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| 1944. |
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| On A Peaceful Country Hillside Far Away - 2016 |
If I only knew then what I know now - that is something I occasionally think about. I don't know that I'd change my life a lot. I don't think I could make it much better. I'm pretty content and have been pretty content most of my life.
There were times when I worked hard at metal detecting. There were a few times that I started at sunrise and quit around sunset. Those times were very few. I seldom hunted more than about four hours at a time. Most of the time I was very casual about my hunting. I didn't really go at it hard unless I set some sort of goal for myself. One day I was determined to not quit until I found a piece of gold. It took me all day. I finally found a small ring as the sun was starting to go down.
I hunted hard for a few months when I wanted to see if I could make a living by detecting. I found that I could but didn't want to. That seemed to take some of the fun out of it. That was when I was down south and hunting modern jewelry.
One thing I would have done differently if I changed anything, I would have hunted longer when the conditions were really good. I was very casual sometimes - too casual when there were targets everywhere. I've told a little about that before. That is when I should have really put in the time. Conditions can quickly change and then it all disappears. As they say, "Make hay while the sun shines."
One other thing I'd do differently if I had the chance to go back and change things, is I'd appreciate family and friends more. Now I know they don't last forever. Grandpa and gramdma are gone. Dad is gone. Mom is still here, but having a hard time. That is something you might not think about until it is too late.
I might have played sports with more knowledge and skill and put more effort into it. I could have done a lot better. I could have studied a little in school and worked harder at my career. That all would have been easy enough. I didn't take any of it too seriously and still am not out to prove anything to anybody. I never cared much about anything like that. Sometimes I like to test myself to see what I can do, and I'm curious and like to learn, but I never cared much about being a "success" or making a reputation. I still don't. Things worked out well for me despite my lack of focused goals and effort.
As I sit here writing, the one thing I'm sure of and the one thing I'd like to say is, appreciate your family and friends today like you are never going to see them again.
Remembering those that served,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
