Gold Prospecting..................Hobby or Obsession!

This started a few years ago when my wife pointed out that I may have a problem. As she put it, my quest for the yellow specks of that "stuff" in the bottom of my pan was no longer a hobby, but an obsession. Of course I denied it.

In support of her observation she offers the following.

She claims that anyone who buys raingutter to cut into 2 foot pieces instead of putting it up on the roof where it belongs is obsessed.

She says anyone who risks his life dodging cars and trucks to pick up old 5 gallon paint buckets found along the highway (not to mention the U-turns) is obsessed.

She say that anyone who pays $100 for a picnic canopy and light to cover a trommel and sluice box while we eat at the picnic table in the sun, rain or dark is obsessed.

She claims that just because she has to drive a second vehicle to get her and the camping equipment to camp because of all the mining "stuff" in the pickup, I'm obsessed.

She says that when she thought that when all the plumbing parts started showing up around the house meant I was going to install a sprinkler system, but instead they went into mining "stuff", I'm obsessed.

She claims that just because she can't get her car in our 2 car garage because of all the mining "stuff", I'm obsessed.

She says that anyone who takes his/her gold pan on their sailboat in the middle of the lake, just in case, is obsessed.

She says that anyone who can't take a bath in the creek before bedtime while camping because the water is to cold, but will spend all day waist deep in a stream with that mining "stuff" is obsessed.

She says looking at the rocks in the cut banks instead of watching the road while driving means I'm obsessed.

She thinks that buying two $700 metal detectors instead of buying a new or fixing the old lawnmower means I'm obsessed.

She thinks my claim that spreading tailings over the yard is the reason we don't need to worry about a lawnmower, means I'm obsessed.

She thinks my craving for beans and biscuits and calling her meals "good grub" indicates I'm obsessed.

She says my talk of quitting our jobs, selling the house, buying a bigger travel trailer and heading for the hills means I'm obsessed.

When she asked how are we going to support ourselves if we quit our jobs and I reply "with all the gold that I find," she says, "I'm obsessed."

And when she asked, "what if you don't find any gold" and I reply, "cashing in the aluminum cans we find and/or her cookie sales at Flea Markets", she says, "I'm obsessed."

I think I'm misunderstood, it's just my Hobby.