Roger's comment is right on the mark.

But y'know, there is something we could all do when we visit a park. When I see something worthy of praise, I get the name of the ranger, maintenance person, volunteer or whoever. Then I send a letter of thanks to the superintendent asking that the compliment be passed to the person who earned it.

A couple of years ago I received a note from a superintendent who they have occasional complaints in that small area, but she couldn't remember ever having had someone write a compliment. She seemed shocked that I took the time to do it.

On the other hand, when I've noticed something that I felt needed to called out, I found a way to get a note or email directly to the employee. I've been surprised how often I've received a thank-you from the person for pointing it out.

I've never had to -- and hope I never will -- take issue with something grossly out of line. But if it happens, I'll not hesitate to write to the superintendent, too.

What's the saying? Praise in public, criticize in private.

Agreed, Lee. I'm spending my summers driving a tour bus now around the park and it warms my little heart when I'm out and about and see the Chief of Maintenance or the Museum Curator or the Building Preservation Specialist [all true memories] walking down the street about their behind the scenes duties suddenly respond to a visitor's query as well as an Interp would have. On the other hand, I've been in other parks where the front line interps were obviously Retired In Place and it is disgusting.

There are certain bars in lower Manhatten were it is not unusual to see uniformed NPS personnel having a few drinks. For whatever reason there are always a few who didn't want to change out of the uniform after their shift.

I've seen volunteers criticize park policy to visitors and get into arguments with visitors. I've seen volunteers refuse to wear shoes while volunteering. I've seen volunteers call private businesses to do repairs on park facilities.

I've seen NPS personal hanging out, chatting, and smoking cigarettes in public areas. I've seen staff obviously under the influence at work.

I could go on and give more examples and more details but that would risk my nom de guerre. But it seems the worst of it among the NPS employees is in the urban parks while problems with volunteers are all over. Sadly, the worst of it is in interpretation. There are many wonderful volunteers as well but in a way even being too wonderful is kind of a bad thing with volunteers because it only causes the agency to rely on them more and more.

Retail stores, hotels, and other public accommodations use "secret shoppers" to check up on staff performance and bust the worst offenders. I'd like to see the NPS create a corps of secret visitors to go around and do the same. I am sure it doesn't happen because they fear what they would find.

Once upon a long time ago, I was a new chief of interpretation and resource management at Wupatki/Sunset Crater when a visitor asked me a question about a flowery bush. I told her what it was and then turned back to the Navajo maintenance worker I'd been talking with.

"Lee," he said, shaking his head, "that not rabbit brush, that big snake weed. You tell her wrong."

I called the lady back and confessed my error and then stood there with her while we both listened spellbound as Tommy Dempsey spent about half an hour teaching us both about the medicinal uses of several desert plants. When time came for seasonal training, Tommy was one of the instructors. We never were able to convince him to try giving an evening program, but if he had, it would have been a hit.

One thing I used to really hate about working with volunteers, bookstore employees, and sometimes even other NPS employees at a visitor center is how they would hi-jack your visitor contacts. They look at the work we do as just hanging out and chitchatting with the public but it is supposed to be much more than that. A good interp ranger is always looking for opportunities turn a contact into more than just simple dispensing of information, but where appropriate, to find a way to help that visitor make a deeper connection to the park. Or sometimes you sense that the person just needs to know exactly what they asked and wants to be on their way. But so often as I would be about to nail down some important point I had been leading to with a visitor -they are completely enthralled- and the VIP or book store employee will butt in and take things in a completely different direction --sometimes to topics that have nothing to do with the park. It is incredibly frustrating. And you can't really say anything to them and the bosses are so happy to have the free labor they won't say anything to them. Then you get the rep as someone who doesn't like volunteers because you take all that NPS interp training seriously and try to implement it.

"Mary was a ranger who had to learn things the hard way. Like Rule Number One: Measure your head before you order your ranger hat---or you'll have to stuff paper towels inside the headband to keep the hat from falling down over your eyes. Rule Number Two: If you must wear mascara to work, make it waterproof---the guys will laugh at you when you turn into a raccoon during a water-sprayed rescue mission under Yosemite Falls. Rule Number Three: Say "I don't know" if a park visitor asks a question and you don't know the answer---There will always be a crowd standing around you when a camper asks "Oh ranger, what kind of squirrel is that?" And If you draw a blank and say, "Uh? A bushy-tailed squirrel?", a guy with a video camera will be there to correct you. "It's called a California gray squirrel," he'll say, the disgust dripping from his voice."