Vernon in Virginia~Formerly Alaska
New member
[size=x-large]BATTLE in the WOODCHIPS[/size]
By Vernon Cross
My 5 year old daughter, Sarah Rose Cross loves to detect. She used to drag my Whites XLT around backwards when she was three years old as I tossed coins in front of the coil when she wasn't looking, The detectors I had were too heavy for her to swing for very long. Then I heard of a detector, a toy really, that was small, light and inexpensive, just right for a 5 year old. I ordered one through a friend in PA and he shipped it to Alaska to me. I told Sarah that a new secret weapon to find money was on its way.
The detector soon arrived and assembly of the three part unit was a snap, literally.... It either snaps in, or screws together and assembly time was less than a minute, and I didn't even need to refer to the instruction manual, something I'm personally very proud of. Carefully adjusting the little sensitivity wheel, I was able to tweak the last bit of power out of it and air tested a quarter at 2" with the 4" coil. Sarah then commenced to find and count every floor nail in the house with it. She also found the metal shoestring eyelets on her tennis shoes, the crowns and dental work in my mouth and discovered the refrigerator, which she analyzed must be metal. She then wanted to detect my face again at which time I sent her outside to see if she could find the van with it. I told her that Sunday I would take her out to a park, and she could test her secret weapon for real.
Sunday, D-Day, (detecting day), 14:00 hours, Wonderland Park play ground... a day that will live in infamy. Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose" and I hit the wood chip playground to try out the new secret weapon. Opposition was light at first, only a few curious preschoolers on patrol that tried to flank us but I was able to keep them at bay with basic evasive maneuvers. The insertion into the DZ (Detecting Zone) had gone according to plan and I was feeling more at ease being in a potential hot spot with the yet untested recruit Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose". We made several sweeps through the area without contact and worked our way toward the monkey bars with her quietly swinging away. Then it happened... first the secret weapon beeped, alerting the enemy giving away our position. The green light on the unit flashed, indicating a confirmed target had been detected. But worst of all, forgetting all her basic training I had taught her about stealth, infiltration and tactics while behind enemy lines and most of all, low-key, target retrieval protocol, she yelled out those five chilling words that will forever cause me nightmares......"DADDY, DADDY, I FOUND A DIME!"
From there on the DZ became hotter than black vinyl car seat in Tijuana . Saddle up, lock & load, the fight was on! Caught out in the open with no fortifications or cover, we'd been had. Our position was instantly overran by a hoard of screaming crazed enemy rug rats all wanting in on a piece of the action. Their numbers were overwhelming, and they seemed to be coming out of the wood chips! Surrounded on all sides, we were unable to utilize standard escape and evasion tactics. They pressed in, demanding to know what we were doing, why we were there, what we had found and exactly what it was that my partner held in her hand. According to the rules of the Geneva convention, I gave only name, rank and serial number, trying to buy us time. Private Cross ... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose" was being tossed to and fro among the ranks of the shoving, rowdy opposition. Detecting became almost impossible. I yelled for her to hold her position and wait for extraction, but she was unable to hear me over the deafening sounds of the battle. Going far beyond the call of duty, Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose", pressed forward against overwhelming odds, and ignoring her own safety, managed to locate and evacuate another dime, nickel and crucifix before succumbing to enemy opposition.
Whenever the secret weapon beeped, highly trained and motivated Kamikaze divers would drop to the ground and in a flurry of flying wood shrapnel, dig up the target and run off with it. Pinned down and under withering hostile fire as wave after wave of the enemy tried to rip the secret weapon from her hand, screaming "I WANT TO TRY! I WANT TO TRY"! It became their equivalent war cry of "TORO! TORO! TORO!" Finally, unable to detect forward because of overwhelming opposition and lack of fire support, the mission was scrubbed. I reached down and extracted her from the DZ and we made a run for the border as pockets of enemy offered sporadic resistance.
Because of her fortitude, courage and tenacity that day, Sarah has been promoted to the rank of Corporal, given a verbal meritorious award and was given command of her own plastic, wood chip digger.
Now if that don't make you want to pop open a can of C-rations and take some R & R, I don't know what would!
