Grateful Letterbox: Singing for The Merry Pranksters

*** NOVEMBER 23, 2010: 4 boxes are missing, so this series is temporarily unavailable; I'm in the process of recarving & will re-launch when ready***

This box is dedicated to our good friends, The Merry Pranksters, who we met through letterboxing. If you would like to join our LB group called The Grateful Letterboxers, check it out (everyone welcome!): Grateful Letterboxers

***Be sure to print out the map we made of the trails and the route you will take for this hike*** Singing for Pranksters MAP
***Be sure to print out, but keep hidden unless needed, the "cheat sheet" for these clues*** Singing for Pranksters CHEAT SHEET

***Bring your own markers, there is no ink provided. The only logbook is in Box 6, the other boxes are small or micro***

I’m gonna sing you a hundred verses in ragtime,
I know this song it ain’t never gonna end.
I’m gonna march you up and down along the county line,
Take you to the leader of a band.

Box #1: (Are you) On the bus
Box #2: Steal your face
Box #3: Ain’t no time to hate **3/22/09: missing**
Box #4: Sunshine, daydreams
Box #5: The leader of the band **3/22/09: missing**
Box #6: The Music Never Stopped (**This is the only box with a logbook***)
Box #7: Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile (Leap from ledges)

Location: Chauncy Lake and Mass Wildlife property
Hike length: approximately 4.5 miles
Terrain: easy to moderate
Time to complete: It took me about 2 hours to walk it at a leisurely adult pace, but you’ll need to add lots of stamp-in time (7 stamps) and clue deciphering. Count on at least 3 hours. Also, we encourage you to plan to spend extra time here to enjoy yourselves.

PLEASE be prepared for: hunters (except on Sundays), thorns/prickers, ticks, mosquitoes, poison ivy, mud, and something a bit eerie.

NOTE: It took The Merry Pranksters longer due to circumstances both
in and out of their control!

To enhance the intrigue, take a flashlight along (yes, even in daylight). The enhance your enjoyment of the property, bring seasonal things like: bathing suit/towel/small-craft boat OR ice skates/snow shoes/cross-country skis. You get the idea.

Although not absolutely essential, we encourage you to download and print the map that Daddy Zess put together of this property. The route you will take is highlighted on the map, and may be useful since the clues are somewhat cryptic.

We are using the following symbols to aid in clue deciphering:

→ This symbol before a line of text means that you are at a trail intersection, and the clue is telling you which way to go

**this symbol before a line of text means that it is highlighting a feature you will see along the trail, so you can have confirmation you are going the correct way. See it, and continue on.

!! This symbol before a line of text means that you are in the immediate vicinity of the box, and you should have your LB-spotting eyes on.


DIRECTIONS FROM 495
495 to Route 9 West
At corner with Burger King & Blockbuster & gas stations, turn RIGHT onto Lyman Road.
Take first left, at the lake, onto Chauncy Street
Pass the lake.
Stop at stop sign.
Stay to RIGHT.
Pass white fence (comes up very quickly)
Turn right just after this, onto drive with yellow posts.

Start at Wildlife Management kiosk, which is just past the gate on the paved road. IMPORTANT NOTE: As of 5/4/08, the "kiosk" is no longer there, although the post that held up the sign is still present--start there.

1. (Are You) On the Bus

“The bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began”
!! When PUSH Comes To Shove
!! That same night, Be on YOUR WAY
!! Trouble BEHIND
!! Operator said that's privileged INFORMATION
!! I had a run-in, run around and run down, run around a corner, RUN SMACK INTO A TREE
!! FROM THE NORTHWEST CORNER, of a brand-new crescent moon”
!! LOOK at Julie down below…way DOWN in the SOUTH of France
!!! There's a HOLE in the sky where the light pours in

2. Steal Your Face

→I can tell by the way you smile he's rolling BACK.
→It's not because you missed out on the thing we had TO START.

→Great NORTH special, were you ON board?
→There is a ROAD, no simple highway

→It was later than I thought, when I FIRST believed you.
→Perhaps, they’re better, LEFT unsung.

→Morning comes, she FOLLOWS THE PATH TO THE RIVER SHORE
→Come on Daddy, to an inside STRAIGHT.

