Have you ever used a metal detector?

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember playing with a metal detector when I was a kid, or maybe it was when I worked at Radio Shack. In any case there is some buried memory in my head of holding the contraption in my hand and waving the detector portion of the device across the ground, listening for changes in some annoying tone that would signal I struck it rich, or more likely found some scrap piece of metal or if I was lucky, a penny.

It was the other day while my wife and I were walking in a local park that we saw a father and a son using some metal detectors, and I vaguely remembered my history of metal detecting. My wife asked me why they would be there in the park, especially by the “beach” volleyball courts, and I had to remind her that there are people jumping up and down on a volleyball court, and they sometimes have precious metals, or at least a few coins in their pockets, and sometimes those items fall out of their pockets and get lost in the sand. She said “Oh, yea.”, and I also reminded her of my other run-in with a metal detector enthusiast who bragged of his finding a wedding ring once in the same park.

I was curious as I started this plight about the proliferation of detectorists (A term I found referring to those who are metal detector enthusiasts) so I did what anyone would do – I Googled “metal detector club.” Low and behold Google listed over 15,000 hits, and a quick look at the “Midstate Metal Detector Club“, a group based out of Wisconsin, and “World Wide Assocations of Treasure Seekers” (WWATS) websites, and I quickly learned that the detectorists take themselves very seriously, and that it seems the world of metal detecting considers itself on the endangered list thanks to a myriad of government regulations and not enough representation on the part of the detectorists.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the whining of the speaker and watched the needle of the metal detector to see if I found a buried treasure, and I don’t see myself doing it again anytime soon, but after seeing the father and son I couldn’t help but plight: Have you ever used a metal detector?

That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!