Big Boys Hobbies

Story Time

ScubaDetective

ScubaDetective

In Memory Of
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May 14, 2008
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Underwater with the fishes
I heard this story a long time ago and I it in mind and think about it a lot.

There was an old man walking along a California beach one morning after a huge storm. There were starfish all over the beach, soon to be baked by the sun and killed. As he walked along the beach he sometimes would stop, pick up a starfish and throw it back into the ocean.

Another man watching him told him he was wasting his time, there is absolutely no way he could make a difference. He kept walking and as he picked up another one and tossed it back in the ocean, he thought, I made a difference for that one.

As is true in life. we can't help everyone. We all have opportunities to help others and make a difference in their life. This hobby is no exception. I have read many stories of a detetorist on a beach being approached by someone who had lost a ring or something very important in the sand. Many have stopped what they were doing to help recover and return the lost trinket to the owner. No you can't be there to help everyone, but you can make a difference when you are able.

That is one reason I love this hobby so much. Being disabled I have found something I can do. I don't sit around thinking oh poor is me and rot away in my home. I get out when I can and make a difference. Even if I can't get out, I have been able to make a difference to a few folks on here. Have I missed some? Sure I have. But others are here also to help make a difference in another persons life also.

There are folks on here that do not want to be named that have helped me make a difference. I want to thank them for their contributions. Adding a prize to a contest, helping pay for something I offered to repair. We all can make a difference. No we can't help everyone, but we can make a difference as we go out searching for treasure.

 
I think you have made a difference far more than what you are aware of. I've read your posts for a number of years now (here and elsewhere) and have learned a lot while also being entertained. In a way your stories have let me tag along with you - engaging in hunts that I'll never actually go on. In fact you are a primary reason why I joined this forum.

We are roughly the same age, but it's still nice to read stories that let me daydream about being there.
 
Finding a lost item for someone is as fun for me as finding a gold ring, it really makes my day!
 
thanks for all you do... i know the type of guy you are does not require thanks...but rest assured we thank you. you do what you do because ...it's what you do... that makes you who you are... i know that was lengthy and lame.. but true. keep on keepin' on.
 
Well darn it, I'm going to have to put a "Found, Owner Wanted" poster for the nice bracelet I found today... But if someone does pick it up, I'll throw one starfish back into the ocean.

Thanks.

Josh
 
Great story and lesson for us all.

I'm really new at this and don't know much yet, but last week someone on our local FB group asked to borrow a metal detector because they had lost something in a wooded area. I went over there that evening and found it in about 20 minutes. Great feeling and my best find so far!
 
I enjoy your stories partly because I’d like to dive and search like you do and probably will never have the opportunity.
 
As I said in another thread "Nice! It always feel good to help those in need. Blessed are the people with abilities or jobs that give them that opportunity."
 
Yup. We are accountable for what we CAN accomplish, not held accountable for what we CAN'T accomplish. Nice story Robert.
 
ScubaDetective said:
I heard this story a long time ago and I it in mind and think about it a lot.

There was an old man walking along a California beach one morning after a huge storm. There were starfish all over the beach, soon to be baked by the sun and killed. As he walked along the beach he sometimes would stop, pick up a starfish and throw it back into the ocean.

Another man watching him told him he was wasting his time, there is absolutely no way he could make a difference. He kept walking and as he picked up another one and tossed it back in the ocean, he thought, I made a difference for that one.

As is true in life. we can't help everyone. We all have opportunities to help others and make a difference in their life. This hobby is no exception. I have read many stories of a detetorist on a beach being approached by someone who had lost a ring or something very important in the sand. Many have stopped what they were doing to help recover and return the lost trinket to the owner. No you can't be there to help everyone, but you can make a difference when you are able.

That is one reason I love this hobby so much. Being disabled I have found something I can do. I don't sit around thinking oh poor is me and rot away in my home. I get out when I can and make a difference. Even if I can't get out, I have been able to make a difference to a few folks on here. Have I missed some? Sure I have. But others are here also to help make a difference in another persons life also.

There are folks on here that do not want to be named that have helped me make a difference. I want to thank them for their contributions. Adding a prize to a contest, helping pay for something I offered to repair. We all can make a difference. No we can't help everyone, but we can make a difference as we go out searching for treasure.

Click to expand...

You are a wise man.

Too many people think they are God's gift because they go around liberally spreading good intentions, albeit so thin it makes no real difference to anyone. And the truth is, such people are usually just doing so to make themselves "look good" to everyone else, so it is entirely self serving in the end and actually helps themselves more than any one person.

If you want to make a difference in the world, it is far more effective to conservatively recognize exactly when and where you are charged by the universe to invest yourself to make a difference, and answer that one call and answer it well before moving on. It doesn't happen every day. I see and understand exactly how you think and I respect you for it.

You are a wise man.
 
Last edited:
Great story Robert !!!!

Even those of us on a budget who might not be able to help someone financially can still help like you said by trying to help someone find something they lost.

Last year an elderly gentleman who owns a large farm asked if I could try to find a class ring his grandfather (?) lost pitching hay in a field decades ago :shock: (the story and location was told by family members over the years)

Anyhow even though I knew the odds were against finding it after all that time I knew how important it would be to him that I at least had to try. He offered me $100 finder fee if I remember right, but I told him it wasn't necessary, he had let me detect one of his properties before and that was more than enough. (even though I only found a nickel and trash on that property :lol:)

Anyhow after about a couple hours of scanning the "likely" area I found only trash but that might at least helped him to feel like it wasn't simply sitting out there easy to find.

I even told a manager at the local county gym that if anyone lost something metal like a ring or keys to just give me a call and I'd be glad to try to find it at no charge, she thought that was great and said when they play ball at the field next to the gym someone might lose something so she'll keep it in mind.

It feels good to try to help detectorists be viewed by the public in a good light and not as people who go around leaving holes in the ground :lol: (I explained to her how we dig a plug and replace it)
 
I've never been asked to help find anything that was lost, but I did find a ring that I was able to return to it's owner. It was a 1987 class ring from a Colorado Springs High School, and it had initials engraved inside. I was able to find the owner by checking the yearbook on Classmates.com, and a friend was able to notify them on Facebook (I don't have an account).

She was surprised that her ring had been found and even more surprised that I had bothered to look her up and return it. It was a great feeling to see her face when I gave it to her.
 
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