→CRUISE THRU a stop SIGN
→ Flight OF the seabirds, scattered like LOST WORDS (**update 10/18/07--I'm told the words are no longer lost**)

** LONG IS THE ROAD WE MUST TRAVEL ON DOWN

** Never look AROUND THE BEND

** String barbed wire at your feet and do not let you PASS
** I met an OLD mistake
**from rocking of the BOAT
** If your fears should START to get inside you

→Mama, Mama many worlds I’ve come since I first LEFT home.

!! THIRTY two teeth in a jawbone
!! That path is for, your STEPS alone.

!! I had to move, really had to MOVE
!! And I knew without askin' she was INTO the blues
!! I can see golden FORESTs in the sun
!! You know the ONe thing we need is a LEFT-hand monkey wrench.

!! Wake up to FIND out that you are the eyes of the World
!! HISTORY’S page will be neatly carved in stone
!! Catch-colt draws a coffin CART
!! You're gonna want a bed to lay your head and a little symPATHy

!!Rising UP to paradise, I know I’m gonna shine.
!!got it from the TOP, it's nothing you can STOP

!!Julie catch a RABBIT by his hair.
!!Steal your FACE right off your head
!! Looked in the BOTTOM and what did I see?
!!Don't shake the TREE when the fruit ain't ripe

!!Scramble BACK TO cover.
!!And it's FACE to face and it's hand to hand

!! When the moon SPLIT s the southwest horizon
!!FIRE on the mountain.
!!Grass shack nailed to a pine WOOD floor
!!Couldn't find any better ones in the morning at THREE
!! Half-STEP Mississippi uptown toodeloo
!! Trouble AHEAD

3. Ain’t No Time To Hate

To lay me DOWN
HISTORY’S page will be neatly carved in stone
Catch-colt draws a coffin CART
You're gonna want a bed to lay your head and a little symPATHy


→ Standing on the moon with nothing LEFT to do
Hang it UP AND see what tomorrow brings
Creepy alligator coming all AROUND THE BEND

(If you wish, now is the time to explore with your flashlight, on the left, just for fun)

→HITS RIVER JUNCTION
→I ain’t often RIGHT but I’ve never been wrong

→ till things we've (never) seen will seem FAMILIAR
→SIGN the Mona Lisa, With a spraycan, call it art
→I knew RIGHT away she was not like other girls

** Hang it UP and see what tomorrow brings

→There’s nothing LEFT to do but count the years
→ Seasons round, creatures great and SMALL
→ I was TRAILed by twenty hounds

→You’d get RIGHT to work, if you had any sense

**Flowers to color in the fields around

!! Sweet blossom come on UNDER the willow
!! Goes to show you don't EVER know
!! Money GREEN, or proletarian gray
!! She's a neon-light diamond and she can live ON the street.
!! It may have one good ring LEFT, you can't tell
!! Catch a few winks down UNDER the bed
!! ROCK and roll wailing in the old caboose

4. Sunshine, Daydream

And if you go no one may FOLLOW, that PATH is for your steps alone
One long party from front TO END

→ If all you got to live for is what you LEFT behind

Never look AROUND THE BEND
LONG IS THE ROAD WE MUST TRAVEL ON DOWN
Singing black goes south and white comes NORTH

**No BIG hurry, what do you say?
**When the moon SPLITs the southwest horizon
**I been chippin' them ROCKs from dawn till doom
** I'm gonna beat it ON down the line
** LEFT my home in Norfolk Virginia
** I’d been there BEFORE, been there before
** Goin' where the WATER tastes like wine

→ I don't trust to nothing, but I know it come out RIGHT

** and all that could not sink or swim, was just LEFT there to float
** I dropped FOUR flights and cracked my spine
** Do everything that's in you, That you feel to be your PART
** Cerise was dressing as Pirouette in WHITE
** Don't shake the TREE when the fruit ain't ripe

!! Went BACK home with two black eyes
!! I went down TO the mountain, I was drinking some wine
!! The FRUIT of Abraham

!! BLUEs for Allah
!! She had RIBBONs, ribbons, ribbons
!! and know the truth will still lie SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN


