From: Gary Dodge (dodge914@earthlink.net)
Date: Thu Oct 24 2002 - 16:57:40 CDT
First off, I'm one of those people that can't go to sleep at night without reading for awhile. Between bedtimes and airline flights, I usually consume two or three novels a week--usually borrowed from our great local library. Well, for Philmont, I had a little weight problem already (not me, just my pack!) so I only took one paperback novel along. I figured I'd meet someone somewhere who would also be ready to do a swap. About day three I started asking advisors and members of nearly every crew we came across if anybody wanted to trade books. Nobody I talked to seemed to have my addiction and be in need of a fiction fix. I started asking at every staffed camp...I figured that surely these folks would have a lot of time on their hands and would appreciate a change in the bookshelf contents.
No luck until about day 8 at Fish Camp. Turns out they had a few books but didn't really want to do a trade. I contributed the one I'd finished and, thankfully, Billy was willing to lend me a great book to complete the trek that I then intra-camp mailed back to him when we returned to base camp.
What I did when I got home, though, was to collect a whole box full of various mysteries, spy and warfare novels (purchased at various airports and hotels when the stock from my local library ran out early on a trip) and mailed them back to Billy c/o Fish Camp. Now, I unfortunately won't likely be back to Philmont for a couple of years, but I really think it would be great to establish a "leave one, take one" library at many of the staffed camps to provide some reading material for both staff and "vistors" from the trail. The equivalent of the food exchange boxes, but more like food for the imagination!
Would you be willing to start collecting used paperbacks (of appropriate content!) during the winter and consider mailing a box early next June to the staff at your favorite staffed camp? By sending it USPS book rate, I think the whole box cost me about $3 to mail. Even if you don't buy many paperbacks, most libraries host a book sale or two a year to raise funds from excess stock of donated books. Here, the paperbacks usually go for about $.25 or $.50. Perhaps a flier at a couple of Roundtables would net a box full from your district scouters...
Give it some thought and a tiny bit of effort over the winter. Help out the staffers and the trekkers who have a reading jones!
Gary Dodge
Old and feeble, but still a Fox!
-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Thu Mar 13 2003 - 10:38:43 CST