Jon wrote on Apr 11^th, 2012 at 3:17am:

Thanks Spartan 2 I am trying to fit in here somehow. I enjoy reading all the posts. Happy paddling to you also! Jon

Well, Jon, "fitting in" here isn't as hard as you might think.  Believe it or not, this is a fairly accepting community--just look!  They have accepted me for years now!  And here I am, an almost-67-year-old overweight, out-of-shape, grandmotherly bow paddler, who hasn't been to the Quetico since 1980, loves the BWCA, and sticks her nose into forums where she often doesn't really have any business going.   ;D

And, you know what?  I have some good friends here.  Some that I have met in person, and some that are just cyber-friends.  They are good people, even though sometimes they are sort of "prickly" and tend to love a good argument, they get testy if you ask a question that has been asked before, and some of them think they have the only answer to most every question.

But if you need real help, they are there for you.  If you have a crisis, they will pray for you.  If you need a place to stay, some of them will even offer you a cabin.  There are, simply put, some amazing characters on this board.  (and I didn't choose the word "characters" entirely at random, either.)

Keep hanging around, and you will find that soon you are just one of the guys.   ;)  Relax.