement seems unwarranted.

JMHO.

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You also might want to stop using the term "bum" which is very derogatory.

I have to agree. Bum is a very derogatory term, and people who have less than you or me aren't necessarily bad, evil, or bums. I haven't been as down and out as that, but I've been pretty low in my life, but I picked myself back up, dusted myself off, and currently have it pretty good.

Edited by hopmedic
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I’m amazed at some of the responses. The thought that someone would take an opposing moral stand with some of my terminology never occurred to me.

 

Murdering the bum was a joke and I’m aware that “bum” is a derogatory statement. When I wrote it, I felt reasonable certain that my comments would be read by very few bums.

 

I live in Roseville California which is a big railroad hub. I think we have a bigger-than-average homeless population. Many of these people are constant trouble. Many will steal anything if they think they can sell it.

 

My purpose of this thread wasn’t to explore possible solutions to homelessness, but to inquire of more experienced geocachers what would’ve been wise course of action when you know the safety of a cache has been compromised.

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I agree with the other posters. It's new geocachers like you that make veteran cachers not want to 'officially' participate anymore.

 

(Hi CoTC! He's not really a bumophile everyone, though a doot bucket would be in proper order for his next cache.)

Edited by dthigpen
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I’m amazed at some of the responses. The thought that someone would take an opposing moral stand with some of my terminology never occurred to me.

 

Murdering the bum was a joke and I’m aware that “bum” is a derogatory statement. When I wrote it, I felt reasonable certain that my comments would be read by very few bums.

 

I live in Roseville California which is a big railroad hub. I think we have a bigger-than-average homeless population. Many of these people are constant trouble. Many will steal anything if they think they can sell it.

 

My purpose of this thread wasn’t to explore possible solutions to homelessness, but to inquire of more experienced geocachers what would’ve been wise course of action when you know the safety of a cache has been compromised.

 

Hi Coinonthecob, I personally found your reply hillarious, and I could CLEARLY SEE that you made your comments in jest!

 

Some people will take the "all righteous" line even when things are said in FUN, take no notice of them, these forums are not exempt from these kinds of people.

 

I saw in your post that you are involved in law enforcement, and unless you were bent, Im pretty certain that you wouldnt even consider bumping someone off because they saw you caching!

 

Contact the cache owner and tell them that you are concerned for their cache location, maybe they are not aware of the problem with the bums!

 

Happy Geocaching!

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I agree with the other posters. It's new geocachers like you that make veteran cachers not want to 'officially' participate anymore.

 

Get a grip - ive been caching for a couple of years..... the more ppl taking part, the merrier the games becomes. :D:D

 

I know this jolly old fellow from California, see the second part of my reply, the initial was in jest.

 

He's a good guy and will make a great addition to the geocaching community. Much unlike myself.

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... what would you have done?

 

It depends on the person I'm talking to. If I feel the cache is safe and secure and we have a new geocacher. I'd put it back and let the owner know of the conversation so they can decide what to do.

 

If I didn't have a warm fuzzy feeling about the person I'd take the cache with me and then email the owner, tell them the story and ask them how they would like to proceed.

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...Personally I would question why one would put a cache close to such population to begin with.

 

Homeless camps tend to be in those hidden undeveloped parts of town. Some would call these spots out of the eye of "The man" to be urban treasures. They do tend to be good locations for a cache, the issue of our "home challenged natives" not withstanding. You can add in that until you go caching and start seeing these locations you really have no idea how many there are and where they are all located. There are no neon signs announcing them..

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icon_lmao.gif

 

This is hilarious. I’ve known Mr. Thigpen for several years and I can honestly say that he is kidding. Thiggy helped get me to become interested in geocaching and it was his suggestion that prompted me to buy the Garmin GPSmap60CSx; a great little unit.

 

I can see that, if I have anymore questions, I’ll have to word them very … very carefully*. I’m a fun-loving, easy-going guy. I love geocaching because it’s fun and easy going.

 

 

*No bums were harmed in the making of this thread.

