Hey Old timers! - Tell me about the good ole days.

Rattlehead said:

..... getting permissions were much easier, and there weren't nearly as many "Karens" to give us a hard time. ....

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Tom_in_CA said:

rattlehead, Not sure how old you are, but when I started in the mid to late 1970s, I was a teenager. And I too recall that "permissions were so much easier". I used to knock on the doors, of the homes of total strangers, with my detector in-hand, asking to hunt yards. And I rarely got denied ! Contrast to if I did that today, I'd probably get 90% "no's".

But I think that's got little to do with society and culture and "Liability" issues. I think it has more to do with: A young guy (teens and 20s) is more innocent and oblivious. Less jaded, less polite, more confident, etc.... I mean, when I was 15 and knocking on someone's door, I probably presented a picture of an innocent kid . And at the time, I probably exuded the confidence that I was SURE they couldn't say "no". Body language and vibes like that is merely picked up by the person you're talking to. Ie.: It's "catching"

Contrast to now, I have more mature outlook, worries, cautions, etc... And I'm an ugly older guy, blah blah.

An example of this psychology of getting a "yes" or a "no", is picking up on women : You know that there's no science to it. One guy is smooth, charming, and gets the "yes". While the other guy is skittish and nerdy and gets the "no". So too is md'ing : I don't think that the people we're asking for permissions from has changed. I think it's us, and getting older has changed.

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Tom_in_CA said:

rattlehead, Not sure how old you are, but when I started in the mid to late 1970s, I was a teenager. And I too recall that "permissions were so much easier". I used to knock on the doors, of the homes of total strangers, with my detector in-hand, asking to hunt yards. And I rarely got denied ! Contrast to if I did that today, I'd probably get 90% "no's".

But I think that's got little to do with society and culture and "Liability" issues. I think it has more to do with: A young guy (teens and 20s) is more innocent and oblivious. Less jaded, less polite, more confident, etc.... I mean, when I was 15 and knocking on someone's door, I probably presented a picture of an innocent kid . And at the time, I probably exuded the confidence that I was SURE they couldn't say "no". Body language and vibes like that is merely picked up by the person you're talking to. Ie.: It's "catching"

Contrast to now, I have more mature outlook, worries, cautions, etc... And I'm an ugly older guy, blah blah.

An example of this psychology of getting a "yes" or a "no", is picking up on women : You know that there's no science to it. One guy is smooth, charming, and gets the "yes". While the other guy is skittish and nerdy and gets the "no". So too is md'ing : I don't think that the people we're asking for permissions from has changed. I think it's us, and getting older has changed.

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ManInTheWaLL said:

Society has changed. No one wants bothered. Years ago before the internet, people went next door and knocked on their neighbors doors. Now we don't even know our neighbors. No need to answer a door anymore. I don't. If you want me, you call me first. And then, I don't answer. So, you better text me.

People have seen tons of horror stories, horror movies, true crime shows.. the bad is just one knock away in most peoples minds.

People years ago may have said yes just to be polite. We are not as polite as we use to be. We have moved down in "class" you could say.

We fear everyone we don't know nowadays. And the smart people, fear even those they know.

Don't be so hard on yourself, I think you are a cute guy!

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MuddyMo said:

Well for starters we had to walk ten miles to permission, up hill in both directions.

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Rattlehead said:

Tom, I think you're 100% correct. I've found that if I have one of my grandkids with me when I knock on a door, the success rate goes waaaay up. If I'm alone, I often get a "no". Appearances definitely play a big role!

Of course, I only get more handsome and charming with age... so not sure how I could ever get turned down in the first place.

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maxxkatt said:

In the late 80's I took my sons age 14 and 7 to north GA to pan for gold. First weekend, could not find any place to legally pan except those stupid tourist pay for panning where a lot of them salted the gravels with brass filings. Yes this is true.

Next weekend we were going down a small dirt road when a lady drove out. She stopped and ask if she could help us. I explained we (kids in back) were looking for somewhere to pan. She said wait here, and continued up the road to get her mail. I don't think she would have given me the time of day if the kids were not in the car.

Told her my name and she ask if I was related to (she named my father) and I told her he is my father. Turns out she and her husband retired to N. georgia from Macon, GA and knew my dad. They bought a 40 acre original lottery land lot with two gold mines, and a gold bearing stream. We hunted that area for two years and found gold every weekend. Not any big nuggets but flour and pickers. We had a ball even in the winter. That was my first introduction to metal detecting when I bought the Fisher Gold Bug. The big win was the time my boys and I spent together. We still often talk about those years and some of the great people we met.

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