American Detectorist Contest Giveaway Starts NOW!!!

[coinnut]

We decided to change things up a bit this time around. Metal detecting is what brings all of us together here, but we all know life is the real journey. So with that in mind.....Tell us about something wonderful that has happened in your life. It could be your best metal detecting find, or the birth of a child, the job of your dreams, or just life itself. But remember, this is the internet, so be frugal with personal information. We really don't want to know the details of your first date with the person of your dreams :lol:

Rules: Member must have 20 significant posts, Contest starts now and runs until Friday May 20, 2014 at midnight, one entry per member. Winner will be drawn at random sometime on the weekend of May 21-22, 2014.

Thanks again John from JMT Metal Detectors, for donating a brand new Tesoro Silver UMax detector :drool:

Good luck everyone and post your stories below!!!

[Epi-hunter]

I will add to this that we need at least 30 entries for this contest in order to hold the drawing.

[Skamaniac]

A wonderful life changer for me was going on a Christian work trip to Mozambique in 2000. Seeing how people there lived with nothing and were happy anyway. I saw a small boy and his brother sharing a pull-toy made from wire and crushed soda pop cans for wheels. They were having a great time. They told me it was their only toy. I gave a woman a gallon sized ziplock bag with personal items like soap, toothpaste, deoderant, chewing gum, etc. for her and her family and she started crying over such a wonderful gift. It cost me about 10 bucks at Walmart. Most of the people I saw there were smiling and laughing all the time. It made me realize I didn't need to sweat the small stuff, and almost everything is small stuff.

And on the way home we got to spend 2 days viewing and photographing African widlife in South Africa!

[Epi-hunter]

A wonderful life changer for me was going on a Christian work trip to Mozambique in 2000. Seeing how people there lived with nothing and were happy anyway. I saw a small boy and his brother sharing a pull-toy made from wire and crushed soda pop cans for wheels. They were having a great time. They told me it was their only toy. I gave a woman a gallon sized ziplock bag with personal items like soap, toothpaste, deoderant, chewing gum, etc. for her and her family and she started crying over such a wonderful gift. It cost me about 10 bucks at Walmart. Most of the people I saw there were smiling and laughing all the time. It made me realize I didn't need to sweat the small stuff, and almost everything is small stuff.

And on the way home we got to spend 2 days viewing and photographing African widlife in South Africa!

Thanks for sharing this skamaniac. Seeing how appreciative people are to receive gifts of items that we just take for granted is so incredibly humbling. Especially when they seem even happier than we are with all of our material advantages here. The closest I have come to that was a 2-month clerkship with the Indian Health Service in Zuni and Gallup, NM just after graduation. Seeing the state of health care there was a huge wake-up call for me. My goal is to do Doctors Without Borders some day.

What a great experience for you!

[del]

my best or most satisfying "detecting moment" has got to be the on going volunteer work I do for the Pequot Indian Museum and the U.S. National parks and service departments . When I started this project I admit the reputation or stereo types for archaeologists , the hostility , the animosity for us I heard about was fresh in my mind. I was curious and leery of what to expect from these men "from the opposite spectrum". I soon found out that these professionals weren't that different from me at all and in fact more "alike " in many ways . They made me feel comfortable , confident and even as an equal on many levels , I also felt that I was doing a great service to the local , state and even national history to this country whenever i discovered a piece for the lab to scrutinize and show. The friendships and camaraderie is priceless among these individuals and I would highly recommend volunteering to a museum or project near you , it might be awkward at first (only until you gain their confidence and respect) but after the rewards it can be so fulfilling on many levels .

Dan

[Tony Two-Cent]

Well, since I've never experienced the birth of a child, and I definitely have never had the job of my dreams, I guess I'll go with my best metal detecting find, which coincidentally is still fresh in my mind. ;)

I will never forget the shear excitement I felt when I found that 1877 Indian Head Cent last weekend. I am so glad that my brother was there to share the moment with me. He wasn't aware of the significance of an 1877 Indian Head, but he could tell by my over-the-top reaction that it was something really good. I'm just glad that nobody else was there to see me yelling and raving like a maniac. :embarrassed: My brother immediately called his wife on his cell phone to tell her what we had found. In fact, in the video you can hear him talking to her in the background. As nice as the find was, it just wouldn't have been the same if my brother hadn't been there to experience it with me.

And that's the "something wonderful" that has happened in my life. :peace:

[giant056]

Yesterday I did find my oldest ever dug coin and it's a Connecticut copper right here in Kalamazo :grin:

[coinnut]

I guess there are many things I could come up with that have changed my life for the better, but this one is one that shaped my life at an early age. When I was around 10 years old, my cousin (once removed) took me under his wing. He was 10 years older than me and got me interested in collecting stamps. We would drive to the post office the minute a new stamp design came out, and buy plate blocks of stamps. I say "WE" but we really know it was his money :lol: Then we started to buy old wood furniture and wood framed mirrors at tag sales and refinish them. Finally he kick started my interest in coins by giving me a 1925 D wheat penny. Then one day he said: "This machine here can find money in the ground." I was like :shocked04:........:drool:..........:happy: It was a $19.95 Radio shack detector :rofl: Right after that I noticed this box he bought, that was an amplifier kit for the detector and we would carry it above the machine. It wasn't long before we had a "Real" machine from Bounty Hunter called the Rebel. Back in them days you had to adjust between mineral and metal and it was a BFO (beat frequency oscillator) machine. The machines continued and got better with time but by then I was hooked for life. Even guitars and girls in high school could only derail my interest for a while :cheesysmile: So to my cousin Danny, I owe a great deal of gratitude for keeping me out of trouble and opening the door to an adventure that I still travel today.

