hullo QJ,
I've had several ppl mention to me that they have not received the latest version of the mag.  Just wondering if any of the experts on our board know or have heard anything on this topic?

As always, thanks to db for maintaining this site,   --paw

paw, 

The BWJ went out normally prior to Christmas, per the publisher.  I contacted Stu last week when my issue was way late & I discovered none of several subscriber friends had received theirs either.  He told me that "shipping" was a real mess and the matter was essentially out of his hands now. Subscribers I've heard from are located in Illinois, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, & Washington state.  Bottom line: it's in the mail.

Jimbo  8-)

Two weeks+ in the mail.  Interesting.
Thanks, Jimbo, for the reply.   --paw

That's the story, I'm afraid.  We're still waiting on a number of items that allegedly "shipped" weeks ago from various places.  Any somewhat important stuff that I have to mail/ship now goes out via premium services.  So far, THAT approach seems to be getting items through on a timely basis, at least.

I'll post something here when my BWJ arrives in Florida.  I'm anxious to read a story written by a newbie I took into the BWCA a couple years back.  It's entitled (if Stu didn't change the title), "The Isle of Squirrel."  Should be an entertaining first impression of the north woods and a very different take on wilderness canoeing & camping.  The young man had never done anything like it before.

Later,

Jimbo   8-)

Sounds like you guys are waiting for something coming from Battle Creek, Michigan.

;)

Don't read too much into that because I once sent in something in the name of a 25 yr old friend to the Zebco fishing club. We still joke about it but he actually got some good stuff for the next few years as I recall.

hahaha... kinda' like Orphan-Annies secret circle in the 'christmas story' movie, waiting to use our special rings to decode annie's weekly message.  'drink your ovaltine', or something? 


db wrote on Jan 8^th, 2022 at 6:59pm:

Sounds like you guys are waiting for something coming from Battle Creek, Michigan. ;) Don't read too much into that because I once sent in something in the name of a 25 yr old friend to the Zebco fishing club. We still joke about it but he actually got some good stuff for the next few years as I recall.

paw,

I'm hearing reports that the BWJ is starting to arrive (at least in Iowa & Illinois).  It's not down here in Florida yet, unfortunately.  Maybe by Valentines Day....

FYI

Jimbo  8-)

Virginia - Saturday!

pd

Still not here in W. PA.
Two emails and no response.

Got mine yesterday (WV)

chaga wrote on Jan 17^th, 2022 at 1:22pm:

Still not here in W. PA. Two emails and no response.

I'm sure the BWJ has received a dozens of e-mails/inquiries (if not hundreds) about this problem.  Heck, I first inquired of the publisher about my issue being late over two weeks ago... and it's still not here!  What he indicated, per my post, above, is that the problem lies with the Post Office, not the magazine.  He said ALL the magazines were shipped well before Christmas, as usual.  I figure mine will arrive here in Florida tomorrow or the next day.  I'm not sure what recourse he has when Post Office performance stinks.  He's certainly not going to send out replacement copies to everybody (and who knows when THOSE would arrive) so I figure the best he can do is "wait it out" and see what shakes out after a period of time.

That's all I know.

Later,

Jimbo   8-)

The BWJ has finally arrived in Florida.

Jimbo   8-)

Arrived here in MN last week.

I found copies of the latest BWJ in my local retail outlets. 

For Jimbo: In a quick skim, I did not see an article with the keywords: 'Squirrel Isle'.    Did your friends' article make it to the final cut of the latest version of the BWJ ?

Thanks to everybody for the replies,   --paw

Paw,

It's the last story in the issue.  It got retitled & edited somewhat by Stu who wanted to put an emphasis on the "mentorship" angle, apparently.  There's definitely stuff in there that wasn't in the original...for better or for worse.

FYI

Jimbo  8-)

Nice read.  Also noticed the QJ decal on the boat picture at the end of the article.  8-)

Bart wrote on Feb 4^th, 2022 at 12:46pm:

Nice read.  Also noticed the QJ decal on the boat picture at the end of the article.  8-)

Bart,

Yeah, my vessels have had those decals on them for 20 plus years, I guess.  Maybe some of the rest of you who sport them have had First Nation folks approach and comment on them.  I certainly have.

Hey, despite Stu's caption, that picture was NOT taken on LLC.  Also, surprise-surprise, though I am "credited" with the pic, the logistics of doing a "selfie" at that distance went beyond my meager capabilities.  In fact, the pic was taken by our own Wally13 on Quetico Lake a year or two earlier.

Re: the story itself, though it turned out OK, it was not, in my humble opinion, as good as the original submission (which Jason shared with me only AFTER he had submitted it to the BWJ).  Stu edited and embellished Jason's story so as to put a heavy shine on "mentorship".  I guess that's OK and it certainly cast me in a favorable (if somewhat undeserved) light.  However, from my perspective, he was a little heavy-handed in doing so.  For me, the story lost some of its original authentic flavor of a young man experiencing this wilderness for the first time.  Instead, it became more of a vehicle for extolling the virtues of mentorship... a good story, but not really in keeping with the spirit of the original.

Hey, it's Stu's magazine and he understands his audience.  So, I guess he gets to do whatever he wishes to with submissions to satisfy them.  Heck, back in the old days, he would occasionally edit my stuff and - as you might imagine - I was kind of hacked-off by that.  However, thanks to db, I generally found a modicum of solace as the "unadulterated versions" would appear (a year-or-so later) in the "Stories" section of QJ.

Don't get me wrong.  Despite minor stuff like that (and being a little sloppy with his crediting of photography now and then), I think Stu does a marvelous job with the BWJ.  I look forward to reading every issue and I've had the privilege of contributing to quite a number of them.  I admire him and owe him a lot.  However, if I published a magazine, mine would look significantly different than his... and, hey, it probably wouldn't stay in business very long, either. 

The BWJ has lasted decades; the guy has earned my respect.

I'm glad you liked Jason's story.  It wasn't bad.  Maybe I can get his permission to reproduce the original here in the QJ Stories section sometime in the future.  It's a worthy read.

Jimbo   8-)