…but, if Mr. Clemens is to be believed (assuming he even said it at all), it rhymes. I got myself an FTF a couple of days ago. Normally, this wouldn’t be noteworthy, but this was the second time I had gotten an FTF here. I grabbed another FTF at the beginning of the pandemic in the shadow of that pink thing in the background, an art fixture simply called Geode. I find it kind of interesting how some locations get recycled. I also sometimes find it kind of strange because it seems like there are a lot of open places to hide a cache that are considered less than savory. I’ve remarked before (somewhere back about a thousand years ago) about how you find caches in certain socioeconomic zones. You don’t find them in places that are too poor because people worry that they’re not as safe. You don’t find them in places that are too rich because there’s greater chance of scrutiny. This comes to mind because there’s another place where I once picked up a cache: a hidden cemetery in one of those less savory parts of town. The cache there disappeared, and the CO went to replace it, only to find a homeless person changing clothes there. The CO ended up archiving it for that reason. Part of me wants to place a new cache there, if for no other reason than to bring people to visit this unknown cemetery. Part of me is hesitant because I’d like something special to be there, and I don’t have any great ideas. I’ve got a cache I’m dying to place, but it’s a night cache so putting it in a cemetery? That’s a negative, Ghost Rider. Plus, I just don’t have maintenance in me right now (for reasons). But that would be a great place for history to rhyme again.
That’s it. No deep philosophical treatise today. Return to your scheduled programming!
Geocaching While Black 
There are a lot of small, family cemeteries scattered around New England that are forgotten and I think the only visitors they get sometimes are geocachers. I’ve been placing cemetery caches as multis where people gather information from the stones to find the final. Of course, we have less of a homeless issue, especially in the winter.
LikeLike
That’s an interesting topic – the socioeconomic placement of caches. I think there’s a lot to that and I’ve never seen or heard it discussed before. Also I love cemetery caches.
LikeLike
I’m not surprised. I’ve mentioned it once before a few years ago, but I think it’s something few cachers have reason to think about. And I can only speak for Austin here, but the central parts of the city have the most caches. The eastern parts have traditionally been much poorer. When I started, there was a dearth of caches in East Austin. As certain areas have started to gentrify, I’ve seen more caches appearing there. I currently live in an area that until recently (5-10 years) was a poorer, rougher neighborhood and I’ve seen FTFs sit for days because people don’t want to come to this area, probably because of the stigma. On the other hand, a huge newer development about a mile south? One can’t last 24 hours there. The rich areas to the west, though? Fuhgeddaboudit… Every square inch is owned and well patrolled. I’ll go almost anywhere to get a cache, but if one showed up and Westlake Hills? Nope.
I’d love to read a study on it with data from other cities, but I don’t have the time or the research skills for that. Where’s a social research/analysis geocacher when you need one?
LikeLike