To Favorite Or Not To Favorite?

Fate took me on a mission of mercy/friendship/obligation to scenic Caldwell a few nights ago. The payment for my services was simple: dinner and a cache. Dinner was achieved on the way there, and the cache, when the job was done. A quick detour was made at the Harrie P. Woodson Memorial Library, and in the back, I found the appropriately named Frog Prince. It was cute, it was clever, and I considered giving it a favorite point. But I didn’t. Why not?

I have found almost 4,900 caches over four years and have favorited seventy-three of them. Since a favorite point to assign is earned for every ten caches found, a bit of quick math will tell you that I have almost four hundred favorites to give. When I give them, I even note that the cache has “earned one of my stingily hoarded favorite points.” Why do I not award them more often? Why do I award them when I do? There’s not a lot of logic to it. Well, OK, there’s a little. Obviously, I award one when I run into something totally in my wheelhouse location-wise. Except it’s not obvious because I didn’t award one at Mingo or the Grand Canyon. I award them to especially clever caches. But not always because sometimes a bad experience trumps the cleverness. Being cute like the Prince here never moves the needle for me, but I have put the lie to that at least once. Only one famous grave has taken the honor, despite several others being contenders.

Why am I so illogical, dare I say quixotic, when it comes to favorites? I don’t even have an answer for you. It’s a complete mystery to me. It’s not like I have a tiny number of them and can only give them to the most deserving. There is no rhyme or reason to my choices. I’ve given favorites in the past to ones I wouldn’t look at twice now. I’ve seen a few stunning vistas and interesting gadgets and left unimpressed. Am I so blasé that I can’t recognize and reward something wondrous? Maybe!

I need to stop being so stingy! And what am I going to do with all the favorites I have now?