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Finding Things

by Kenneth J McCormick

Why is it that some people find alot of things while others never find anything?

Finding Things

One thing that always excited me when I was a kid, was finding things. I lived in Brooklyn, New York and there were not exactly things lying around, but there were some abandoned lots that we used to go to where people would dump things. I remember going to a lot that was a block from where I lived. People had used it like a garbage dump. Now that I think about it, it was disgusting and I would never go to that germ ridden place today. Being a kid, I really didn't know any better. My friends and I would happily dig through the rubbish looking for anything interesting. You usually found things like broken glasses, pens that didn't write or old worn shoes. One day as I dug through the trash I can across a little white box. It was square and about 2 1/2 inches on each side. It felt like something was in it. I couldn't wait to get it open. As I took off the top, there was a brand new pocket watch. It wasn't an expensive one, but to me it was like finding treasure. All my friends kept asking to see it and they kept telling me how lucky I was. I guess this is what happens when an 8 year old finds something like that.

Thinking about those days now, led me to wonder what other people have found during their lifetime. I was reading on the internet that a person found a lawn mower that was just sitting out in a lot with no one around and it was brand new. It was crazy that it was there, but the person that found it said that there was no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth. This was not an original saying but it did convey his thoughts on the matter quite nicely. I think that in this day and age, you have to check things carefully before you take them home. You just might think that you got something great and someone might have hid drugs in it or some such thing. Can you imagine going to mow the lawn with your new found mower and a cop is going by and a bag of heroine falls out. Do you think he will believe you when you tell him you found the mower?

I have a friend that is really good at finding things. He usually finds a piece or two of jewelry a year. I couldn't figure out how he did this, he doesn't use any devices to help him or anything like that. I went out with him one day and we walked the streets of the city, but the difference between me and him was that I walked with my head up looking around and he walked with his head down looking all over the sidewalk with each step. His biggest find was a gold bracelet that seemed to be from a foreign country. Apparently the clasp had opened and it had fallen off some unlucky lady's arm. He showed it to me and I was quite impressed. He found it on his lunch hour resting in the gutter next to a curb. It was quite heavy. Next he went to a couple of the neighborhood Pawn shops to see what he could get for it. There were no jewelry stores in the area where we worked since it was what was known as a "bad area" at the time. His highest offer was around $300.00. He decided that this wasn't enough and took a day off and went into New York City and was given $500.00 by a jewelry shop there.

Ordinary people are not the only ones that find things. Some organizations, such as police departments, have quite a list of strange things that they have found. A small police department in the western part of the United States lists five Gorillas, four Chimps and three Orangutans among the items they found over the years. Gee they could almost start their own zoo. I think that I mentioned this before but I found a monkey once. Actually the monkey found me. While I was at work, my phone rang and it was my wife. She was frantic. I asked her to calm down and tell me what was the matter. She said that there was a monkey swinging from the roof of our house. I thought this was a joke and began to laugh, but she was quite serious. I left and went right home. I only lived about 10 minutes from work at the time and when I got home there was a crowd of the neighbors in front of my house watching a monkey having a great time swinging all over the roof. I immediately called the A.S.P.C.A., as I am sure any citizen would have done under the circumstances, but I should have known better. They promptly told me that they would be out in about three weeks. Typical Bureaucracy. Next I called the local police precinct and they sent a car over. When the police got there they couldn't believe their eyes. You had to see this, there were two policemen, one with a catcher's mitt and the other with a large fish tank that they had asked me for, trying to drive the monkey off the roof and into the tank. It took awhile but they succeeded and caught their suspect.

One particular story is truly strange. It seems that a robber was being chased by the police and hid in a shed. As luck would have it, it was not just an ordinary shed but the shed of a serial murderer. The robber is in jail now, but he told reporters that as soon as the killer found him, he was terrified even though he didn't know he was a serial killer. The killer was the BTK serial killer and now has confessed to 10 brutal murders. The robber realized that something was strange about the shed. He found drawings all around of tied up, naked women. The killer's name was Dennis Raider and when he discovered the robber, he pointed a gun at him and asked him if he knew who he was? As things began to sink into the robber's brain he prayed for the police to capture him. All he could think about was escape from Raider. The robber was let go and Dennis Raider was captured during a routine traffic stop. Now both of them are in the same jail. By the way, Raider was president of his church congregation and remained so even after his capture.

I was wondering what would be the most exciting thing that a person could find? Would it be a piece of incredible jewelry or possibly a big wad of $100 bills? I came to the conclusion that this would be nice but not the most exciting find. That would have to be finding a lost city. Can you imagine that you are trekking across the jungles of South America and you come to an area with strange mounds covered with thick plants and you decide to try and see what is under one? You chop away for about an hour and you notice that there is a structure under the brush, it is a building and the other mounds contain buildings also. You have discovered a lost city that is well preserved. What a thrill that has to be. Considering that this has already happened to people, it is still possible to do.

We have seen examples of objects that were good to find and objects that weren't so good to find. Is there any way we can train ourselves to find objects? I guess one could buy one of those new fangled metal detectors, the kind that tell you what the object is that it has found before you dig it up, or if you don't want to invest any money, you could walk around with your head down watching the road and sidewalk where ever you go. What ever you decide to do, happy hunting and may all your finds be profitable.



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