Member of the Month - December 2019 - FossilNerd

[Kane]

As our US friends retire with bellies full of Thanksgiving feast, and reflect on what makes them thankful, we see the final calendar month is upon us. For some it is the start of brutal winter, whereas for others it is the very early stage of another productive fossil collecting season. I know on which side of that I would prefer to be on! We close out 2019 with our final Member of the Month for the year.

 

 

By unanimous staff decision, this month's crown goes to: 

 

 FossilNerd

At the risk of composing an eye-rolling alliteration, on the world wide web, Wayne is a wondrous welcome wagon to just about anyone who has joined the Forum since he joined us back in June. Eager to learn, to help, welcome, and jump right into the passion, one may be hard pressed not to find Wayne applauding our efforts, welcoming us aboard, and being that beautifully wandering, curious figure among us. His good-natured self is downright infectious. An admitted lurker for a while, Wayne joined us in June and it is like he has been with us for a lot longer (in a good way!). When we post our trips and finds, it is hard not to hear his cheers of encouragement, or delight at his engagement. Whenever possible, he is also a great helping hand -- and this month we want to put our hands together for Wayne!

 

 

Congratulations FossilNerd! Wear this Crown with pride, as you have earned it!

On behalf of the staff here on TFF, congratulations!

 

Please tell us your story - how you came to fossils, and how you came to TFF!

[JohnJ]

Congratulations, Wayne!

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Congrats Wayne !

 

Coco

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yahay! 

Well done Wayne, old chap, jolly good show. 

Very pleased that a fellow Doctor Who fan and splendid fellow won this award. 

[Fossildude19]

Way to go, Wayne! Congratulations!  

Wear the crown proudly - it is well deserved.

Thanks for your contributions, and for your embodiment of the Fossil Forum spirit. 

Cheers, mate! 

 

  

[FossilsAnonymous]

Congratulations!

[Max-fossils]

Congrats!!! 

[rand95]

Congrats.

[digit]

Congrats, Wayne!

 

The MOTM crown comes with a heating element so it won't get too cold while you wear it this chilly month--you'll find the little switch around back.

 

Thanks for embodying the TFF spirit.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[BLT]

Congratulations! 

[FossilNerd]

Ummmm.... Well.... I definitely wasn't expecting to wake up and find this! I nearly spit out my morning coffee! 

 

Thanks @Kane for the kind words! I still feel that I have a lot to learn, but I try to be helpful any time that I can! Maybe one day I can get up your way and you can educate me on those wonderful Canadian trilobites of yours! 

 

 

My Fossil Story... (Fair warning... This will be long winded...)

Living in a rural area of Kentucky my driveway was gravel. Heck, the road to my house was gravel until I was around 16 when the county decided it was time to pave it. When I was 8 years old or so, my father bought a load of rock from a local man to replace the washed out gravel in the drive. The rock wasn't the typical limestone/dolomite from the quarries, but was sourced from a local river.  

 

As a child (and an adult!) I played outside. All the time. So it was inevitable when I found the curious rocks that had been brought in with the new load of gravel. I remember sitting in the driveway for hours picking up what my mother told me were fossils. I would later learn that most of what I found were pieces of crinoids and a couple of small sections of orthoconic nautaloids which I thought were the same thing, just giant sized. Maybe they were the parents of the smaller ones? Oh, what an imagination I had... I put my finds in a box and kept them. As most kids that age, I lost interest after a while. I still held on to my little collection, but it gathered dust in the corner of my room for years. It's now lost to time.

 

Fast forward to my teenage years...

I never really lost my curiosity for fossils and would pick up one here and there while I wondered what happened to my childhood collection. While walking the nearby railroad tracks, I found a trilobite. It is still my most complete one (that I found myself) to date, and until recently, was my profile picture. I found it interesting and took it home and placed it on a shelf for display as a curiosity.

 

Many years later...

I have had many hobbies over my life, but the one that I stuck with the most was woodworking. Carving wood to be more specific. I tried most aspects of woodworking, but I got the most enjoyment out of carving. I still carve by hand from time to time, but rarely power carve anymore. I have found that as I get older, the dust and debris from such endeavors is too much for me to handle. An hour session in the shop would leave me snotty and miserable for a week. Even if I wore a respirator, and with all the dust collection equipment I could afford.  

 

Because of my growing negative reaction to dust, I decided to start looking at something else to occupy my time. During my search for a new hobby, I came across the above mentioned trilobite. This got my curiosity going again and I started to look into what this thing was. I knew from limited research when I first found it that it was a trilobite, but had no clue what exactly a trilobite was.  The next thing I know I'm buying fossil identification books and field guides, looking for places to find more fossils, studying local geology, etc. My searching led me to The Fossil Forum. As Kane said, I lurked in the shadows for a time. Gleaning what information I could and comparing my finds to members pictures. I soon realized that I was looking on TFF more than I care to admit. It was around this time that I also realized that I was lonely in my fossil interests. No one else I knew liked fossils, or gave them little more than a passing glance. I would get an eye roll, or at best a "That's neat." when excitedly explaining something new I had learned, or a new find I came across. That's when I looked into joining a club or forum to share my interest with like minded individuals. 

