Topband: [Dx-qsl] Claiming 160m DXCC - Sending QSLs

[W9UCW at aol.com]

My advice... Forget all that crap, get on the air and work what you can. I  
realize that we all have egos if we are alive... but as Abraham Maslow 
stated in  his "Hierarchy of Human Needs," it is easily possible to achieve the 
highest  level, that  of "Self Actualization." This is beyond the basic 
biological,  safety, belongingness, and esteem-bestowed-by-others needs. It is 
the need to  "be and do what I was  born to do," because I have decided what 
that is.  The rewards are intrinsic and in the realm of self satisfaction. 
(Google  "Hierarchy of Human Needs")

My solution to the problems discussed in this  thread is to collect 
whatever contacts and cards that give me joy, and forget  about having them 
verified by some "higher power" so that my call letters can be  printed in a list 
in some obscure publication with the hope that those who see  it will elevate 
my standing in the world. That's just silly. To paraphrase  another famous 
American psychologist, Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind,"  nobody else 
but you really "gives a damn."

A few years ago, as I tried to  answer the survey of a well known author of 
publications pertaining to our  particular vice, I bumped headlong into a 
section asking for "worked &  confirmed" numbers. What was I to do? I don't 
have them. I have never counted  them. I don't need them. Why does anyone 
else need them? I thought about it long  and hard.

Eventually, I realized how I feel about working DX`on 160... or  anywhere, 
as far as that goes. This is the best parallel I can draw. For me,  it's 
like making love. The fun I have doing it is infinitely greater than any  joy I 
get from having others know how many times I've done it. Besides, if I  
insist on having the number of times published, only rancor will  ensue. 
 
Ease up, for gosh sake. That number or certificate doesn't describe you as  
a person or as a technician, or a tactician, or anything else, for  that 
matter. The joy you get from your accomplishments in the  endeavors that are 
important to you will always far surpass any acclimation  received from 
others. 
 
I don't want to be a "downer', but I have helped 10 or 12 widows/widowers  
clean out their spouse's stuff after their deaths. Their families all have  
thrown all the cards and certificates on the burn pile. No one wanted them 
or  thought they had any value to anyone. None of that work was ever 
mentioned in  their obits. Face the facts... it's just your own self actualization 
that's  important. Don't waste a lot of time and money on something that 
nobody but you  will ever see or care about.
 
Best DX, CU on Topband, Barry 
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