Lee1968
Elite Member
From time to time, I write little short stories rather than watch TV, or video's on the internet. Here is one about metal detecting......
Lost Ring
I had finally got a day off of work. The unit I worked on at the refinery had completed its turnaround, and I had 4 days off. After 6 weeks of “7 on and 1 off”, I was due. My wife had been keeping things running at the house, but she still was going to let me have the day. And what a day it was. The weather was perfect. High was supposed to be in the 60’s, with bright sunshine. Also, it was a Monday, so no one would be at the local park. It may seem odd for a grown man to want to go to the park, but for a metal detectorist, it was my oasis.
When I arrived, I put on the headphones, and saw what I expected to see. Nothing. There was no one there, and I had the place to myself. Today was going to be perfect. After about an hour, and having accumulated about $2.00 in change, a token, and a cheap ring I took a break. Certainly nothing to write home about, but that was fine. I wasn’t at work, and I was alone, at least I thought I was, until I heard a gravelly voice.
“What are you doing there?” he asked.
“Just digging up some change” I responded.
He was old, dressed in a suit, with a hat on, and gloves in his hand.
“Is that one of those metal detectors?” he asked
“Yes sir” I answered.
“Does that thing find gold?” he inquired.
“If I am lucky enough to get over the top of it, but it is pretty rare.” I answered.
I was hoping that would be the end of it, but he started walking my way. I met him part way, expecting to answer the usual questions - How deep does it go? What’s the oldest thing you ever found? What’s the most valuable thing you ever found? etc etc etc. I normally don’t mind talking to folks about it, but I just really wanted to be by myself. The conversation started a bit differently than I was anticipating.
“I need you to find something - today.” he ordered.
“What are you looking for?” I asked - hoping to show a little contempt in my voice.
“A ring - it’s gold, with three diamonds in it. It is my wife’s, and I need you to find it today.” he said with determination.
“Well, I am off for the next few days, and as soon as I am done here, I will see what I can do. If I can’t find it today.....” I tried to say
“IT HAS TO BE TODAY” he said, losing patience. “My wife is being buried tomorrow morning, and I need to give her back her ring” he explained, his voice shaking.
“Do you know about where she lost it?” I asked sheepishly.
He explained that she was working in her garden the day before she died, and was fretting once she was done that her ring was missing. He said it had to be in the garden, and was probably lost putting her gloves on and off. She was very upset, and actually cried herself to sleep. She never woke. The house was next to the park I was in, and I set out on a mission. I was going to find that ring.
Mr. Tebby - he finally introduced himself - sat on a bench while I got to work. I went back and forth the length of the garden. I basically turned off the discrimation on the detector, and was concentrating on every signal. I cut unusually large plugs, to not damage any finds, and Mr. Tebby seemed to lean forward a bit every time I stopped to investigate a signal. After 2 hours, I finally got a strong 18-19 on my detector. The number indicates the target, and this was a possibility. Although that signal is usually “junk”, it could be gold, and it wasn’t deep. I used the pipointer on the ground, and got a solid tone in a small area. I carefully moved the dirt around with my hand, and saw the first hint of a gold shine. I was relieved and elated as I pulled Mrs. Tebby’s ring from the dirt. I wiped it off a little, and walked to Mr. Tebby. He knew before I gave it to him, and he started to cry. I put the ring in his shaking hand, and he just nodded. He tried to say “Thank you”, but when his mouth moved, the words didn’t come out. I patted him on his hands, and slowly walked away.
When I told my wife the story, she cried. She felt so sorry for Mr. Tebby, and of course she had questions. How long were they together? Did they have children? And so on and so on. When I couldn’t answer any of her questions, she said she would just look up her obituary. She was reading aloud that they had married in 1959, had three kids... and then she stopped abruptly.
“This isn’t right” she said.
“How do you know what is right or wrong in somebody’s obituary?” I asked with a smirk.
She quoted the posting - “Norma Tebby was preceded in death by her husband Oscar, who passed away in 2018.”