[Digger Don]

One of the memorable things that happened in my life happened 14 years ago. My son was born on April 6th and 3 days earlier I adopted my daughter.
She was my step daughter for 5 years. I was determined to adopt her before my son was born. It was a little more complicated than I thought, but obviously well worth it. So on April 3rd I became a dad for the first time and on April 6th I became a dad for the second time. BEST week of my life.

[Epi-hunter]

One of the memorable things that happened in my life happened 14 years ago. My son was born on April 6th and 3 days earlier I adopted my daughter.
She was my step daughter for 5 years. I was determined to adopt her before my son was born. It was a little more complicated than I thought, but obviously well worth it. So on April 3rd I became a dad for the first time and on April 6th I became a dad for the second time. BEST week of my life.

Great story Don... thank you for sharing... congratulations! Those kids are lucky to have you.

[Epi-hunter]

GREAT find Tony - you should have texted me and I would have celebrated with you!

I loved the story George. Your cousin created a monster :lol:

[Full Metal Digger]

I remember when I used to work at a bank and I was up to my usual hijinx and I accidently locked myself and our bank president, Mr. Mooney in the vault for the entire weekend...Oh wait, that was an episode of I Love Lucy!

I guess the best thing that ever happened to me was when I realized the best way to get ahead in life and be successful is to work hard, get an education, and don't break the law.

[Bell-Two]

I have had many memorable moments but one that always comes to mind is from about 15 years ago. A friend was a teacher at a school that had many children from low income families as their students. So he told us about this family in particular that the dad was in prison, the mom worked and the four kids were doing well in the school because the mom despite working many long hours was fully involved in their lives. He said they keep food on the table but that was about it and that there would not really be any Christmas for the kids other than a meal. So another couple from our Bible Study group and my wife and I got a list from him for what the kids could use and for the mom as well. We gathered the gifts and I called my friend and said I would drop them off to him so he could give them to the family. He told me "No you need to take them there personally", I demurred saying we did not want any thanks for them the thought that we were helping was enough. Well he insisted so we went. The house was small but it was warm and we could see the kids were eyeing the packages but I could tell that the mom had told them to be calm and polite. As we talked I could look around the small house and I could see where the termites had eaten out the window sill, and that the rug was worn and patched. The rest of the furnishings seemed worn as well but everything was neat. We watched as the kids opened the presents and we could see the look of joy and I could see tears in the mom's eyes as she was getting the most joy from seeing her kids happy. They thanked us politely and as we talked I could tell that despite the surroundings they were happy and would have been happy even without the gifts. The fact they knew despite all the struggles that they had a loving mother and a teacher that cared for them beyond their educational needs was comforting. We prayed with them and then wished them all a Merry Christmas. As we were leaving and getting into our cars I stopped my friend and I said "Now I know why you insisted that we come, it was not that they could thank us but rather that we learned that we do not need all these things to be happy." He smiled at me and then I said "We were not the one's showing the meaning of Christmas to them, it was they showing us the true meaning of Christmas and this meeting was for us all the time." He smiled and wished us Merry Christmas and all the way home we felt a peace in our souls. I have never forgotten this moment and treasure it till this day.

[zrickkid]

THe best day of my life was the day I met my beautiful wife Stephanie. Sept 17, 1990. I still have the slip of paper she gave me her phone number on. We were in college relaxing in the rec center playing pool at separate tables. I looked over and she was looking at me so i shyly looked away but i couldnt take my eyes off of her. So before i left we struck up a conversation and to my surprise she asked ME out for a date. Well here we are 24 years later with two wonderful daughters and a brother of mine who is 25 that we raised since he was 7. Good times indeed.

[rsarge1]

Mine is when I retired from got law enforcement after 28 years of dealing with many types of criminals from the worst to the least kinds a big relief came the day I retired and I was able to concentrate more of my time to this great hobby with a much better outlook to life's daily pleasures.

[OxShoeDrew]

The most fulfilling day I've had MDing was the day I found a lost pin for the property owner who cried when I presented it to her. Our town named a day in her honor because she is such an outstanding resident. They presented her with a pin in the early 1980s. She dropped it in her yard. 30 yrs later I found it. Not 10 minutes after I gave her the pin I found my first colonial coin!

[MIKE54]

The best day of my life was in 1992, 3 years after I was diagnosed with a rare and mostly fatal form of anemia. I was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant (non-related donor) which gave me a 20% chance of surviving past 5 years. In 1992, just 4 weeks from getting the transplant, the anemia just decided to go away and within a year, all blood counts were normal. Still no explanation from the doctors why it left, but obviously we were pretty stoked that it did and I got to see my son grow up, the best part of the whole ordeal.

[freemindstuck]

I have a type of arthritis that even with medication kept me in constant pain and was slowly blinding me. A few years ago I was able to start taking a fantastically expensive biologic drug which has relieved most of my pain and stabilized my vision. This has allowed me to actually do things like metal detecting. It was kind of a big deal to me.

