A Hobby

Thursday morning before work, 4:15 a.m. It’s blacker than the inside of a pocket here, but it will be light soon. The sand is cool on my bare feet as I walk along the beach just above the water line. Another fine morning in the best weather in the world.

As the search coil of my metal detector skims across the surface of the sand my mind wanders – the smell of the salt air, a little overripe with life, is an aroma that you either love or hate, there is no middle ground; the to-do list sitting on my desk at the office… BEEP in my headphones.

I describe an X over the spot with the coil to pinpoint the target, bend, scoop, sweep the coil over the spot to make sure I got it, silence in the ‘phones. Shake the scoop, a metallic clink, got it! Shake the rest of the sand, pour the metal disk into my hand, (feels like a quarter, still too dark to see), drop it in my bag, continue walking and swinging the coil.

BEEP. Another X, another scoop, shake, clink, pour – a ring! It’s going to be a good day. Still can’t see, but any ring is a good sign. More walking and pondering the meaning of life, BEEP, just light enough that I can see that this is a dime. Onward…

Dark shapes in the water about fifty yards out, just beyond the surf line. Triangular fins cutting through the sea – sharks? – a sudden spray, nope, not sharks. A pod of pilot whales touring the near shore. More walking, more beeps. The six o’clock whistle at the steam plant, time to head home, count out the day, get ready for work.

6:15 a.m. back at the house. I’ve walked probably 3 miles in the last 2 hours and covered 500 yards of beach front in a tight zigzag pattern. It has been a good morning metal detecting; I have 4 rings and probably 25 coins in my bag. Now it’s time to count the “loot”. I dump my bag on a towel – a hand full of change, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, nothing special. Now the rings; the first one I pick up is shiny, too shiny, yep it’s a junker kids ring with a red piece of glass set in it. Number 2 looks interesting, a carved snake head; the magnifying glass shows an inscription inside “.925 Mexico”, it’s sterling silver, a good find.

The third one looks yellow, might be gold, but might be brass too. The glass reveals a 14k inscription, it is gold.

And the last? It is white with nine white stones set in a letter T shape. A moment with the glass shows a 10k inscription – yeehaw , two gold rings on one trip. It is a great day. Later testing showed that the stones are diamonds!

I dearly love being paid to go out and enjoy nature and life.