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You also might want to stop using the term "bum" which is very derogatory.

 

Merriam Webster defines bum as:

 

bum[4,noun]

1 a: one who sponges off others and avoids work b: one who performs a function poorly .................................

2: vagrant, tramp

— on the bum : with no settled residence or means of support

 

Doesn't seem derogatory to me at all. I think the description fits. Too bad the PC police have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. I have been called many things in my life and if I did not like it, I got over it. If I am a bum, then call me one.

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I’m amazed at some of the responses. The thought that someone would take an opposing moral stand with some of my terminology never occurred to me.

 

Murdering the bum was a joke and I’m aware that “bum” is a derogatory statement. When I wrote it, I felt reasonable certain that my comments would be read by very few bums.

 

 

Funnily enough as soon as I read your post my first response was to quote the 'apart from murdering the bum' bit and say something like, 'seems reasonable under the circumstances'. However I curbed my natural mischievous instincts.

 

However after reading the thread I will say that there is an objection to the use of the so called 'derogatory' word bum in describing the person, but it is not what has already been pointed out.

 

The objection is that there was no need to make any observation at all about the person who saw you find the cache, *anyone* seeing you finding/hiding the cache should be cause for concern.

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I’m amazed at some of the responses. The thought that someone would take an opposing moral stand with some of my terminology never occurred to me.

 

Murdering the bum was a joke and I’m aware that “bum” is a derogatory statement. When I wrote it, I felt reasonable certain that my comments would be read by very few bums.

 

 

Funnily enough as soon as I read your post my first response was to quote the 'apart from murdering the bum' bit and say something like, 'seems reasonable under the circumstances'. However I curbed my natural mischievous instincts.

 

However after reading the thread I will say that there is an objection to the use of the so called 'derogatory' word bum in describing the person, but it is not what has already been pointed out.

 

The objection is that there was no need to make any observation at all about the person who saw you find the cache, *anyone* seeing you finding/hiding the cache should be cause for concern.

 

I find it funny that there was objection to using the term bum but not to the thought of murder. Go figure.

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I find it funny that there was objection to using the term bum but not to the thought of murder. Go figure.

 

I personally find the term 'muggles' to be slightly offensive as if anyone who isn't a part of the secret society is somehow of deficient character. You have to admit for a bunch of people who like to muck around in the bush with our toys, we do come across as a pompous lot sometimes. <insert smiley face here>

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Let's see.. What would Larry the Cable Guy say.... probably something about uptight and tofu.... but wasn't the objection to the word bum, as well as other the posts relating to that post, totally off topic?

 

I agree that you did what you could to save a cache that we may well be better off without.

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As far as what you could do.. Nothing you could do. As far as calling a bum a bum. what the hell else would you call him. Is bum not a word anymore?? The cachers that were trying to make you feel bad need to take a good look at what there saying and realize its ludacris.. :ph34r: ..Sounds like its a Liberal problem they chould take to San Fransisco. :surprise:

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Thank you all for your responses. The responses that were not helpful were entertaining. I will go back to that cache tomorrow to check on it. If I happen to run into the same “urban camper”, I will give him some money so that he can buy a bottle of necessary provisions.

 

I have learned a valuable lesson. In another thread I was going to make a post berating Amish people. Now, because of this thread, I realize that would have been reckless behavior due to the fact that an Amish person could learn to use a computer, find my post and become offended during his Rumspringa.

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Thank you all for your responses. The responses that were not helpful were entertaining. I will go back to that cache tomorrow to check on it. If I happen to run into the same “urban camper”, I will give him some money so that he can buy a bottle of necessary provisions.

 

I have learned a valuable lesson. In another thread I was going to make a post berating Amish people. Now, because of this thread, I realize that would have been reckless behavior due to the fact that an Amish person could learn to use a computer, find my post and become offended during his Rumspringa.

