Digging Up the Past

Ever since I started using my metal detector in earnest - and began talking with the fine folks on TQ - it occurred to me that I've seen a somewhat common thread that binds everyone who's passionate about this hobby.

It's not the all-consuming desire to strike it rich - although no one would walk away from a buried cache of gold bullion! But rather, I think, maintaining a connection to times past; and preserving values that seems to be less and less evident in the world we live in today. I've read many posts that talk about how certain finds bring to mind a time from a person's past, when life was simpler and enjoyable. Pappy's thread on "You Might be County if..." is certainly funny - but the over-riding theme seems to be that even though a lot of people make jokes about the country or "red-neck" way of life - all of us who have actually LIVED that way of life, knows that the joke is actually on every one else. My country upbringing helped create the person I am today - and I make no apologies for the fact that I still believe in being polite, living the Golden Rule, sharing, helping those less fortunate without the expectation of receiving something in return - and all the other "rules to live by" that I was taught as a child - and seem to be less important to those who have grown up in the generation that's followed.

So now, when I find an old coin or a "Kennedy for President" button or a broken piece of a farmer's plow - I immediately relate back to a time when things were clearer and made sense. I remember folks who are no longer with us and smile at memories that now only exist inside me.

We can't and shouldn't try to live in the past - but rather should preserve the values of the time and teach them to our children and grand children, so that the connection is never lost.

The beauty and value of items I dig up are more personal that a dollar value assigned by a collector's book...and I think it's the same for many of you. As long as there are pieces of history to be found...maybe a little of their REAL value can be shared with those who will come after us.