Over the years there have been many calls for me to "PLEASE FIND MY LOST RING!!!!!!". My first was from a lady I knew whose teenage son lost the only thing he owned of his dead father's, a large university ring!! He gave me a close approximation of the location of the ring and I found it in a few minutes. When I handed it to him he cried real tears of gratitude and thanked me from the depth of his being. He shook my hand and hugged me like I was family. I consider that quality time folks!!!!
One young bride to be lost her dainty platinum ring with a huge diamond by foolishly wearing it to the beach and then even more foolishly putting it on the tiny finger of her three year old niece, who promptly flipped her hand in the air sending the jewel flying! They wisely cordoned off the area and called me. A few moments time, tears of joy and warm hugs!!! Quality Time.
28 times I've been the hero and no regrets. The two times that really stand out were finding the class ring of my wife's 2nd cousin after over 20 years lost and the ring of a friend over 40 Years lost. They both got nice write-ups in Connecticut's oldest and largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
The cousin's mom had bought a replacement for the lost ring and was concerned about how to keep the fact that I had found the lost one from her husband who didn't know it was foolishly lost.!! Mom kept it!
The other ring was a 14K signet ring, the gift of a beloved aunt, to celebrate her 12 year old nephews confirmation. He proudly wore it everywhere even swimming where he lost it! Joe Martino grew up in the area one block from where he lost the ring and lived there his entire life. When he found out I was out there with a detector he told me that he wanted his ring back if I found it. I assured him that if it hadn't been found by another hunter I would find it in time. Every time I saw Joe he asked, "Find my ring yet?" After a year or so I found a ring that matched the description he had given me, gold...initials..JAM..
When I handed it to him, with hardly a glance he told me this isn't it!!! Now how many JAM's are there one can find?
I kept at it until one day I parked near a couple of fellows suiting up in waders and trying, it seemed, to hit the water before I did. I'm never in a race when there is treasure to be found. I chuckled to myself as they hit the water with two large splashes and forged ahead at flank speed! Not more than 10 feet and 20 minutes later I had the first ring in my scoop! I yelled to these guys, "SLOW DOWN, YOU MISSED ONE!!!". They were 75-100feet down the beach from me throwing a wake as they cruised through the water. 5-10 feet and 15 minutes farther along I found a nice small engagement ring with a real diamond!! I held it up and yelled again to these guys, now a hundred yards away, "SLOW DOWN YOU MISSED ANOTHER ONE!!!" I don't know if they heard me or not but by the time I found ring number three, (Joe's ring!!!) a yard or so farther along, they had reached the end of the beach and were climbing up onto dry land and heading back to the car. Ring number 4 was in my scoop before they got back to where I hunted in their tracks, ring number 5 came to light as they loaded their gear yo leave and ring number 6 as they drove away, probably muttering to themselves some thing about what a waste of time detecting a hunted out beach!!!
There is a lesson in there somewhere!!!
Joe, known locally as "The Mayor of Sound View Beach (Honorary) was one thrilled man to have his long lost ring returned over 40 years after he lost it!!!
He shook my hand until it hurt and knowing this was his lucky day went down and bought a small fortune in lottery tickets!! Ah, that was Joe. He's no longer with us, but the memories linger on..........
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
".
One young bride to be lost her dainty platinum ring with a huge diamond by foolishly wearing it to the beach and then even more foolishly putting it on the tiny finger of her three year old niece, who promptly flipped her hand in the air sending the jewel flying! They wisely cordoned off the area and called me. A few moments time, tears of joy and warm hugs!!! Quality Time.
28 times I've been the hero and no regrets. The two times that really stand out were finding the class ring of my wife's 2nd cousin after over 20 years lost and the ring of a friend over 40 Years lost. They both got nice write-ups in Connecticut's oldest and largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
The cousin's mom had bought a replacement for the lost ring and was concerned about how to keep the fact that I had found the lost one from her husband who didn't know it was foolishly lost.!! Mom kept it!
The other ring was a 14K signet ring, the gift of a beloved aunt, to celebrate her 12 year old nephews confirmation. He proudly wore it everywhere even swimming where he lost it! Joe Martino grew up in the area one block from where he lost the ring and lived there his entire life. When he found out I was out there with a detector he told me that he wanted his ring back if I found it. I assured him that if it hadn't been found by another hunter I would find it in time. Every time I saw Joe he asked, "Find my ring yet?" After a year or so I found a ring that matched the description he had given me, gold...initials..JAM..
When I handed it to him, with hardly a glance he told me this isn't it!!! Now how many JAM's are there one can find?
I kept at it until one day I parked near a couple of fellows suiting up in waders and trying, it seemed, to hit the water before I did. I'm never in a race when there is treasure to be found. I chuckled to myself as they hit the water with two large splashes and forged ahead at flank speed! Not more than 10 feet and 20 minutes later I had the first ring in my scoop! I yelled to these guys, "SLOW DOWN, YOU MISSED ONE!!!". They were 75-100feet down the beach from me throwing a wake as they cruised through the water. 5-10 feet and 15 minutes farther along I found a nice small engagement ring with a real diamond!! I held it up and yelled again to these guys, now a hundred yards away, "SLOW DOWN YOU MISSED ANOTHER ONE!!!" I don't know if they heard me or not but by the time I found ring number three, (Joe's ring!!!) a yard or so farther along, they had reached the end of the beach and were climbing up onto dry land and heading back to the car. Ring number 4 was in my scoop before they got back to where I hunted in their tracks, ring number 5 came to light as they loaded their gear yo leave and ring number 6 as they drove away, probably muttering to themselves some thing about what a waste of time detecting a hunted out beach!!!
There is a lesson in there somewhere!!!
Joe, known locally as "The Mayor of Sound View Beach (Honorary) was one thrilled man to have his long lost ring returned over 40 years after he lost it!!!
He shook my hand until it hurt and knowing this was his lucky day went down and bought a small fortune in lottery tickets!! Ah, that was Joe. He's no longer with us, but the memories linger on..........
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
".
