Insane, forgetful, or no longer care

Sir Gala Clad

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Jul 9, 2012
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Are metal detectorists insane? :dontknow:

Even though Albert Einstein never diagnosed a detectorist, one of his theories supports this conclusion.
" Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result" is one of his definitions of insanity. No doubt about it in my case, each and every time I venture out sweeping my coil over the beach sand expecting to find gold, platinum and silver only to find bottle caps, pull tabs, and coins of clad. Repeating this pattern day after day, or night depending on the tides even when the moon is not full.

Then there is the lemming like response to rush into harm's way when there are storms, even while those who are desperately trying to leave (oh boy - another tell).

Also seems a bit odd to flock to the beach when the weather is miserable, get blasted by sand, pelted by rain, when you can barely hear anything but the wind roar through your head phones.
Definitely, anti social, either arriving before the sun rises and leaving before those who wear bathing suites arrive, or after the hoard of sun worshipers depart so that I am free at last to mutter to myself "lousy bottle cap, dang pull tab, one measly penny" as appropriate after each dig.

The there is Pavlov response causing me to dig every time I hear a beep. Worse is the compulsive obsessive behavior cratering pattern which follows when I cannot fetch the object and get my just reward.

Sure glad I am a salvager and not a detectorist as this is perfectly normal behavior for me. Started out as a treasure hunter, but switched to salvage, when my tax preparer informed me that the IRS did not recognize treasure hunting as a business. Insane or not, a Rose is not a Rose by any other name, to the boys and girls at the Infernal Revenue Service, whose current mission, based on recent experience is it to take from the Needy to give to the Greedy.

If only it were possible to go back to simpler gentler times. I still fondly recall a theme from a trade show in the 70s " Do you remember when sex was dirty and water was clean"? Ah there was even a time before there were pull tabs on soda cans, and the beach was not festooned in plastic. A time when many of the now homeless even had homes.
 

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Today I saw a small pod of spouting whales cruising south off the outer bars, found two silver dollars in the sand (the critters, not the coins), neither of them were broken. I gave them to a nice lady who smiled with appreciation. For a time we talked, watched the whales showing us their rising and falling fins as we strolled along the beach before going our separate ways. Nice lady, no name to go with the face but it didn't matter. A while later a nice older couple approached me on the beach to ask the usual questions, turns out they were from Germany, the brief exchange of friendly conversation was enjoyable and inspiring, their attitudes and personalities bright, positive, and prosperous. And then there were the older gentlemen surf fishing in the hole I had planned to hunt, two large sheephead headfirst in their five gallon bucket and so we talked fishing for a while, shared a few short laughs. They remembered me from the last time we met and because of the several weights I had given them. Nice guys just enjoying their peaceful, relaxing morning. A half dozen pull tabs and few pieces of can slaw, a typical morning hunt over heavily sanded in beach with no recent beach traffic to speak of. There's a time to hunt hard and there are those days when hunting hard isn't even a practical notion, and yet the day can still be full of treasures. :icon_thumleft:
 

There's a time to hunt hard and there are those days when hunting hard isn't even a practical notion, and yet the day can still be full of treasures.
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Amen to that BigScoop........:occasion14:
 

"There's a time to hunt hard and there are those days when hunting hard isn't even a practical notion, and yet the day can still be full of treasures. "
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there you go gettin wise on me again! nice!!!!
chuck.
 

"Are metal detectorists insane?"
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the lure of treasure is strong! i feel exactly like you but i have really started to just enjoy the hunt and the fact that i am living accross the street from the beach and can go treasurehunting in shorts and a t-shirt all winter long! i see a couple shooting stars every night i hunt! even if i dont find gold i have to realize the other treasures that are all around me! i am blessed!
chuck.
 

The staggered payout schedule is the most addictive form of rewards. That's why so many people love playing slot machines. Metal detecting is no different. Do it long enough and you will reap rewards. If you are really lucky you will hit the big-ticket payout.
 

I simply love the beach atmosphere, even when the hunting is bad. Sometimes I even make it a point to leave the detector at home, go to the beach and not be so focused on MDing that I miss all the other little adventures, and everyday spent at the beach is an adventure. I learned a lot about my area beaches just by taking leisurely strolls, for instance, there are a couple of areas on the beach where the starfish are far more numerous in the summer. And sea shells, finding the best places to look for unbroken seas shells on this stretch of coast is a real task, but I've learned where a few of those places are, not that I'm really ever hunting for sea shells in those areas. And there are those areas where you couldn't find an unbroken seashell in all those fragments no matter how hard you looked. And people, a lot of interesting and nice people on the beach, heck, I've met people from all over the world on the beach. Had a lot of pleasurable and interesting conversations with many of them. Who would have thought you could learn so much about other countries and the people that live in those places on one stretch of Florida beach. The lifeguards and beach patrol folks are good people to know and most of them have a lot of knowledge about the local beaches they're always willing to share, also have a lot of great beach stories. And the list goes on and on........I've actually gone to the beach for a full day of hunting only to reside to a peaceful day of nap taking when the detector never left the truck. :laughing7:
 

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