[KCFindIt]

Most memorable in my life is the way I live my life, in that, I am able to help others in their needs. I've worked/been employed since I was 12 yrs old, where I worked at the local theatre, owned by a distance relative. I worked there for 13 yrs, and held as many as 3 jobs at a time, as a teenager and early 20s. I was very money-saving driven (and still am). I've done my fair share of employment in the office environment, but always knew I was better suited to be outside and with animals. I should have been a veterinarian. But that would have required too much inside time (school). Instead, I worked my way up to eventually becoming the farmer that I am today. I've ditched the outside employment, and have created my own business, where I take care of other folks house/farm/animals while they are away. I maintain lawns, pastures, fences, cut/bale/sell hay, work cows, feed horses, baby sit dogs and cats, paint, look for lost items, run errands, and the list goes on. I will pretty much do what anyone needs. I stay busy, and I have fun. I have taken in sick and injured farm animals from farmers that don't have time to mess with it. My pay has been to keep the survivors and by doing so, I've built my little farm. I've birthed calves, bottle fed calves and goats, rescued chickens from hawks and foxes and possums and coons, hatched and raised a couple of geese whose mom got attacked/killed while setting her nest, shot a rattlesnake before it bit me and a client's dog, tamed many feral cats, and I volunteer for the local dog/cat rescue. I love my life and what I can contribute.

[Lowjiber]

I'm a Shriner. As many know, we are dedicated to supporting the Shriner's Hospitals for Burned and Crippled Children. I've spent many days working to raise funds to help support that cause.

Early one morning about fifteen years ago, I was on my way to a fund raising event and stopped for a quick breakfast at a local restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. I was wearing a ball cap that simply said "Morocco Shrine" above the bill. After ordering my breakfast, I was approached by a middle-aged lady, who I later discovered was a cook in the kitchen. She apologized for interrupting me, but asked, "Are you a Shriner?"

I smiled; showed her my cap; and said, "Guilty as charged, Madam."

She began to tell me a story about her daughter who had just given birth to a child with a club-foot. Unmarried, unemployed, no insurance, living with a widowed grandmother, and a missing father to the baby. The lady cried as she relayed the details, but said she had heard rumors that Shriners might be able to help. She explained that she just didn't know what to do. I said, "Lady, you just did it."

Offering her a seat, I took some quick notes with contact information and told her that someone would be in contact with her on Monday.

A Shrine Temple is a wonderful place. We have members from every walk of life… every skill imaginable is buried in the membership. We have a special unit whose role is to check out stories like this and arrange for an initial visit to the nearest Shriner Hospital where the doctors can examine the child for admission. In this case, the nearest hospital is in Tampa. It's a crippled child center. A burned child is flown to our nearest burn center in Dallas. (Yes, we have pilots who fly our corporate jet with the child and family.) No, there is never a charge of any type; and once-admitted, we provide care and follow-on surgeries as needed until the child is eighteen. Each hospital (there are twenty-one) provides free lodging for the family while the child is undergoing care.

As the member making the initial contact, I'm considered the "sponsor". However, my role is actually finished once I've started the "wheels turning" within the organization. I passed the contact information over to the proper folks the following day.

To shorten the story… one month after this lady asked me about the Shrine, the child had her first operation in the long process of helping her walk. I don't know about such things, but there are follow-up procedures and operations as the child grows. Again, my only involvement is my name on the bottom of the initial application as the sponsoring Shriner.

This was the first child I had actually "sponsored" into the hospitals, so I naturally followed the progress for a few years (behind the scenes, so to speak). Some five years later, I happened to be in that same restaurant, and "grandma" approached me holding the hand of the cutest little girl I'd ever seen… the child, who was now walking. She introduced "Shannon", telling her that, "Here's the man who helped you walk." I cried like a baby.

That's it. However, it was one of the most gratifying experiences in my life. I've travelled a long way, and not all of the roads were paved, but I'll never forget this little detour.

"There is nothing so dear to a Shriner's heart as the little girl's prayer, "God Bless the Shrine."

[Robbie]

Well ,I live a simply life as a carpenter,I don`t make a lot of money but I do get a lot of satisfaction.Here`s a good story which happened to me a few years ago.I decided to take my two boys snow tubing at ski liberty.At that time my kids were 5 & 10yrs old.When we were done and the sun was starting to set, we piled into my 91 Chevy blazer,it wouldn't start.A young man saw that I was having trouble and he offerded his help.He asked if I had tools and a flashlight,which I didn`t(they were in my other truck) so he then crawled under my blazer on the wet gravel dirt which his cell phone camera light and messed with the starter and got it to start.When he came out from under it he was covered in grease and soke and wet.All I could do was reach into my pocket and pulled out a wad of money.He said,I don`t want your money.I said but you don`t understand I`m an hour and a half away from home it`s almost dark and I have two young kids.I don`t know how to thank you.He said I tell you what,don`t shut if off until you get home and when you do put a for-sale sign in it.I did just that.He must have been an Angel.Thankyou

[Hook]

a few months back i had a little time to kill, so i hit a fairly new park near my home. i started near the swings, all grass , with no wood chips or bark anywhere. bout the 5th swing or so i get a screaming surface sinal of a nickel, i look in the grass below the coil and see a gold band . i pick it up...14 K with the name Karen inscribed inside.

i hunted a few more minutes with just a little clad found. by then i was about 50 yards from the swings. a small car drives up, the lady literally runs to the swings area and leans over searching the grass back and forth i keep checking the lady out of the corner of my eye and see her glance my way, then do a double take. here she comes almost running lol. i'm thinking..i bet i know what she wants!

"mr does that thing find jewelry"? yes maa it sure does on occasion. ":mr does it find gold rings"?? yes maam it can . "would you please come look near the swings, as ive lost my wedding band my husband gave me a week before he passed away."

maam can you describe the ring you lost? "its a plain gold band with my name inscribed on the inside of the band"

maam ? would you mind tellign me your name? "my name is Karen of course"

maam ? you might recognize this here...as i take the ring from my shirt pocket. her face lights up with a huge smile, as she takes the ring from me. happy tears start as she slips the ring on her finger. she thanked me over and over again as she kept looking at the ring back on her finger.

dang it ya'll...i KNEW i should have left for home sooner! lol (kidding) . it was a great feeling to see the joy that woman felt when she got her ring back.

