Dean called me, late afternoon on May 24th, asking for help in finding a lost Chai charm, solid gold about the size of a quarter. He was down visiting his parents in Margate. He took his son and some other boys to the beach to play football. During the game, someone grabbed his son and got his gold chain, it snapped, and the charm went flying. He had the general idea of the area. I had to check with the Mrs. because it was 5 pm and we hadn’t had dinner yet.
I called Dean back and told him I would be down in about an hour. He went back to the beach and sent me pictures of the area because he wasn’t sure if I was coming down tonight or early in the morning. I left home while it was sunny and 70. I took the Atlantic City Expressway, rocking out to the Led Zeppelin channel on Sirius. I get to the beach; it is overcast, windy, and 56. Guess who didn’t bring a jacket?
I texted Dean and started to search. Dean came down about 10 minutes later and adjusted my location. There must have been one heck of a party here last year because there were so many rusted bottle caps. Any fresh drops would be immediately covered with sand because of the wind.
About 35 minutes into the hunt, I get a good tone, look down and see just a sliver of gold. Brushed the sand away, and it was the Chai charm I was looking for. Dean was amazed. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. His smile said it all. He told me the charm was given to him many years ago by his mom. He never wore it. His son mentioned to Dean that all the kids in school were wearing chains with charms, so Dean gave this charm to his son to wear. He said his son was devastated when he lost the gold charm today. He was going to be so surprised when he got back.
I love my Hobby!
Comment from Dean:
“Dave is the Man. Right after my son lost it, the lifeguard mentioned to me there are people with metal detectors who may be able to help. It was a blessing I found Dave. He was so concerned the beach would be cleaned in the morning, that he was there within a few hours. My son, myself and my entire family are still amazed Dave found it. It really makes for a great memory and story, but more importantly that there are people like Dave who just want to help. Cannot thank you enough Dave. Thank you again. 🙏🙏”