[attachment 59028 Vs.jpg]
By Vernon Cross
My 5 year old daughter, Sarah Rose Cross loves to detect. She used to drag my Whites XLT around backwards when she was three years old as I tossed coins in front of the coil when she wasn't looking, The detectors I had were too heavy for her to swing for very long. Then I heard of a detector, a toy really, that was small, light and inexpensive, just right for a 5 year old. I ordered one through a friend in PA and he shipped it to Alaska to me. I told Sarah that a new secret weapon to find money was on its way.
The detector soon arrived and assembly of the three part unit was a snap, literally.... It either snaps in, or screws together and assembly time was less than a minute, and I didn't even need to refer to the instruction manual, something I'm personally very proud of. Carefully adjusting the little sensitivity wheel, I was able to tweak the last bit of power out of it and air tested a quarter at 2" with the 4" coil. Sarah then commenced to find and count every floor nail in the house with it. She also found the metal shoestring eyelets on her tennis shoes, the crowns and dental work in my mouth and discovered the refrigerator, which she analyzed must be metal. She then wanted to detect my face again at which time I sent her outside to see if she could find the van with it. I told her that Sunday I would take her out to a park, and she could test her secret weapon for real.
Sunday, D-Day, (detecting day), 14:00 hours, Wonderland Park play ground... a day that will live in infamy. Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose" and I hit the wood chip playground to try out the new secret weapon. Opposition was light at first, only a few curious preschoolers on patrol that tried to flank us but I was able to keep them at bay with basic evasive maneuvers. The insertion into the DZ (Detecting Zone) had gone according to plan and I was feeling more at ease being in a potential hot spot with the yet untested recruit Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose". We made several sweeps through the area without contact and worked our way toward the monkey bars with her quietly swinging away. Then it happened... first the secret weapon beeped, alerting the enemy giving away our position. The green light on the unit flashed, indicating a confirmed target had been detected. But worst of all, forgetting all her basic training I had taught her about stealth, infiltration and tactics while behind enemy lines and most of all, low-key, target retrieval protocol, she yelled out those five chilling words that will forever cause me nightmares......"DADDY, DADDY, I FOUND A DIME!"
From there on the DZ became hotter than black vinyl car seat in Tijuana . Saddle up, lock & load, the fight was on! Caught out in the open with no fortifications or cover, we'd been had. Our position was instantly overran by a hoard of screaming crazed enemy rug rats all wanting in on a piece of the action. Their numbers were overwhelming, and they seemed to be coming out of the wood chips! Surrounded on all sides, we were unable to utilize standard escape and evasion tactics. They pressed in, demanding to know what we were doing, why we were there, what we had found and exactly what it was that my partner held in her hand. According to the rules of the Geneva convention, I gave only name, rank and serial number, trying to buy us time. Private Cross ... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose" was being tossed to and fro among the ranks of the shoving, rowdy opposition. Detecting became almost impossible. I yelled for her to hold her position and wait for extraction, but she was unable to hear me over the deafening sounds of the battle. Going far beyond the call of duty, Private Cross... uh, I mean little "Sarah Rose", pressed forward against overwhelming odds, and ignoring her own safety, managed to locate and evacuate another dime, nickel and crucifix before succumbing to enemy opposition.
Whenever the secret weapon beeped, highly trained and motivated Kamikaze divers would drop to the ground and in a flurry of flying wood shrapnel, dig up the target and run off with it. Pinned down and under withering hostile fire as wave after wave of the enemy tried to rip the secret weapon from her hand, screaming "I WANT TO TRY! I WANT TO TRY"! It became their equivalent war cry of "TORO! TORO! TORO!" Finally, unable to detect forward because of overwhelming opposition and lack of fire support, the mission was scrubbed. I reached down and extracted her from the DZ and we made a run for the border as pockets of enemy offered sporadic resistance.
Because of her fortitude, courage and tenacity that day, Sarah has been promoted to the rank of Corporal, given a verbal meritorious award and was given command of her own plastic, wood chip digger.
Now if that don't make you want to pop open a can of C-rations and take some R & R, I don't know what would!
[attachment 59028 Vs.jpg]