[wisconsin digger]

The most life changing event for me is ongoing. Watching two kids grow up is as life changing as it gets for me. I have a daughter in a Master's program and a 15 year old son who is always involved in something. Everyday, good or bad, there is always something to deal with. Wisconsin Digger

[Calvin]

I have to say, that I don't have one great moment or day to reflect on. My life has been very boring by comparison. Getting married rather young and having two boys to raise seemed to take all the energy and spare time out of life. There has been the usual celebrations and heartaches. Loved ones have aged and have died, leaving us to hold on to their memory and honor the values they instilled in us.

I have watched the sunset from Florida in the southeast and Alaska in the northwest, where the sunrise was less than 2 hours after sunset.

I have enjoyed working with many fine people and have felt the sting of betrayal by people I thought I could trust. I have had my soul crushed and beaten but not destroyed. I have lost material things only to be reminded that they never were really that important.

I have been knocked down but like Rocky I keep getting back up.

I guess, to be honest, I think every day has been incredible in its own way. And today, is all we can count on having, so I try to make it worth it.

I thank God for all I have today.

[ChrisinCT]

The best moment of my life is the day I told off my Boss in a staff meeting and got myself fired.


I didn't do it intentionally but I think the subconscious self did it knowing that I was miserable there


I really hated it there. The unnecessary stress was literally killing me ,also caused me to sprout gray hairs.


I never could have quit on my own ,the pay and benefits were excellent.


How does one quit a job and go work for far less money and lousy benefits?


I now have a job I love and am a very happy person. Sure I have less income ,but you can't put a price on happiness. ( Its priceless)


I learned a very valuable life lesson. Never allow yourself to feel imprisoned by anything in life and never put a price on your health and wellbeing.


In the end the only thing that changed about having less income is I don't buy as much unnecessary crap like I used to..

[pulltabsteve]

Nice concept for a contest! :) So many wonderful things to think about. Meeting my step-son for the first time some 20 years ago, my daughter being born 18 years ago, meeting my second wife...(didn't happen yet but I'm sure it will be great! LOL)
Anyway, the most recent great thing that has happened in my life is that I quit smoking after 40 years! I've been smoke free now for 123 days. :thumbsup02: Cold turkey. Back on December 23rd of 2013 I went to a cardiologist for chest pain that I've been having for a few months. I stupidly handled it by popping aspirin. Sometimes 6 or seven a day. Doc sent me to the hospital and on Christmas eve I had 3 stents installed. Artery was 95% clogged. I was home on Christmas day and my kids said it was the only thing they wanted. Was to have me back home. Funny thing is my detecting buddy Mike works in the Cardiac Cath Lab and his crew did the work. I had top notch care!
Quitting smoking is not easy as anyone who has tried knows. I still want a smoke from time to time but I dont want to let a friend of mine down because I promised I wouldn't smoke again. :canada: I feel great by the way!:thumbsup01:

[Otis Campbell]

I guess just being able to have done the things I have wished to do. I feel it all started with being a U S Marine. I only wanted to see if I could make it through boot camp and I did and then the change in me started! I already loved America and now to get to be a Marine wearing that dress blue uniform was the best. I served until the late 80's when the US cut the Corps in half and I was the half that went. Moving on through life I found that there was nothing I wanted to try or no burden too heavy that I couldn't do. It opened the door every time I attempted any career opportunity. It has led me to being a success today. I learned the patience, respect and the professionalism that have let me capitalize on every situation that I have put myself into. Two times to Iraq working for private security companies and then training the US & Nato troops all over the world, to see places I would have never thought of going and meeting people who have so enriched my life even today. It even led me to meeting my wife who has always encouraged me and helped change a naive country boy to a man who is broader minded and able to find value in people and to accept myself as a positive and productive part of life! Thank you for such a forum where it's not just about the material things we find, but more about being able to be happy for others and enjoy their finds as a collective community!


Bob Brewer, Jr.
USMC 0331

[Lodge Scent]

Life is the journey as George says in the first post. For me the journey got a lot easier once I truly realized how spoiled we Americans are. It's OK to be spoiled...you just need to realize you are spoiled. Sure we all have our problems but most of us live like kings and queens compared to 95% of the other 7 billion people on this planet. When you figure out that you are spoiled you can then appreciate the blessings you have. When you don't take things for granted you tend to work at them a bit harder in order to keep things in harmony. So....it's not having what you want..... it's wanting what you’ve got!

Now I feel guilty for wanting a new metal detector ;)

[Epi-hunter]

I love these stories everyone. Thank you!!!

[Epi-hunter]

I still want a smoke from time to time but I dont want to let a friend of mine down because I promised I wouldn't smoke again.

Congratulations Steve... I will skin you alive if you ever smoke again. ;)

Just fantastic!!!

[ODA 226]

I think that the best thing that ever happened to me was marrying my wife because she IS the light of my life and means EVERYTHING to me. It took me 10 years to convince her to marry me and just like in Metal Detecting, my persistence finally paid off! :) I'm really blessed to have a woman like her in my life!

