Exchanging QSL cards is not only a dent on the bank account but also on the health and physical well being of a DXer.
The fact is, every time you lick a stamp, you’re consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
When you take into account that most international QSL packages require at least 3-4 stamps, then it’s safe to say that your calorie intake is much higher than it would be if you were a non-QSL’ing, non-stamp licking Freeband civilian.
According to some DXers, such DX-cessive calorie intake without regular DX-ercise and a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables and cereals, leads to excessive weight gain and these factors can lead to more serious health problems such as chubbiness, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, even death.
With this in mind, is it worth subjecting yourself to potential life threatening situations merely for the purpose of receiving a small piece of card containing abstract digits and prose? Is it honestly worth the heartache?
And what for the poor QSL Managers of the world whose tongue comes into contactwith thousands upon thousands of stamps following any one DXpedition?
Spare a thought for those guys and gals – dedicated DX disciples who put their life on the line for the rest of us; heroes of the hobby; fearless Freebanders who are willing to sacrifice their own physical happiness for the good of the eleven metre DX world and the millions of QSO paper collectors who worship them.
What for these poor souls of the DX Community who go about their business each day with the stench of stubbiness over their head?
Not surprising then that many QSL Managers, as well as compulsive QSL senders, are carrying that little bit extra around the waist line or even worse, banging on the door of obesity.
With all the calories they are ingesting into their body it’s not surprising their guts look more like wheat silos rather than rippled wooden washboards…
For years, these fellows have attributed weight gain to an over indulgence of beer or ‘Shack Snacks’, bearing the weight of XYL ridicule of eating habits and time spent with mates swilling beers at the local watering hole.
Little did they know, however, that the root of all evil was entrenched right at the very heart of their DX-sistence; that the QSL album was really a eulogy of sorts for a more slender physical frame, now confined to the memory of aging black and white photographs.
In conclusion, next time you decide to send a QSL card to confirm a contact with a DX comrade, keep in mind that every lick is doing you damage.
Moreover, next time you move to question a QSL Manager about the delay of a card, take into consideration they’re probably on the treadmill or sweating it out on the open road in a desperate bid to rid themselves of years of QSL induced fatness.
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