5. The Leader of the Band

→ Sittin' plush with a royal flush, Aces BACK TO back

**No BIG hurry, what do you say?
**When the moon SPLITs the southwest horizon
**I been chippin' them ROCKs from dawn till doom
**Y'know the pay was PATHetic, It's a shame those boys couldn't be more copasetic

→ Who'll GO RIGHT through the book and break each and every law


→ Hey hey, hey, come RIGHT away, come and join the party every day.
→ One good ride from start to end I'd like to take that ride AGAIN
→ If I had the world TO give, I'd give it to you, long as you live
→ Wildflower seed on the SAND and stone, may the four winds blow you safely home
→ Well in sPITe of all you gained You still have to stand out in the pouring rain

** You can look around about the wide world OVER, you'll never find another honest man
** Great North Special, were you on BOARD? You can't find a ride like that no more.
** Clank your chains and count your change, try to WALK the line

→ Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it RIGHT

→Check my pulse, it don't change, STAY seventy two, come shine or rain
→ Law come to get you if you don't walk RIGHT
(**We will leave this place an empty STONE
(**There's a HOLE in the sky where the light pours in
(**'Cause it's all too clear we're ON our own
(**No one LEFT to place or take the blame )

→ Second ONE is prison, baby, the sheriff's on my trail
→ I'm gonna to sing you a HUNDRED verses in ragtime,
→ I ran into the Devil, babe, He loaned me TWENTY bills
→ twenty DEGREE of solitude
→ (I see all of SOUTHEAST Asia)

** Catch a few winks down UNDER the bed
** Bird on a PHONE LINE, soakin' up sun

→ Wish I was a headlight, on a NORTH bound train
→ The deltas and the EAST and the freeze
→ (Little bit quicker and we might have time to say 'how do you do?" before we're LEFT behind)

→ It's all RIGHT, 'cause I love you, and that's not gonna change
→ Can't get AROUND and I can't run away, I need a miracle every day
→ A breeze in the PINES in the summer night moonlight

→ Look into any eyes you find by you, you can see clear through to ANOTHER day
→ Give me the RIGHT area code

→ Ran INTO a rainstorm, I ducked back into a bar door
→ TUMBLE DOWN SHACK in Bigfoot County

!! When the moon splits the SOUTHWEST horizon
!! On, from the northwest CORNER, of a brand new crescent moon,
!! UNDER eternity
!! There's a METAL flag beside me someone planted long ago

5. The Music Never Stopped

KEEP ON ROLLING, my old buddy
Before you let my deal go DOWN
There's a lesson or two I've learned, by standing in the ROAD alone

→ Wherever we go, I'll be RIGHT here near you
→ When life looks like Easy Street, there is danger AT your door
→ Sing a lullaby beside the WATER

**Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is PASSING BY
**“STEAL YOUR FACE”
**Contact the union, put the beggars to ROUTE

Casey Jones you better WATCH your speed
You're back in Terrapin FOR good or ill again
RISING up to paradise, I know I'm gonna shine
The grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, either side of the HILL.
And when that train rolls in you don't know WHERE it's been
A lovely VIEW OF heaven but I'd rather be with you
Just a box of rain, wind and WATER
But NOW it beats down on the asphalt land
The obvious was HIDDEN

(** till things we've (never) seen will seem FAMILIAR
(**SIGN the Mona Lisa, With a spraycan, call it art
(**Well please don't be surprised when you find me dreaming TOO
(**It's a FAR gone lullaby, sung many years ago)

You must be the angel I thought I'd never FIND.
Since I'm, passing YOUR WAY today
Right now while the sun shines ON THE CREST OF THE HILL
Ain't no time TO hate,
There ain't no POINT in looking behind us, no
MOST of the cats you meet on the street speak of True Love
To be with you with our bodies CLOSE together
Barely time TO wait
WATER bright as the sky from which it came

What we will be doing, and what we're gonna FIND
Put it all on PLASTIC and I wonder where we'll be when the bills hit.
Come grow this scorched GROUND green,
Every time that wheel turn round bound to COVER just a little more ground

Crown yourself the king of clowns, or STAND way back apart
Make myself a bed BY the waterside
No BIG hurry, what do you say? Might as well travel the elegant way
Some folks up in TREEtops, Just look to see the sights
I'll meet you AT the jubilee
Three piece band on the CORNER played 'nearer my God to thee'

Full of hope, full of grace, is the human FACE
Great NORTH Special been on my mind

→ Nothing's for certain it could always GO wrong
→ Kid can't read at SEVENTEEN, The words he knows are all obscene
→ Lose your STEP, fall out of grace

! Ah, child of countless TREEs.
! The course of love must follow blind, WITHOUT a look behind
! Just ONE thing and I'll be OK, I need a miracle every day
! Would you let it fall, or hold it in your ARMs?