 

rotflmao! Thanks for the entertainment and be sure to post again soon! :P

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I have learned a valuable lesson. In another thread I was going to make a post berating Amish people. Now, because of this thread, I realize that would have been reckless behavior due to the fact that an Amish person could learn to use a computer, find my post and become offended during his Rumspringa.

 

Aw jeeze, na yuv gon en insulted da amish yet tuh. Dis thred vill ne'er die. :P

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You also might want to stop using the term "bum" which is very derogatory.

 

Merriam Webster defines bum as:

 

bum[4,noun]

1 a: one who sponges off others and avoids work b: one who performs a function poorly .................................

2: vagrant, tramp

— on the bum : with no settled residence or means of support

 

Doesn't seem derogatory to me at all. I think the description fits. Too bad the PC police have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. I have been called many things in my life and if I did not like it, I got over it. If I am a bum, then call me one.

 

 

 

lol...this is great...someone says the word bum and all hell brakes loose..get a life guys!!! most ppl here are enjoying themselves and having fun in this great sport and pasttime..when ppl start taking it all too serious and reading into things that theres no need too..its time to get another hobby me thinks..my 2 penneth worth!!!...ps keep up the arguing its great entertainment for us non pc normal folks..lol

Edited by HATTSTER
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Thank you all for your responses. The responses that were not helpful were entertaining. I will go back to that cache tomorrow to check on it. If I happen to run into the same “urban camper”, I will give him some money so that he can buy a bottle of necessary provisions.

 

I have learned a valuable lesson. In another thread I was going to make a post berating Amish people. Now, because of this thread, I realize that would have been reckless behavior due to the fact that an Amish person could learn to use a computer, find my post and become offended during his Rumspringa.

 

 

lol..lol..rflmao...ure on my twisted level m8..keep it up :)

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As to the cache, you did what you could do. Poop happens.

 

As to the term "bum". Get real people, and forget the political correctness The person in question could be homeless, or his home could be wherever he lays his hat, which would again make the term bum proper. Not all bums are homeless, not all homeless are bums. But to worry about the proper term for fear of hurting their feelings is garbage.

 

I would call the family across the street from me "white trash". Derogatory? Sure. Truthful? Not just yes, but H@#$ YES! Do I care if it hurts their feelings? Not a chance. If they have a problem with it, they can fix the problem. They can fence their dogs in instead of allowing them to roam and breed freely. They could rent or buy a mower instead of allowing the yard to grow unchecked all year (hasn't been mowed yet since spring). One or more of them could GET A JOB, instead of relying strictly on a food bank and hand outs. They have no friends in the neighborhood since any who befriend them end up getting something stolen. TO REMEDY THE SITUATION IF TRUTHFUL TERMS HURT THEIR FEELINGS IS STRICTLY UP TO THEM. Those who want to change their situation and better themselves must first make the decision to do so. Hurting their feelings may prompt them to do so, politically correct terms only serve to put a coat of whitewash over a badly cracked wall. A spade is a shovel, not a "human powered earthmover"! Black is black, white is white, and political correctness is part of the problem, not the fix.

 

My rant, thank you for your patience.

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As to the cache, you did what you could do. Poop happens.

 

As to the term "bum". Get real people, and forget the political correctness The person in question could be homeless, or his home could be wherever he lays his hat, which would again make the term bum proper. Not all bums are homeless, not all homeless are bums. But to worry about the proper term for fear of hurting their feelings is garbage.

 

I would call the family across the street from me "white trash". Derogatory? Sure. Truthful? Not just yes, but H@#$ YES! Do I care if it hurts their feelings? Not a chance. If they have a problem with it, they can fix the problem. They can fence their dogs in instead of allowing them to roam and breed freely. They could rent or buy a mower instead of allowing the yard to grow unchecked all year (hasn't been mowed yet since spring). One or more of them could GET A JOB, instead of relying strictly on a food bank and hand outs. They have no friends in the neighborhood since any who befriend them end up getting something stolen. TO REMEDY THE SITUATION IF TRUTHFUL TERMS HURT THEIR FEELINGS IS STRICTLY UP TO THEM. Those who want to change their situation and better themselves must first make the decision to do so. Hurting their feelings may prompt them to do so, politically correct terms only serve to put a coat of whitewash over a badly cracked wall. A spade is a shovel, not a "human powered earthmover"! Black is black, white is white, and political correctness is part of the problem, not the fix.