Our Wedding Day:

38587

[MangoAve]

Only 24 posts so far so here’s one more:

From looking at all the other stories it’s apparent all the different journeys life takes each one of us. Some people are in our lives only to leave footprints. Looking back at some of the good moments I had, a lot seem to be coupled with a negative aspect. One example of such would be a night spent on a sand bar at low tide watching the falling stars, and then acting like a kid running back to the pension house while giving a piggy back ride. It was a carefree night feeling like a kid in a tropical place that was able to spark the feelings that are given up, by growing up. The undesirable aspect is that it was merely one of the ‘pictures taken’ just to ‘watch it burn’, as it was with the ex-fiancé.

One thing that will stick into my mind, however, is actually a small thing. My co-worker/friend had offered that I go with him and his wife to Cebu, Ph. It is the second most populous island out of the 7,107 there. They own a house there and go visit every few years. They have taken another co-worker six years before I went along. I figured it was a once in a life time chance to see the other side of the world. Going at it alone in a place you know very little about would be a testing task. I was lucky to get the opportunity to see life there, not as a tourist sees, but as the locals see. The poverty and the trash there make you sad people live in those conditions, but knowing a lot more about their culture you realize they make the best of things. We Americans put too much emphasis on work and rarely take vacation days. They, in contrast, actually take many holidays off work to be home with friends/family, and they always party. Holy week is a full week of partying in April; Sinulog is a weeklong event in January. They want excuses not to go to work, even though they need money.

I will never forget the very first day I was there. I hadn’t had a chance to make my presence known yet. After we arrived at airport and his sister-in-law drove us to the house, he was going to show me the area. Walking down the street just a few hundred meters away from my friend’s house in Tabunok, I see a few people sitting on some stools and a bench out front of a small shack. To paint a clearer image, the street is lined with large concrete walls and concrete houses, and there are a few shacks for vending. It’s a common thing for friends to take some money and buy 500 mL bottles of San Mig Pils for 50 peso each and share it amongst each other. It’s called tagay-tagay, or inom-inom. Walking by they offered me to drink with them. It was great to feel part of their group. To contrast, part of the culture here is that if you don’t know someone, you ignore them on the streets. Maybe you get an occasional “Hi”. This is why random acts of kindness and chivalrous acts are publicized here. Maybe it was the chance to see things first hand, or the feeling welcomed by this group, but it was a great experience.

In a related tangent to this post:

To provide further insight for those curious, they still wash clothes by hand. They are actually scared to use a washing machine. Life there consists of working and taking care of the family. The things for recreation are karaoke, volleyball, and of course inom-inom. They do get to travel local spots like to zipline or beach or waterfalls or even another island for Holy week. A doctor visit costs only 200 peso ($5). It is a misconception life there is harsh. To think they can barely afford food, well, it may come as a shock to know they all own cellphones there. Electronics cost the same price as they do here. I saw a shirt at Guess in Ayala for 3000p ($75). Kids always go to local internet café for computers. As well, they too have a mindset incorrectly believing money is easy to come by here in the US. Knowing many who have made their journey here, they get the experience to have lived both places and determine life here isn’t as easy as they once thought.

[slvrsrchr]

probably the most significant event in my life was an accident that occurred on New Years Day 2003. I had built a roof over our porch the previous summer, and thought it developed an ice back up so i went on the roof to look for a leak-long story short I fell off my roof, and after 13 surgeries and 2 years of he double hockey sticks had my left leg amputated below the knee.....with out turning this into a sob story, because it isn't I have to say that event changed my life, made me realize how much i had to live for, kids, wife, job, etc. I have to say I honestly believe I am a better person because of this incident.......now, there is a down side-I really have to keep the coil stretched a little further out than most as it tends to "false" on my prosthetic (at least its a mid tone-hehehe)......I guess the other down side is my siblings have some fun at my expense from time to time such as sending me ginger bread cookies with 1 leg "missing", or home-made metal shields for my leg to wear when I go detecting.........I learned to have fun with it!:lol:
Life's to short to be miserable!

[BKM]

Though I do have some nice finds; nothing is spectacular so I'll go with a life story.

Sometime in 2006 I was walking through the lobby of my condo complex on my way out of the building when I saw a limo parked out in front of the main entrance. Walking into the building was a gaggle of women all dressed similarly and I immediately and correctly surmised it was a bachelorette party. There was one stunning redhead that stood out to me and I immediately launched into action. "Hi ladies, bachelorette party tonight?" I asked, attempting to engage them in conversation but mostly the redhead. A very brief conversation ensued and the group moved on deeper into the building. Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying.

In March of 2009 I met a beautiful and intriguing redhead. After our first date, a phone conversation led to where I lived and she said, "I think my cousin lives there." At this point a light went off. By any chance were you involved in a bachelorette party a few years ago where a horde of women in cowboy hats came through the main lobby and some guy tried unsuccessfully to engage you in conversation? "Yes" she said. Well, nice to meet you again.

We were married in June of 2011 and our son arrived in December of 2012.

Sometimes fate puts you in the right place, twice.

[RobW]

So many touching stories:smitten:
I have been blessed in so many ways in life, and at times I have to remind myself of that.
However, I would have to say..My wife and I were not planning on having kids, I was about to graduate from law school, and we were planning on moving east to the Boston area and I had been interviewing for positions with firms out there...well...2 weeks after getting sworn into the bar..."WE" found out "WE" were pregnant. Everything changed. We decided to stay in the area we were in, as my inlaws were in the next town over and we decided that we wanted to be around family, instead of working for a firm, I decided to go solo and open my own practice....we lived off our equity line....I was a motivated person before...but now with a kid depending on me too...it wasn't just about "ME" anymore...I did everything I could to make it, failure was not an option. I started in a small rented room about the size of a bedroom and in 8 years now have my own building, and 4 satellite locations...and now 2 VERY SPOILED daughters. It was the birth of my daughter that made me the person I am today.

