It just got me thinking what I would do if I somehow learned about a cache that may be somewhere too far away for me to get at. What would I do in that situation? What would the rest of you do? I'm not saying I expect to happen, I'm just wondering out loud here.
I would probably keep the info to myself until I found someone on a forum like this that I felt I knew and trusted enough to give the info to. Even if I didn't expect to get a share, I'd want someone who shared my obsession to have the thrill of digging it up.
There is no one in my daily life who can come even close to understanding what I get out of this hobby, but here on the forum, people understand!
I think we should get back to Z's original question: What would I do if I had knowledge of a cache that I could not get to without help from some other people, or that I could not get to at all. Z said he'd pass the info on to someone whom he knew and felt he could trust, and I couldn't agree more. But....here's the $64 thousand question: What KIND of person is it who earns such trust? I think the answer to that question is found within the thousands of posts that are on this forum.
I have been on this forum for a couple of years now and have read posts from members from all walks of life, all ages, and living all around the world. I have never personally met any of the forum members, but based on what I have read here over the past couple of years, I have already selected certain members (in my mind) that I think would be trustworthy and whom I would want to be their friend, if given the opportunity. I'm not going to mention any names--I would never do that--but I will tell you the attributes that sets them apart from the others:
There are certain members who, time and time again, offer advice and suggestions, and encouragement to newbies and to those (like me!) who perhaps struggle with some hobby-related problem. Unselfishly, they tell how it overcome or fix a problem. They never tire answering the same questions over and over for the endless stream of newcomers who find their way onto this forum. They genuinely care about fellow members (whom they DO NOT know). They do not look upon other MD'ers as a threat or as competitors. Instead, they look upon others as brothers and sisters--as family. They help total strangers to improve their MD'ing skills, which encourages more people to join the hobby rather than drop out of it. It's one of these unselfish people that I would share info about a cache with.
There are certain members who accomplish some pretty amazing metal-detecting feats, or who have some amazing, once-in-a-lifetime finds, but when they post their photos and tell their stories, they're not bragging...they're sharing...and you can tell the difference! You can tell by their attitude that they're not "in your face" with see what I found that YOU DID NOT FIND! These are the same people who are quick to praise you when you make some fantastic find and they did not. To them, it's not about who finds the most, the biggest, or the best. It's simply about sharing. That's the kind of person I want to share my cache info with.
Sometimes, I post something stupid or am just plain wrong about something. There are those out there who are quick to jump on that for the sole purpose of making themselves look smart while publicly reminding me that I'm an idiot. Then there are those who know how to TACTFULLY correct someone when they're mistaken about something. That person cares about the feelings of others and will actually put forth the effort carefully select words that are non-threatening, non-critical, but still constructive. That's the person I want to share my cache info with.
Wow...here I go rambling again. I want to thank Z for starting this thread, and I want to thank everyone who had a kind word regarding what I posted earlier in this thread. I consider so many of you as my un-met friends, my un-met huntin' buddies!
Harley-Dog