 

My rant, thank you for your patience.

 

YEAH! What he said :P

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Thank you all for your responses. The responses that were not helpful were entertaining. I will go back to that cache tomorrow to check on it. If I happen to run into the same “urban camper”, I will give him some money so that he can buy a bottle of necessary provisions.

 

I have learned a valuable lesson. In another thread I was going to make a post berating Amish people. Now, because of this thread, I realize that would have been reckless behavior due to the fact that an Amish person could learn to use a computer, find my post and become offended during his Rumspringa.

 

Perhaps he was Amish. He had no car, cell phone or GPSr, after all. Besides all the "PC" comments, I think this thread has been both informative and entertaining. As a solution to your city's homeless problem, I suggest the city give each "bum" a gps unit and send them caching into another town where caches of booze, cigars and clean underwear are abundant. :P

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Wow, talk about a tempest in a teapot. Some people need to get a hobby they obviously have to much time on their hands. Having been in law enforcement myself I see nothing wrong with the original post, I just think there are people who are just looking for reasons to be outraged.

 

Most people forget that at one time our country had a whole culture of people who wandered about off the grid so to speak. We've read about Hobo's and Hobo jungles but what seems to have become lost is that there used to be a distinction between the variety of people living the alternative lifestyle in the 1930's. There were three categories, Bums, Tramps and Hobo's. Bums did not travel but worked odd jobs when they could find them of they begged, hence the "can I bum a ride" or "can I bum a buck off you" in common parlance. The tramps travelled but didn't work, they rode the rails and we have the verb to tramp to thank them for as in I'm gonna tramp up the street. The Hobo was the top tier, they were the ones who travelled and worked and wanted not hing more than to just be left alone by the train detectives and the right of way police. A little history is a nice things to have and these days altogether lost on most people. Think of the richness of the terms. The songs "Go Bum Again" or "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Bums, Tramps and Hobos are an integral part of our history, it is too bad that only a short while later people have forgotten quite an important piece of it. Lets get a grip!

 

That's my story and I stand behind it. Let the flames begin, I've got my PC proof suit on!

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Wow, talk about a tempest in a teapot. Some people need to get a hobby they obviously have to much time on their hands. Having been in law enforcement myself I see nothing wrong with the original post, I just think there are people who are just looking for reasons to be outraged.

 

Most people forget that at one time our country had a whole culture of people who wandered about off the grid so to speak. We've read about Hobo's and Hobo jungles but what seems to have become lost is that there used to be a distinction between the variety of people living the alternative lifestyle in the 1930's. There were three categories, Bums, Tramps and Hobo's. Bums did not travel but worked odd jobs when they could find them of they begged, hence the "can I bum a ride" or "can I bum a buck off you" in common parlance. The tramps travelled but didn't work, they rode the rails and we have the verb to tramp to thank them for as in I'm gonna tramp up the street. The Hobo was the top tier, they were the ones who travelled and worked and wanted not hing more than to just be left alone by the train detectives and the right of way police. A little history is a nice things to have and these days altogether lost on most people. Think of the richness of the terms. The songs "Go Bum Again" or "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Bums, Tramps and Hobos are an integral part of our history, it is too bad that only a short while later people have forgotten quite an important piece of it. Lets get a grip!

 

That's my story and I stand behind it. Let the flames begin, I've got my PC proof suit on!

 

Thanks warrior, well written and I learned something to boot.

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Yes!!! a very good post from Seasoned Warrior. :) So maybe this guy was a Tramp or a Hobo and not a Bum. Could such a rush to judgement have destroyed his ego to the point that he can never feel good about himself again? Can we ever forgive ourselves for the anguish we have caused. :)

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