[lee]

i think mine was winning the north Atlantic butcher of the year contest last year , i was so nervous before the start i could not even sharpen my knife.....it keeped going one side of the steel but no mater how hard i tried it would not go the other side :shocked01:.
here is a picture of me playing the fool to the crowd once the nerves subsided
38620

[ODA 226]

probably the most significant event in my life was an accident that occurred on New Years Day 2003. I had built a roof over our porch the previous summer, and thought it developed an ice back up so i went on the roof to look for a leak-long story short I fell off my roof, and after 13 surgeries and 2 years of he double hockey sticks had my left leg amputated below the knee.....with out turning this into a sob story, because it isn't I have to say that event changed my life, made me realize how much i had to live for, kids, wife, job, etc. I have to say I honestly believe I am a better person because of this incident.......now, there is a down side-I really have to keep the coil stretched a little further out than most as it tends to "false" on my prosthetic (at least its a mid tone-hehehe)......I guess the other down side is my siblings have some fun at my expense from time to time such as sending me ginger bread cookies with 1 leg "missing", or home-made metal shields for my leg to wear when I go detecting.........I learned to have fun with it!:lol:
Life's to short to be miserable!

Amen Brother!

[Cheap Thrills]

I'm thankful for my great family and I'm going to be a Grandpa again .

[Ronandari]

So many great stories. I have really enjoyed reading them all and hearing about the events that helped to shape each of you. my story wouldn't be a single event but instead a lifetime similar events that have helped me to become who I am today. At the age of 19 I was a young man who had never been more than 100miles from my home of Freeman Washington, at that age I joined the Air Force. My recruiter assured me that I would be returned to the area for my first station, instead I was sent to Germany. From there I was able to visit many places throughout Europe. during my 10 years of service I was able to see many parts of the world and experience the people and cultures.
After I left the Air force I had thought that my travels would end but after getting a job with a Spokane based company. I eventually worked my up to a position maintaining the equipment we sell to our customers and now once again travel far and wide. the experience has taught me that people are people no matter where you may be. We all laugh, cry and love, we have families and devote our time to surviving and providing. I have learned that I am blessed beyond the wildest dreams of many others in the world today and also that happiness does not depend on those blessings.
I don't have trip scheduled at the moment, but I have no doubt that I will meet interesting people with whom I will share laughs and memories.

Ron

[Timewarpdigger]

One might think that this can be a very difficult thing to answer, but for me it is a simple one that can be answered in two words, Loving Wife. Need I say more.......

[kpmoose]

When I was a kid, I had 2 close friends. In the warmer months, we used to fish together as often as we could. In the winter, we would play ice hockey on the same pond we would fish in the spring/summer/fall. At the time, it felt like we would be together forever. Eventually we all grew up, went to college, graduated, moved to different areas of the northeast US. Essentially our new lives took over & we drifted apart. One of these friends, Craig, was always a terrific athlete and an even better hockey player. He turned pro a few years out of college- didn't make it to the NHL, but had a very successful career in the AHL (American Hockey League- one step away from the NHL). Anyways, I hadn't seen or spoken to Craig for many years, when I had found out he was going to be in town to play a game against a local AHL team. It was late in his hockey career, so I decided to go to the game to see him play as I knew he didn't have many more years to play. I waited for him afterwards at his team bus so that I could say hi. Even though we hadn't seen each other for a good 15 years, the conversation went like we had just spoken yesterday. We kept in touch occasionally after that meeting. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, about 5 years later, Craig was diagnosed with stomach cancer & it took his life within a year.

Now I know you all must be thinking, "ok, this is supposed to be a story about something wonderful that has happened in your life." I'm getting to that part. I had not seen or spoken to our other friend Jeff for over 20 yrs. I had no idea if he was still local or if he had moved away. The town I grew up in was holding an event to raise money for Craig's family. I made the trip to attend that event. As luck would have it, our friend Jeff was there as well. Again, my conversations with Jeff seemed to just pick up seamlessly to the last time we spoke over 20 years earlier. Our memories of Craig led us to talks of our youth playing ice hockey & fishing. Since getting together on that night, 5 years ago, Jeff & I have made an annual trip to Lake Winnipesaukee every year to fish together for a week. I know I may be overthinking this, but to me, in some way, I believe that in Craig's death he found a way to bring the 3 of us together. Although only 1week a year, every day that Jeff & I fish, we spend a good chunk of that time talking about & remembering our good friend.

So to me, one of the most wonderful things to happen to me is unwavering friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. I can see many of those friendships develop right here on AD. Keep up the good work. Glad I found this hobby (thanks to Todd- Thiltzy) & this site.

Kevin

[DiggerAl]

My age is not a very large number, so I have not had a whole lot of life changing experiences or anything. I can think of only 1 extremely amazing thing. 1)My first silver. I forgot the exact date, but my dad did make a post about it. My dad bit a of research on historical maps and google earth stuff and we found a site to and exact site where and old schoolhouse was. After talking to the farmer who owned the property, we learned that the original schoolhouse, was on his property and was being used as a barn. Hah! When we started detecting this area, within the first 5-10 minutes my dad got an 80-81 (AT PRO) and it was like 2 inches so I felt that it may have been clad, because at that time i was happy to find a wheaty. My dad and I were acting as a team, because we only had the one detector with us. I got down on my legs and pulled out the pinpointer, and I was getting a strong signal with it. Again, being silly me, I thought it was clad. I pulled it out and it was shiny, and I rubbed it a bit. At the time I was very naive and i say the One Dime on the back, and I said "DAD ITS A MERC I THINK! IT SAYS ONE DIME ON THE BACK" then he said "That isn't a merc.... that's a barber!!!" and there it was, a 1907-O barber dime, our first silver coin.

