Sometimes I want to go back
Back to the beginning when it was new and new to me.
Way way back, before, when a new cache brought excitement
   and anticipation
Do you remember?
I remember
Back when it was all just harmony and lyrics
Before it became rock and roll and big business
Before the background noise masked the laughter
Geocachers had interesting places to hide their treasures
   and we marveled at the views
When one cache in a day was sufficient, and three was exhausting
Previous to that film canister secreted in the rubble of a shattered building
Before an unexceptional tree on an equally nondescript half-acre lot
   was the objective
Once upon a time, when 100 finds made you remarkable
   and 500 made you a fanatic
In those days when there was more community and less schism

Remember:
You discovered a park right there in your town
The stunning vista atop a mountain you had little reason to ever climb before
Sitting in the cool damp forest in front of an unopened cache box, enthralled
Slogging down the beach, the cold wind enraged,
   and icy rain on the back of your neck
Sunshine on your face as you reemerged from the park’s tree line
Another hard earned notch in your belt
Did you wear a knowing grin while others wondered what you were doing?
Those days, you know?
When common sense was the primary guidance
When I didn’t have to second-guess
Or be second-guessed
When fun wasn’t complicated
When we were equals to our children in the passion of our sense of wonder

Are those days gone, is it all rock and roll now?
Has the hobby become the bottom line?
And does the bottom line need protecting at any cost?
Is mirth still part of the hunt, or is there no time for such frivolities?
The quantity fanatics cry for easier and easier ways
   to call themselves geocachers
“Change it”
“No, no, this way is better”
“Make it safe, proper, and uniform”
The plants have more rights to the trails than you or me, in the eyes of some
Agonize over the choice of container, swag, and placement
Don’t do this because someone might do that
Let blunt reaction replace common sense
Someone is eating all the nuts and chips, telling us to be happy
   with just the vanilla
The jagged edge is smoother now, less dangerous, and less adventurous

I remember
Geocaching will change but the geocacher will not
A game is a game and a game is to be played
I’ll hunt the easies on my lunch hour, and the toughies on the weekends
I’ll find some appeal in all caches regardless of the rating
Even if the hider was unaware of any such charm
I remember, you see?
I know what it was
I will not forget that a game that isn’t fun today shouldn’t be played
   until tomorrow
And never by those who cannot allow themselves merriment
They will not change me
I will flirt with the sharp edge of the tenet with awareness
   and acceptance of the risk
I will place adventure above anodyne and diversity over mediocrity
I will remember that the death of my sense of wonder
   will mark the day I become “old”