Like a tiger IN a trance,
Wave that flag, wave it wide and HIGH
HOLEs in what's left of my reason,

7. Nothing left to do but SMILE, SMILE, SMILE (Leap from Ledges)

In hopes he will RETURN, but he cannot be bought or sold
Way down, down along Lazy River ROAD
If you don't just PASS it on.
SIGN the Mona Lisa With a spraycan, call it art

It LEFT a smoking crater of my mind,
Built to last while years roll PAST like cloudscapes in the sky
Asked him for WATER he poured me some wine

Or FENCE you in the lines I might have drawn
Been chippin' UP rocks for the great highway
Spent a little time on the mountain, Spent a little time on the HILL

The WALL collapsed on Wednesday
Chop it down and you can't STOP me
Back home, SIT down and patch my bones,
It was later than I thought when I FIRST believed you,
Let him cast a STONE at me
Steal your FACE right off your head
Ripple in still WATER, When there is no pebble tossed,
Never could REACH, It just slips away but I try
Is it All Go UNDER? Is it All Fall Down?
It's even worse than it appears but it's all RIGHT
I set out running but I TAKE my time
Listen to the river sing sweet songs to ROCK my soul
Nothin' left to do but SMILE, SMILE, SMILE!!!!

The end game

The boxes are all found (hopefully) so you will travel along the path as it meets up again with the road.
Stay straight, but stay alert. At a clearing to the left, where your view of the water is opened, you will find the enticement that calls to a certain kind of person. Is this your game? Do you dare to leap where the angels fear to tread? OOPS, THE ENTICEMENT HAS BEEN CUT DOWN! :0(
After playing, or not playing, continue on the road (or lower path). If on the road, don’t miss the path down to the left at 150 degrees (southeast) that will take you to the parking lot.

Lake Chauncy Map for Grateful Letterbox: Singing for The Merry Pranksters

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Duck Duck (...it had to be done)

**** Take along your own ink...there is none in the box. Blue, yellow, brown, & black****
***Please be sure all four flaps of the box are secure, and there is nothing blocking the seal***

Duck Town Park

There is a lot of great letterboxing to be done in the Outer Banks of North Carolina; we only wish we had enough time to search for more boxes! But, during our second visit to Duck, we decided that a Duck Duck just had to be done, so we did it. This is a quick drive-by.

At the time we first visited, this park was under construction. A brand new piece of playground equipment had been put up, where our children enjoyed playing during our final morning in Duck. A lot has been added to the park since our first visit, but construction is ongoing. This is a fabulous addition to the town of Duck!

The letterbox is in the Duck Town Park, at the location of the playground, which is on Rt. 12. just north of the Osprey Landing shops. It is the gravel entrance, and you can see the playground from the road.

Drive into the park, past the playground, toward the Sound. Notice on your left, behind the small fence bordering the parking area, a small incline. There is an unmistakable tree there that has a large branch that has grown up, then down into the ground, and then back out again, creating an arch. Behind the arch, at it's base and under brush, is the box. Please be sure to re-cover w/lots & lots of brush, to be sure the box is not visible.

Please be discreet—this is a busy area. Since we are out-of-towners, we’d appreciate any help with updates and maintenance of this box…until we return for another visit.

If you would like to join a group of Grateful Letterboxers, click here.

Enjoy the day!

~zess~

Singing for The Merry Pranksters

Children’s Memorial Letterbox

***Bring your own markers or inkpad, there is no ink provided in the box***

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Distance: A minimum of 2.3 miles, you may choose a longer hike
Terrain: Moderate at times (hilly)
Time: You can probably complete the whole thing in about 1-1/2 hours, if you are hustling. I encourage you to plan for 2-3 hours, however, so you can enjoy the location of your hike.