[coinnut]

Some really great stories everyone. Thanks for sharing some of them with us. Still plenty of time for more members to take a shot at winning a free detector.

[tracyjm]

I've pretty much shared my life changing story in an earlier thread. I found out at age 46 that my wife was pregnant. It was my first time being a "biological" father. The first week that they did the ultrasound they said surprise it's twins! Two weeks later we went in again and they said surprise it's triplets! Needless to say I was in shock...:). I had worked all the night before so I had very little sleep that morning. It was a 2 hour drive back from the clinic and I was pulled over for speeding on the interstate. I got caught in a short distance where the speed zone dropped down and didn't even realize I was speeding. Two cars in front of me were pulling away from me but I got pulled over most likely cause I was "out of state" license. It was a motorcycle state trooper. I told the trooper my wife was having triplets. He looked at me and my wife and I doubt he believed me. My wife was 44 and I was 46 at that time. I think he thought I was just trying to get out of a ticket. He probably thought he had heard some big stories in his lifetime...LOL.

[Epi-hunter]

These are great stories everyone. Keep em' coming.

I'll stick with detecting... probably everyone has heard this story by now, but it's just so statistically wild that I have to keep telling it. This was quite a few years ago. The VERY first time I took out my brand new ACE 250 (never even tried it in the yard), I stupidly took it to one of the farms I owned at the time in southwest Iowa. I say 'farm' but there was never a homestead on it - in fact it was 100+ acres of original wild prairie grass (I had it all in the CRP program so it still had never been farmed). It did have an old train track running through it though, but there were never train stops on the land or any type of dwelling.

I don't know what I expected to find. But I mostly dug up old railroad pins and pieces of train track (iron). I spent the day there though. The prairie grass was mostly really high (like almost waist high) so I could only detect in a long path that my husband- now ex-husband - had recently mowed.

I was just getting ready to leave after a bunch of hours there. Still was hoping to find a coin - any coin. (Why didn't I go to a park?) But just as I started the long trek back to the car, I got a very solid 'silver' hit on the ACE250, showing it was relatively deep. So I dug, and low and behold... it was an 1847 Seated Liberty half dollar. :cheesysmile: About six inches deep.

At the time I was thrilled but was really too stupid to know how rare that kind of find was, especially in an area with almost no population. I remember at the time that I had just joined a metal detecting forum and I posted it as my very first coin find on the first day I took it out, and I couldn't understand why I was getting lots of disbelievers. :lol:

I figure it was probably dropped by one of the people who built the railroad - probably was a whole week's pay at that time. Amazing to think that it lay in the ground all those years until I dug it up.

My very first and still my very favorite coin find. I'm sure I will never find another one. :)

38804

[tracyjm]

Just shows you if you swing the coil over the right spot...:thumbsup01: Great first find!! Great life stories being shared!!


These are great stories everyone. Keep em' coming.

I'll stick with detecting... probably everyone has heard this story by now, but it's just so statistically wild that I have to keep telling it. This was quite a few years ago. The VERY first time I took out my brand new ACE 250 (never even tried it in the yard), I stupidly took it to one of the farms I owned at the time in southwest Iowa. I say 'farm' but there was never a homestead on it - in fact it was 100+ acres of original wild prairie grass (I had it all in the CRP program so it still had never been farmed). It did have an old train track running through it though, but there were never train stops on the land or any type of dwelling.

I don't know what I expected to find. But I mostly dug up old railroad pins and pieces of train track (iron). I spent the day there though. The prairie grass was mostly really high (like almost waist high) so I could only detect in a long path that my husband- now ex-husband - had recently mowed.

I was just getting ready to leave after a bunch of hours there. Still was hoping to find a coin - any coin. (Why didn't I go to a park?) But just as I started the long trek back to the car, I got a very solid 'silver' hit on the ACE250, showing it was relatively deep. So I dug, and low and behold... it was an 1847 Seated Liberty half dollar. :cheesysmile: About six inches deep.

At the time I was thrilled but was really too stupid to know how rare that kind of find was, especially in an area with almost no population. I remember at the time that I had just joined a metal detecting forum and I posted it as my very first coin find on the first day I took it out, and I couldn't understand why I was getting lots of disbelievers. :lol:

I figure it was probably dropped by one of the people who built the railroad - probably was a whole week's pay at that time. Amazing to think that it lay in the ground all those years until I dug it up.

My very first and still my very favorite coin find. I'm sure I will never find another one. :)

38804

[milco]

Thanks for the contest! A big deal in my life right now involves my oldest son. He will graduate from high school in three weeks, and he just found out that he was an E. Powers Biggs Fellowship winner for 2014, for the Organ Historical Society.

[pulltabsteve]

Angie, great story and beautiful coin! Can I have it?:drool:

[don in ny]

I adopted both of my daughters from Russia. As a result, I tried to learn some Russian and took some classes both before and after adopting. Last Saturday I was out detecting in an old park. When I was leaving I noticed someone else with a detector so I decided to go say hello. He sounded Russian from his accent so I asked and he was. The rest of our conversation was mostly in Russian. He had found 2 Indians and large cent at that point and I had found a half reale, seated half dime, Barber dime and a couple of Indians. It was a good day for both of us. Adopting is great gift and metal detecting is a great hobby. You just never know who you'll run in to.