She looked up his obituary from the archives, and there was Mr. Tebby. He had a smile, a suit, a hat, and gloves in his hands.
Lost Ring
I had finally got a day off of work. The unit I worked on at the refinery had completed its turnaround, and I had 4 days off. After 6 weeks of “7 on and 1 off”, I was due. My wife had been keeping things running at the house, but she still was going to let me have the day. And what a day it was. The weather was perfect. High was supposed to be in the 60’s, with bright sunshine. Also, it was a Monday, so no one would be at the local park. It may seem odd for a grown man to want to go to the park, but for a metal detectorist, it was my oasis.
When I arrived, I put on the headphones, and saw what I expected to see. Nothing. There was no one there, and I had the place to myself. Today was going to be perfect. After about an hour, and having accumulated about $2.00 in change, a token, and a cheap ring I took a break. Certainly nothing to write home about, but that was fine. I wasn’t at work, and I was alone, at least I thought I was, until I heard a gravelly voice.
“What are you doing there?” he asked.
“Just digging up some change” I responded.
He was old, dressed in a suit, with a hat on, and gloves in his hand.
“Is that one of those metal detectors?” he asked
“Yes sir” I answered.
“Does that thing find gold?” he inquired.
“If I am lucky enough to get over the top of it, but it is pretty rare.” I answered.
I was hoping that would be the end of it, but he started walking my way. I met him part way, expecting to answer the usual questions - How deep does it go? What’s the oldest thing you ever found? What’s the most valuable thing you ever found? etc etc etc. I normally don’t mind talking to folks about it, but I just really wanted to be by myself. The conversation started a bit differently than I was anticipating.
“I need you to find something - today.” he ordered.
“What are you looking for?” I asked - hoping to show a little contempt in my voice.
“A ring - it’s gold, with three diamonds in it. It is my wife’s, and I need you to find it today.” he said with determination.
“Well, I am off for the next few days, and as soon as I am done here, I will see what I can do. If I can’t find it today.....” I tried to say
“IT HAS TO BE TODAY” he said, losing patience. “My wife is being buried tomorrow morning, and I need to give her back her ring” he explained, his voice shaking.
“Do you know about where she lost it?” I asked sheepishly.
He explained that she was working in her garden the day before she died, and was fretting once she was done that her ring was missing. He said it had to be in the garden, and was probably lost putting her gloves on and off. She was very upset, and actually cried herself to sleep. She never woke. The house was next to the park I was in, and I set out on a mission. I was going to find that ring.
Mr. Tebby - he finally introduced himself - sat on a bench while I got to work. I went back and forth the length of the garden. I basically turned off the discrimation on the detector, and was concentrating on every signal. I cut unusually large plugs, to not damage any finds, and Mr. Tebby seemed to lean forward a bit every time I stopped to investigate a signal. After 2 hours, I finally got a strong 18-19 on my detector. The number indicates the target, and this was a possibility. Although that signal is usually “junk”, it could be gold, and it wasn’t deep. I used the pipointer on the ground, and got a solid tone in a small area. I carefully moved the dirt around with my hand, and saw the first hint of a gold shine. I was relieved and elated as I pulled Mrs. Tebby’s ring from the dirt. I wiped it off a little, and walked to Mr. Tebby. He knew before I gave it to him, and he started to cry. I put the ring in his shaking hand, and he just nodded. He tried to say “Thank you”, but when his mouth moved, the words didn’t come out. I patted him on his hands, and slowly walked away.
When I told my wife the story, she cried. She felt so sorry for Mr. Tebby, and of course she had questions. How long were they together? Did they have children? And so on and so on. When I couldn’t answer any of her questions, she said she would just look up her obituary. She was reading aloud that they had married in 1959, had three kids... and then she stopped abruptly.
“This isn’t right” she said.
“How do you know what is right or wrong in somebody’s obituary?” I asked with a smirk.
She quoted the posting - “Norma Tebby was preceded in death by her husband Oscar, who passed away in 2018.”
She looked up his obituary from the archives, and there was Mr. Tebby. He had a smile, a suit, a hat, and gloves in his hands.