The “Children’s Memorial” letterbox was inspired by the loss of four children who should be in my life. My first baby, Haylee Theresa, was stillborn in 1999. My best friend lost her first baby, Beck Postel, in December 2006, three days after he was prematurely born. Another friend lost Daniel a few years ago, and still another friend lost Gus (June, 2007). The helplessness and despair you feel in the midst of such tragedies is immeasurable. You want to DO something to soothe your soul a bit, and the souls of the others touched by this grief. Some soothing comes from sharing sorrow with others; there is comfort in that. Some soothing also comes from taking stock of life’s blessings. Although difficult to deal with, the sorrow we feel in the face of such a devastating loss is the reflection of something beautiful. Ironically, that which provides us with our greatest joy, which inspires and elevates us to become better than we otherwise would be, is also the source of our greatest sorrow. The greater the love, the greater the grief. We can be grateful that we have a love that can produce this kind of grief. How meaningless our lives would be without it.

This box is my way, right now, to soothe my soul a bit by memorializing my lost babies and all children who have died. It’s also a celebration of our capacity to love, in all its exhilaration and recklessness. I’ve chosen a location for the letterbox that should be conducive to a relaxed and unhurried opportunity for reflection.

The idea to plant a box like this came from Spastic Reader’s “Father of the Bride Letterbox” in Framingham, MA. It’s a lovely tribute to her father, and how amazing that so many people who never knew him in life, stop by now to say hello. Say hi to Haylee & Beck & Daniel & Gus for me, will you?

CLUES

This is a two-part letterbox. Part 1 is a drive-by; Part 2 is a hike. For Part 1, you need to visit the “Children’s Memorial” in Northborough, MA. Here you will find out where your “starting point” is for Part 2, which is also in Northborough. Part 2 is about a 10 minute drive from Part 1, and the “starting point” is NOT the trailhead.

There are two options in Part 1 to get the needed information. Option 1: Decrypt words from the inscription on the memorial (see below). This option is helpful if you cannot find the LB in Option 2, if the muggles are swarming, or if there are no maps left in the box. Option 2: Find the LB in the woods behind the memorial; there are maps in there that will reveal the starting point. The trailhead kiosk has a map, and there is almost always a pile of maps there to take along (it is regularly re-stocked). Maps for all Northborough trails can also be downloaded from the website: Northborough Trails Committee

Part 1: Children’s Memorial

The Children’s Memorial is in Assabet Park, which is at the corner of Gale Street and South Street (Rt. 135) in Northborough. From Rt. 20 (coming from either direction), turn East onto Rt. 135 (it’s actually your only option). A block down the road on Rt. 135 you will see a playground on the right. Turn into the road just before this playground (Gale Street), then turn left to get up to the parking lot. The lot is divided into two sections, lower & upper. Park in the upper lot, and start walking toward the playground. You will NOT be walking down the hill. Rather, step over the little fence lining the grass, and the monument is in the corner here at the top of the grassy hill.

NOTE: This is a nice playground for kids aged 3-6.

Option 1: Decryption

For each letter you take off the memorial, you will use an associated math statement to determine the “true” letter. The math statement tells you how far forward or backward in the alphabet you need to go to arrive at the target letter e.g., (A+1 = B); (A+4 = E); (L–2 = J); (T–5 = O).

For example:
Inscription = “a-p-p-l-e”
Math = (+5) (+2) (+5) (-3) (+15)
Solution = “f-r-u-i-t” (a+5=f; p+2=r; p+5=u; l-3=I; e+15=t)

The top of the plaque says, “Children’s Memorial.” Below these words you’ll find a short inscription, printed out in four lines. Write down the first four (4) words on the third (3rd) line. (So you can confirm that you have the correct words, the surrounding text is “...they and…”). Use the following math statements to reveal the starting point for Part 2.

(+4) (+0) (-3) (+2) (-8) (-6) (+4) (-6) (+3) (+12) (+3) (+21) (-9) (-15) (+4)

If you know the place, you can go right there and start the hunt. If you do not know the place, look for the LB described in Option 2, where you can find a map. Or, visit the Northborough Trails Committee website.