Unrelated to my story, 27 years ago I found an ID bracelet in a local school yard. I showed it to someone who knew the man named on the bracelet. It was the same town. He had lost it 50 years earlier and had tears in his eyes when I got to return it. He told me it was a gift from his mother who had passed on 20 years earlier. He might have felt great about getting that bracelet back, but not nearly as good as I felt returning it. It is certainly more blessed to give than receive.

[coinnut]

Hey everyone a correction on the contest date. I didn't notice the pages stuck on my calander, so I was looking at June. The contest will still go until the 20th of May, but that will be a Tuesday, not a Friday. Results will be posted that following weekend. Sorry about the mix up on the days. Still a lot of time for some more entries.

[BTV Digger]

Great threads everybody! Really enjoy reading all the interesting stories. In terms of personal experience it's obvious for me: the birth of my two sons. If you're a parent, nothing can really compare with the birth of a child. It changes you forever and in the best of ways. It's also extremely rewarding to see them grow up and become responsible young men. Plus my younger son (10 yrs) old loves MD so great to get out to some parks and/or easy to reach cellar holes w/him and share the experiences together. Will always remember those moments.

In terms of recent fun moment involving coins, it actually didn't have anything to do with MD. My son (mentioned above) is also an avid coin collector and has built quite the collection over the past few years including a variety of old silver, LGs, gold. He's very proud of his 1825 Half Dollar and his 1926 Quarter Eagle (family heirlooms from Grandpa as a birthday gift). However, he also likes to go by a few of our local banks and search coin rolls. A few of the tellers have gotten to know him, so one day last summer we stopped by a local branch here in town to search penny rolls. The teller spots him immediately and calls him over to say "I think I've got something really cool for you". My son got curious and it turns out the teller had received a large stock of what looked like really old penny rolls. I asked the teller how many of the old rolls she thought were in the vault and she said "Oh about 20 dollars worth". :shocked04: Needless to say, we (or I should say I) gave her the money and we excitedly brought the rolls home to see what goodies were inside. To make a long story short, we got $20 of 100% old wheat pennies...some 2000 of them! Nuts. Needless to say my son filled up about 3/4 of his entire wheat penny coin books in one afternoon. Tons from the 1940s/1950s of course...but a number from the teens/20s/30s as well, including several more uncommon "S" varieties. Definitely a fun afternoon for the both of us.

BTV Digger

[Vito]

TNX for this place to share this non metal detecting related story.

It all began on May, 06, 2014. Our dog Bronco became ill with fever. So on wednesday we went to the vet and he got some drugs. Firstly he did a little better but friday the 9th it became worse again. After another visit at the vet and changing the drugs it seemed to be better, but with in a few hours, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Bronco was going sightlessness. Never thought about how many tears a man can build. Till now this was the most tearfull day in my life.
Saturday evening we did some calls and another vet ,who did emergency service this day, advised to observe this and if it will not get better to visit them on sunday. When Bronco was walking, he was really really careful. And this caused a lot of stress to him. When we did a little walk in the past for about 15 mins this walk now lasts 45 mins to 1 hr. And when we arrived at home, he fell asleep immediately.
Sunday morning we visited the vet emergency service and the doc offered terrible news.
Bronco was diseased with glaucoma. We have no clue how long this is. Our little buddy is now 8 1/2 yrs old and never get a sign for this. In the left eye a artery was defective and a lot of blood flew into the eye. The right eye had to be good for seeing the doc said, but Bronco did not see anything he walked right slowly and carefully and his all things coming across his way. Even a long blade of grass scared him.
Only the docs words gave some hope. With new drugs and treatment we fixed a new date for thursday to check eye-pressure and all other troubles. But all went more worse so we had to visit the doc on tuesday again. Not knowing what causes all this, the doc said could be poison, cerebral infarct, cancer or something else. All the symptoms won't fit to only one sickness. So drugs were changed again and some of them discharged completely.
Thursday Bronco was able to eat normally and we had the feel he did know where he was. Later in the day we wanted to note he was "seeing" differences between light and dark. From now on he did better every minute and yesterday evening he jumped to his place at the couch.
Today he was walking the stairs down without any help and the walk was done without any great help. He now can find his water and food and he can walk around the rooms only hitting very few parts in the way.
I'm so thankful for this healing so he can be autonomous again, even if he will not see 100%. This will be more quality life than rest in total darkness.
We're so happy about this.

Thanks for your time.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z4/metaldetectingguy/BroncoampBaeroldstyle_zps730311d4.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/metaldetectingguy/media/BroncoampBaeroldstyle_zps730311d4.jpg.html)

[Tom]

Probably the best day of my life was when I married my wonderful wife! We ran away to Vegas and did the wedding chapel thing. Married at the Chapel of flowers and we had a jaczzi suite at the Luxor hotel. No, we were not married by Elvis! I'll always remember when I was putting the wedding band on her finger during the ceremony and could not get it to go and she was quietly encouraging me to "push it on". Yup, I got it on and we spent a lot of happy days together...... Had some fun times out in Vegas and we returned to visit many times.

[Tony Two-Cent]

This contest is now closed.

A sincere thanks to everyone who entered. The stories were very interesting and truly inspirational!

The winner will be drawn at random this evening and announced on the forum. The drawing will be recorded on video and posted on YouTube.

A HUGE thank you to JMT Metal Detectors for sponsoring this contest and donating the brand new Tesoro Silver uMax metal detector!

http://www.jmtmetaldetectors.com/


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