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Who does this guy think he is?
Well, I'm not much of a writer so I'll plagiarize: “The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin?” – International Man of Mystery (1997)
One sunny, beautiful day, while teaching a buddy the art of snagging Paddlefish (“spoonbills”), the worm-gear in my reel broke. I knew my fishing day was over, but I didn't want that to spoil my friend's fun. So jokingly I said “You go ahead and keep at it, I'll just piddle around. Heck, maybe I'll find an arrowhead or something.”
So, I meandered down the sandy shoreline, having no real intent other than to pass the time. Then it happened. Resting gently on the sand, in one inch of water, was an immaculate “arrowhead”.
We didn't hook a spoonbill that day, but that didn't matter. An arrowhead had hooked me. I had the fever, and I had it bad.
Over the next few weeks, I did what every self-respecting, self-miseducated "archaeologist" does; I proudly and unwittingly posted forum images of every geofact I could get my hands on.
To my dismay, an online user, from a podunk Oklahoma town only 20 minutes up the road from me, kept inexplicably debunking each and every rock I would find. I thought sarcastically “Who does this guy think he is? I'm sooo sure this knucklehead, one-horse-town-residing fella with a dial-up ISP is the de facto expert on every rock or sherd in Northeastern Oklahoma.”
Well, dear reader, he absolutely was. Moreover, he was the most congenial, amiable person you could ever hope to meet.
I recall sitting with rapt attention, listening to Larry and Christopher Merriam speak on Spiro. After their discourse, they fielded questions from those in attendance. One gentleman posed a particularly tricky question, at which point the Merriams promptly deferred to one Matt Rowe who was sitting quietly a few rows ahead of me.
I owe Matt a good deal of gratitude. I still know very little, but a large part of what knowledge I do have has come from lurking his posts.
If only he wasn't so darn confidential about locales... Darn the luck...
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I am a lifelong Oklahoman. I grew up in extreme Southeastern Oklahoma. I now reside in extreme Northeastern Oklahoma. But, enough about extremities. I digress.One sunny, beautiful day, while teaching a buddy the art of snagging Paddlefish (“spoonbills”), the worm-gear in my reel broke. I knew my fishing day was over, but I didn't want that to spoil my friend's fun. So jokingly I said “You go ahead and keep at it, I'll just piddle around. Heck, maybe I'll find an arrowhead or something.”
So, I meandered down the sandy shoreline, having no real intent other than to pass the time. Then it happened. Resting gently on the sand, in one inch of water, was an immaculate “arrowhead”.
We didn't hook a spoonbill that day, but that didn't matter. An arrowhead had hooked me. I had the fever, and I had it bad.
Over the next few weeks, I did what every self-respecting, self-miseducated "archaeologist" does; I proudly and unwittingly posted forum images of every geofact I could get my hands on.
To my dismay, an online user, from a podunk Oklahoma town only 20 minutes up the road from me, kept inexplicably debunking each and every rock I would find. I thought sarcastically “Who does this guy think he is? I'm sooo sure this knucklehead, one-horse-town-residing fella with a dial-up ISP is the de facto expert on every rock or sherd in Northeastern Oklahoma.”
Well, dear reader, he absolutely was. Moreover, he was the most congenial, amiable person you could ever hope to meet.
I recall sitting with rapt attention, listening to Larry and Christopher Merriam speak on Spiro. After their discourse, they fielded questions from those in attendance. One gentleman posed a particularly tricky question, at which point the Merriams promptly deferred to one Matt Rowe who was sitting quietly a few rows ahead of me.
I owe Matt a good deal of gratitude. I still know very little, but a large part of what knowledge I do have has come from lurking his posts.
If only he wasn't so darn confidential about locales... Darn the luck...
:welcome:
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