The Sound of the Things That are Found Underground

Last weekend, I invited my friend/co-worker* Chris** over to use his metal detector in our yard. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but was hoping to find some old coins or other miscellany.

Several conversations leading up to his visit clarified the size of the yard and arranged for his wife and child to come over for double-decker tacos for dinner after the dig. Though one went something like this:

Rachel: Did I tell you about the previous owners' dead cat?
Chris: Uh.... do you think it has a collar I might find?
Rachel: I don't think so. Matt found it's collarbone when he was reburying it though...

With anticipation, we all made predictions about what he might find.

Chris's Predictions:

• $1.50 in clad
• no silver
• no wheat
• one toy car
• two somethings unexpected or weird
• a ton (not metric) of trash

Rachel's Predictions:

• 3 railroad tie metal pieces
• 3 toy cars
• $.67 in clad

Matthew's Predictions:

• $.65 in clad
• 3 toy cars
• a kitchen utensil
• an old tool

Chris spent several hours sweeping the backyard, but before he got started, he showed us the detailed display options and explained a little about how he used it to choose when to dig. The BLEEP BLOOP noises emanating from the instrument when it detects metal are reminiscent of an '80s SciFi movie, and the allure of wielding such a "futuristic" device is not lost on me. A baton-sized mini detector and serrated blade hang at the ready at his waist. Such a blade cleanly cuts through grass and its roots, allowing Chris to remove and replace a tidy plug of sod in each BLEEPING area.

I asked him many questions, took a fair number of pictures, and came trotting across the lawn any time I heard the telltale beep-beeps of the mini detector prodding a recently removed grass plug.

[Picture captions below are lyrics from Metal Detector, by They Might Be Giants, which has been on loop in my head ever since Chris came over.]

Q: How long have you been metal detecting?
A: My first day of detecting was October 20, 2011. I found a penny.

look past the volleyball...

Q: How did you get into it?
A: I've always loved old coins and history. Over beers, a friend of mine mentioned that he had picked up a machine. I asked him a thousand questions then bought one the next day--then I bought a better one the next month.

look past the [adorable] squawking gull... [he's actually a really good baby, not terribly squawky]

Q: What kind of research did you do to prepare?
A: In general, I spend a lot of time looking at historical maps and overlaying them with Google Maps. I also read old newspapers to see where people used to congregate and where money changed hands. For example, Recreation Park in Ypsilanti was the city's fairgrounds for many years after the Civil War.

ignore the mountain of discarded folderol

Q: What do you do with the stuff you find?
A: I add the best coins to my collection and put any other interesting finds into storage. I have a very heavy bag of change.

for I have got something to help you understand

Q: What are some of your favorite things you've found?
A: A boatswain whistle, 1883 Indian Head penny, 1920s copper token for a bowel tonic, marijuana paraphernalia, anything silver.

something waiting there beneath the sand

Q: Have you had metal detecting dreams?
A: Regularly. In the morning, I can remember the dates off the coins I dug.

My metal detector is with me all of the time, I'm the inspector over the mine.

Q: Where are your favorite places to go metal detecting?
A: A good metal-detector never divulges his/her spots. Parks, schools, and churches are common hunting grounds though. Gaining permission to hunt private residences usually yields good results.

everything on the top will just suddenly stop seeming interesting

Q: Do you take your metal detector with you on vacation, like photographers take their tripods?
A: Yes, especially if I am going to the beach.

so listen now to the sound of the things that are found underground

Items extracted from the yard:

• $.67 in clad (I GUESSED THIS EXACTLY! WHAT DO I WIN??)
• 2 wheat pennies (Chris was pleasantly surprised)
• 6 toy cars (more than anyone predicted, but not surprising given the number we found above ground in the last 3 years)
• some trash (foil, etc)
• really long nail (from when we got the gutters redone)
• little finial thing (I think this counts as a "something weird" for Chris)
• foam dart (buried next to a car)
• metal/plastic dart (also a "something weird.")
• 1 penny found in the flower bed while I was weeding (I found it with my trowel before Chris found anything with the metal detector, which was ironic.)

We enjoyed having Chris and his family over and hope we can do it again some time. There's still the front yard to investigate!

*Is there a mash up for that already in existence? Frollegue? Froworker? Frassociate? The Internet tells me it's Frolleague and warns me against having any. Alas, it runs contrary to my subscription to Kathleen Kelly's philosophy of “Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.”
**CTAY. Not to be confused with the traitor, CGAT.