Option 2: Hidden Maps

This can be a very busy park, so if you are going to find the letterbox, please be very discreet—it is only about 10-15 feet off the parking lot in the woods.

Stand facing the Children’s Memorial so you can read the inscription. As you look straight over the memorial and into the woods, you will see a tall, thin evergreen tree close to the edge of the parking lot. Just beyond this tree is another evergreen—this one much mightier, with four arms heading upward from its large trunk. The back of this mighty tree is hollow. The letterbox (a water bottle wrapped in camo tape) is hidden in the hollow—reach back and to the left. In the bottle is one copy of the map that is laminated. PLEASE do not take this one! This should always stay in the box, in case the paper versions are depleted & I haven’t re-stocked. If a paper map is there, feel free to take it with you. PLEASE let me know if there are only a couple of paper maps left, so I can restock.

Part 2: The Letterbox

When you reach your destination, there is a place where you will want to pause, you’ll know it when you see it. When you’ve finished your pause, turn around and take the first trail to your right (north). At Y intersection, stay to the LEFT. As you start a noticeable incline, you’ll see a VERY large boulder off in the woods on your left. Next you’ll come to a 4-way intersection, and you need to go to the RIGHT. As you walk along, you’ll see two “speed bumps” in the path (parallel roots 2-3 feet apart). Continue on and the trail will cross exposed bedrock (flat) that spreads approximately 8 feet. Further along on the trail you’ll see a notable boulder abutting the trail on the left. Further along still, you’ll see a similar (larger) notable boulder abutting the trail on the right. As you pass this second boulder, stop at the first trail blaze you see.

Look carefully for muggles in both directions of the trail, so nobody sees you heading down to the letterbox site. Also, if there is snow on the ground, please take the time to create distracting footsteps when you finish, to avoid having your steps lead anyone directly to the box.

Go approximately 14 steps at 150 degrees and look down. You’ll see a perfect “bench” on which to stamp in. The “bench” is roughly 20 feet long and 2 feet wide. Go down and stand on the “bench.” Walk to the south end of the “bench” and as you go allow your gaze to look ahead (south) approximately 25 feet or so from the south end of the “bench” (please don’t fall off!) You will see another thing very much like your “bench,” except it wouldn’t be remotely as comfortable to sit upon. Please be very careful as you hop down and approach this new target, because it is quite slippery here with leaves, and probably even more so if wet or snowy.

Approximately half way along the length of your new target is a small tree on the right, with a few rocks sitting between the target and the tree. (These rocks can be used to improve the hide, if need be, and may not be there if they have been used for this purpose by others before you visit.) At the far (south) end of this “pseudo-bench,” on the left (downhill) side, the box rests on the ground below a small ledge & behind some loose rocks.

Return to the comfy “bench” to stamp in. It would require someone to leave the trail and come stand over you to see what you are doing here on this “bench,” so please take your time and enjoy your visit.

In addition to the usual stamp and logbook, we have included a zippered pouch in which we have put some marbles. THIS IS NOT A GEOCACHE. The marbles are meant to be symbolic. If you have someone to memorialize, please feel free to add something small to the pouch (marble, button, bead, stone, etc., but please do not leave food or scented items). If your grief is still burning, please feel free to take something from the pouch (you do NOT need to leave something in its place) to carry with you, so you know that you are not alone, and to remember the beauty and grace of a life filled with love.

When you return the letterbox, please use the utmost care to not be seen, and to hide it well. As you can imagine, this box is very meaningful to us, and it would be unfortunate if it went missing.

If you'd like to join a group of Grateful Letterboxers, click here.

Enjoy the day!

~zess~

As with all of our letterboxes, we encourage feedback so that letterboxers will enjoy the hunts, and not get frustrated by poorly written clues or unintended hazards.

Letterboxing Massachusetts Hitchhiker

Stamp carved by The Merry Pranksters

This poor hitchhiker was "accidentally" left in Oregon. It would like to find it's way back to Massachusetts. Will you help it find it's way home???


http://groups.google.com/group/the-grateful-letterboxers?hl=en

Enjoy the day!

~zess~