 

There was another (now defunct) forum that I also looked at from time to time, and I considered joining it, but when I compared them to TFF, there was no comparison. TFF has a very active, friendly, scientifically oriented community, that is full of professionals and amateurs alike. Just my kind of place! Besides, I felt obligated to give back a little of what I had taken during my time lurking. I have never regretted my decision! 

 

This is such an honor for me and has truly made my holiday season! Seriously, one of best presents I could have gotten! I'd like to thank the TFF community for doing what they do and being the people that they are. For making me feel welcome and for teaching me more than I ever could have learned on my own. I've learned far more in my 6-ish months here than I did the previous 2 years on my own. You are appreciated! Also a BIG thank you to our admins, moderators, curators, and everyone else who makes sure this forum runs smoothly and keep in accordance with our philosophies. You are also very much appreciated! 

 

 

  

[Ruger9a]

Congratulations, well deserved!

[jcbshark]

Congrats Wayne, well deserved 

[Pagurus]

 

I'm glad you found this wonder -full community. Thanks for making it even better.

[FossilNerd]

Thanks everyone for the kinds words and congratulations so far! I appreciate it! 

 

7 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Yahay! 

Well done Wayne, old chap, jolly good show. 

Very pleased that a fellow Doctor Who fan and splendid fellow won this award. 

Thanks Adam! Your love of Dr. Who is almost as vast as your love for brachiopods and tortoises! Your wit, knowledge, and general good humor is a major part of this forum. I am glad you are back! 

 

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Way to go, Wayne! Congratulations!  

Wear the crown proudly - it is well deserved.

Thanks for your contributions, and for your embodiment of the Fossil Forum spirit. 

Cheers, mate! 

 

  

Thanks Tim! Visiting your neck of the woods is on my bucket list! One of these days we will get together for good fossils, food, and brews!

 

1 hour ago, digit said:

Congrats, Wayne!

 

The MOTM crown comes with a heating element so it won't get too cold while you wear it this chilly month--you'll find the little switch around back.

 

Thanks for embodying the TFF spirit.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thanks Ken! I'll need the heat for this winter. I hate the cold! I'm hoping to get at least one more hunt in before it gets unbearably cold, and I go into hibernation. Hibernation= Focus on research, cataloging, and identification. 

[caldigger]

2 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

My Fossil Story... (Fair warning... This will be long winded...)

Living in a rural area of Kentucky 

Alright, that's enough for me!  

 

Seriously, congrats to you. Hope the rest of your holidays bring you joyous surprises like today. 

[FossilNerd]

2 minutes ago, caldigger said:

Alright, that's enough for me!  

 

Seriously, congrats to you. Hope the rest of your holidays bring you joyous surprises like today. 

Lol. At least I gave you a warning! In hindsight, maybe I should have started with “Once upon a time...”! 
 

Thanks for the holiday wishes. I hope you have a good one as well! 
 

 

[Randyw]

Congratulations!

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

Congrats!

[grandpa]

This is wonderful, and well deserved.  I fully agree with Kane's description.  He described you well.  Congratulations, Wayne. 

[Mike from North Queensland]

Congratulations Wayne

 

Mike

[Mark Kmiecik]

Congratulations.

[FossilNerd]

3 hours ago, grandpa said:

This is wonderful, and well deserved.  I fully agree with Kane's description.  He described you well.  Congratulations, Wayne. 

Thanks Tom! As you said before, I feel we are kindred spirits. If I can be half as welcoming and knowledgeable as you, I’ll be doing good! 

[grandpa]

1 minute ago, FossilNerd said:

we are kindred spirits. If I can be half as welcoming and knowledgeable as you, I’ll be doing good! 

We are indeed kindred spirits. 

Your modesty becomes you, my friend. 

I look forward to a time (perhaps this coming spring) when we can get together in KY and have a meal, quaff some brew ("Sweet Baby Jesus" beer is one of my favorites that I can't get here, but that is sold in your area.  BTW, try it over vanilla ice cream some time - seriously!) and OF COURSE hunt some fossils together.

[FossilNerd]

2 minutes ago, grandpa said:

We are indeed kindred spirits. 

Your modesty becomes you, my friend. 

I look forward to a time (perhaps this coming spring) when we can get together in KY and have a meal, quaff some brew ("Sweet Baby Jesus" beer is one of my favorites that I can't get here, but that is sold in your area.  BTW, try it over vanilla ice cream some time - seriously!) and OF COURSE hunt some fossils together.

Fossils, beer, and ice cream?! I’m in!