Tom_in_CA
Gold Member
- Mar 23, 2007
- 13,837
- 10,360
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Told this story years ago on a forum. Here it is again:
I got into this hobby at about 14 or 15 yrs. old (1975 or 76-ish). Via an 8th grade friend of mine. He had older brothers (15+ yrs. older than him) who were into the hobby as far back as the 1960s around here.
One day, while his dad drove us out to go fishing at a lake in a neighboring town, he pointed out the car window to a school yard, and said "Its' against the law to detect at any school or park in this city". And "they can ticket you, and confiscate your machine", etc...
Since this guy was my mentor, and I didn't know squat about md'ing yet, I just listened. Logged that factoid in my memory. I knew he had older brothers who'd been into it for quite awhile, so obviously he must know what he's talking about.
Then about 1980 (senior year in high school for me), some local md'r friends of mine started showing up at the club meetings with barbers, IH's, etc.... But they weren't saying where they were finding them. I begged and pleaded to be invited along with these older guys. And finally they relented and took me to where the action was:
It was a park in the city, that several years earlier, I'd been told was "off-limits". So I asked my friends "is it ok to hunt there?". They said "No one's ever said anything to us ??" I didn't ask any more questions, and just joined my friends out there.
But still, sometimes when I'd detect there, I'd often be looking over my shoulders, wondering. Yet never had any problems.
Years later, by the mid 1980s, I was hunting one day with my original friend again. And asked him: "Hey, do you remember back when we were in Jr. high, you told me such & 'such city was off-limits' ? Who told you that ? Where'd you get that info ?"
At first, he didn't even know what I was talking about. But after some reminding, he finally remembered saying that. And told me that it was his older brother who'd told him that. I asked "Where did your older brother get that info?" . But my friend didn't know. So I dropped the matter.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. I was now hunting a lot with his older brother. One day, on an hour long drive to a ghost town hunt, I told him how his younger brother had told me such & such. And that this info had supposedly started with him. The older brother at first didn't know what I was talking about. But after awhile recalled that he'd gotten that info from his OTHER brother (the 3rd of 3 brothers who detected). I asked, "ok, but how did THAT brother get the info?"
Story to be continued:
I got into this hobby at about 14 or 15 yrs. old (1975 or 76-ish). Via an 8th grade friend of mine. He had older brothers (15+ yrs. older than him) who were into the hobby as far back as the 1960s around here.
One day, while his dad drove us out to go fishing at a lake in a neighboring town, he pointed out the car window to a school yard, and said "Its' against the law to detect at any school or park in this city". And "they can ticket you, and confiscate your machine", etc...
Since this guy was my mentor, and I didn't know squat about md'ing yet, I just listened. Logged that factoid in my memory. I knew he had older brothers who'd been into it for quite awhile, so obviously he must know what he's talking about.
Then about 1980 (senior year in high school for me), some local md'r friends of mine started showing up at the club meetings with barbers, IH's, etc.... But they weren't saying where they were finding them. I begged and pleaded to be invited along with these older guys. And finally they relented and took me to where the action was:
It was a park in the city, that several years earlier, I'd been told was "off-limits". So I asked my friends "is it ok to hunt there?". They said "No one's ever said anything to us ??" I didn't ask any more questions, and just joined my friends out there.
But still, sometimes when I'd detect there, I'd often be looking over my shoulders, wondering. Yet never had any problems.
Years later, by the mid 1980s, I was hunting one day with my original friend again. And asked him: "Hey, do you remember back when we were in Jr. high, you told me such & 'such city was off-limits' ? Who told you that ? Where'd you get that info ?"
At first, he didn't even know what I was talking about. But after some reminding, he finally remembered saying that. And told me that it was his older brother who'd told him that. I asked "Where did your older brother get that info?" . But my friend didn't know. So I dropped the matter.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. I was now hunting a lot with his older brother. One day, on an hour long drive to a ghost town hunt, I told him how his younger brother had told me such & such. And that this info had supposedly started with him. The older brother at first didn't know what I was talking about. But after awhile recalled that he'd gotten that info from his OTHER brother (the 3rd of 3 brothers who detected). I asked, "ok, but how did THAT brother get the info?"
Story to be continued:
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