In a message dated 7/16/2009 12:11:43 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
joshuatreemus...@embarqmail.com writes:
Steve Arnold is a contender, I think he beat
the pants off Mike at West, but didn't he have a 5 year long
drought?
*******
Phil,
I am honored by your mention, but we have to be serious here. I
have only
hunted at 7 sites in the last 4 years, spending 90% of my time at
two
sites. West was a fun 28 day detour in it all.
Before 2005 I was an amateur meteorite hunter only hitting one or
two
places a year with metal detector in hand. In 2003 I picked up 113
meteorites
from Park Forest, one being 11 km from the main mass, I found the
most
there, but I don't think anyone else was even trying to find a lot.
For the most part, over the years I invested most of my time and
made most
of my money from being a dealer not a hunter.
If we are judging this by total weight recovered, I am beat by
quite a few
people on lifetime numbers. If we are judged by total number
recoveries
from different locations, there are many people who beat me. If
we judge by
profit from meteorite sales of found meteorites, there are many more
higher on that list than I am.
Maybe, if you judged success by most media coverage (TV,
newspaper, Radio,
Magazines,internet, etc.) I would be at the top of that list. But I
hardly think that is a good barometer for determining the "Most
Successful
Meteorite Hunter."
Success is our world is often judged by the amount of money you
make. So
who has made the most money? But what about people that are not
in this
for the bottom line only? Cottingham mentioned not willing to
sacrifice
family time to be gone from home too much. If his kids grow up
emotionally
well balanced because he was in their lives more, but someone else
finds more
meteorites but has a lousy home life, some people might argue who
really
was more of a "success?"
It is easier to measure who did the best at one location. Let's
all go
to Holbrook for the weekend, and whomever finds the most in number
wins the
title for the day. Or drop us off at Munonionalusta for a week,
and we can
put the bounty on the scales 7 days later. Who found the biggest
West?
Or the most Wests? Or the most total weight of Wests? Who will
find the
most at this new Arizona Strewnfield?
I think it might be possible to single out who might have had the
best
year financially, in total weight, in total numbers etc in a given
year, but
to stretch it out for more than a decade long period of time, that
gets a
bit tough, and very subjective.
Someone might be better or worse than their numbers indicate
because of
other factors in their life. Others might just get a little lucky.
It is all so subjective.
And to top it off, I don't know if anyone out there is hell bent on
finding the most new meteorites, or the most total recovered
weight, or the
biggest single meteorite of all time. Most of us do this because
we love
it.
We love the challenge that each day brings, that each new fall
brings, that
each old strewnfield with new clues brings.
I would guess there are people that want to find as many as they
can. Or
to find the biggest they can. And I am sure there are people that
want to
make as much money as possible. But as with so many things in
life, it
isn't so much beating everyone else, but beating mediocrity and
being the
best
one can be.
If being a husband, a father, a grandfather, a teacher, a dealer, a
scientists, etc. gets in the way of being a better "hunter" then
we all make
those quality decisions at different times in our lives.
And since this isn't like boxing, where one unquestionable
champion holds
the title until someone takes it away from him, and since this
isn't like
pro football with a Super Bowl game at the end of the playoffs,
how do you
measure the current Champion?
Maybe it would be better to look at this more like a "Hall of Fame"
question where a lifetime of contribution is recognized on a persons
individual
accomplishments and contributions.
Steve Arnold
of "Meteorite Men"
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