A Meteorite Hunter is Born
by Ruben Garcia
One fall day in 1998 while flipping through stations on the television I came across a program on the Discovery Channel. I stopped momentarily and became somewhat interested in what the long haired Sammy Hagar look-alike was saying. As he stood among cacti in what seemed to be the Arizona Desert he began talking about meteorites and how they could be found using a metal detector.
Shaking my head I said silently “meteorites?” “Right..”
Then I continued on to MTV. I watched two or three commercials in a row before realizing that I couldn’t get that meteorite thing out of my head.
Midway through a seemingly endless barrage of commercials I felt compelled to switch back to see what the “meteor guy” was up to.
I changed the channel back just in time to see him find a meteorite. “It’s not much” he said as he picked it up. “It’s only worth about $3000.00.” I nearly fell out of my seat, “What!” I shouted “$3000.00!”
I reached for an blank VHS tape to record what was left of the program while simultaneously yelling for my wife to come quick. “Cynthia, you’ve got to see this!” I screamed.
My wife entered the room, “yes” she said. “Look, this guy just found a meteorite!” I exclaimed. “Can you believe it?” “It looks like he’s in Arizona too.” I continued. “I wanna do that.” “I’m gonna do that!” “Think I can do that?” I said somewhat unsure of myself. “Sure honey, you can do anything you want.” She stated very calmly.
Up until that very moment I never imagined one could find a falling star let alone make money doing it.
I was hooked! The very next day I went to the library to learn as much as I could about this mysterious new opportunity/hobby/business.
I found my first meteorite a month or so later with a little help from Jim Kriegh. He quickly schooled me in “meteoritics 101″ and also offered directions to the Gold Basin strewn field which he had discovered. Once I arrived in the area it only took about 15 minutes before I found my first meteorite.
Ruben Garcia “Mr-Meteorite” and the Sammy Hagar look-alike AKA Bob Haag “The Meteorite Man.”
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