treasure hunt forrest fennMr. Fenn, you were in the military for twenty years and most of us never served. There must be incidents from those days that still stick in your mind. Can you share a few with us?~Thanks, Romnella

 

Sure Romnella, there are many.

Sometimes my memory harkens back to an incident that happened in 1950. I was a new private in the Air Force and was totally overwhelmed by high ranking sergeants. Officers didn’t bother me because I rarely saw one.

In the mess hall one day I opened a new bottle of catsup. When I did, the rim broke in my hand and small fragments of glass fell in on top. I was justifiably appalled and quickly realized that my destiny was at hand. When I approached the Mess Sergeant the six stripes on his sleeve truly intimidated me, mostly because I didn’t have any. And his many battle chevrons glared at me with impunity. I was also overawed by the knowledge that he was a survivor of the Bataan Death March.

But I was duty bound and focused on my mission. “Look Sergeant,” I pronounced with malplaced authority, “This catsup bottle is full of broken glass.” His look told me I should have eaten it anyway.

“Well Private, what the h— do you want me to do about it? Throw the d— thing in the trash.” I was slapped in the face by his words. I didn’t think I deserved a medal necessarily, but it could be argued that my alertness and quick action had saved a few lives, and in wartime no less.

Eighteen years later I was a major in war ravaged Vietnam, when I observed a Master Sergeant dump a fifty-five gallon drum of expensive hydraulic fluid on the ground. When I asked what the h— he was doing, he told me that he needed the barrel to make a BBQ pit for the troops.

Well, I didn’t know what the h— to say. It was a war zone, and morale was important. I decided to shut up because I was just a Major and he was a Master Sergeant, and I wasn’t completely sure who ranked whom. f
Best of luck with all that you seek!  And always Treasure the Adventure!

131 Comments

  7. I am reminded of working at a special spot where I could hear the children of the past play. I was working at radar site #351 where I would keep track of missiles and satellites. Sometimes it seemed the down range chief was ready to act if my joystick started to drift. When we had a mission hold, I would go to this spot located at the foothills on the west side of the range near the site. There I would wonder of its past. There was this old post maybe 6 inches off the ground that was showing its age and purpose. I would find pottery shards and many other tools. I would just sit there with the sun beating down on me and I could hear the children of the past running and playing. Little did they know I would be there listening.

    GEYDELKON

          1. I’m a little confused right now. I can understand 6 stripes/4 years equals 24, but, if one takes 18 years times by 4 years, doesn’t that equal 72? Maybe it’s too early for my mind to be thinking about Math right now.

            pdenver

    2. I relish these stories too, Sparrow.

      But it’s difficult to know what to make of them…so I begin by smearing a little ketchup on my shirt.

      I like to practice safe reading by wearing a condiment. :/

      And Geydelkon…I’ll have to catch up later. I have some court-mandated mental health screenings at the mayo clinic.

      Thanks for the glimpse into military life, Forrest. Thank You for Serving, Sir. God Bless You…and All Others who have Served.

      JC1117

      1. Just Kethch’n up. 😉
        I wonder what the price of catsup was back in the 50’s, probably pennies. Today I can get a 40 oz bottle of Great Value catsup for 2.79 at my local Walmart. It’s just as good and cost much less then a major brand. So with it being the military and all, I would have instantly thrown the broken bottle away and not have thought twice about it. I have to believe that there is something else going on in this story besides f’s concerns over military waste.

        colokidd

        1. I believe that FF has included another teaser here that won’t be recognized by
          anyone who doesn’t (yet?) have a GREAT solve. A “good” solve isn’t sufficient
          to get a searcher within 500 feet of the TC — and I mean the shortest actual distance, in a straight line, in 3 dimensions. This teaser to which I refer is in
          the anecdote about the catsup bottle.

          He’s just havin’ fun with us, although some of his teasers are only appreciated
          by a relatively VERY small audience . . . but that audience appreciates FF’s
          teasers, cleverness, and sense of humor.

          tighterfocus

  10. Forrest,
    That must have took a lot of courage to approach that sergeant.
    So much information in the last couple of weeks. I am still trying to figure everything out.
    I am in the process of getting the courage to use my quarter.
    Thank you Jenny
    Thank you Forrest
    Thank you catsup bottle?
    “Please don’t through me away”

    Snider

        1. Nice anagram, Astree.

          Who would have thought there would be so many references for such a simple subject as ketchup?

          I hope you were able to walk away from the ER with no scares. That’s never a fun place to go to.

          JC1117

        2. For some reason this question and answer reminds me of some Weekly Words from Forrest last June…

          https://mysteriouswritings.com/featured-question-and-weekly-words-from-forrest-fenn-batter-at-plate/

          Batter at plate. Cat’s up.

          http://cdn.riveraveblues.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/AP02080203595.jpg?x77199

          Also…is it just a coincidence that a cat has nine lives…(so we’re told)…and The Poem has nine clues?

          I recently saw this video of a “Turkish Funeral” posted by (Chris’ brother?) Sam Yates.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LIg8WSIBpo

          Are they paying their last respects? Or just going for a walk to get their bowels moving to give the cat a “proper burial?”

          It’s anybody’s guess. I don’t speak Turkish. I wish I did.

          JC1117

  14. Forrest Your stories are fun to read and sometimes you make me wonder . Did you expect the Sergeant to give you a new bottle of catsup or did you just want to see his reaction to it!! We love you Forrest Smile.

    Woody Bogg

  18. Do mess Sargents have 6 stripes? IDK, but guessing anyone stuck with mess hall duty would have less stripes on his chevron. Speaking of Chevron, how about a connection to petro companines…EXXon, Standards Pegasus, Conoco (concy; on c) ShELL, Phillips 66. Just my rambling, random thoughts…Broken glass seems important to FF’s story, and oil drum. Are Ell and AMN the new missing D & E? Back to the BINGO game to figure that one out too. Not enough time in my life to figure out Forrest’s new posts, but fun to see he and Peggy so young and in love.

    Lia

  20. Hmmm, is catsup considered a condiment? Catsup is typically branded by Hunts & D”el” Monte. If ff meant catch up, he would have used ketchup. Plenty of references to cats in ttotc. Referring back to Jenny’s visit to San Lazaro Pueblo, Medicine rock is said to resemble a mountain lion/cat up type rock. Now, Mr. Fenn I am once again chasing my tail rather than purring like a kitten. Your posts are infinetly entertaining, and apt to confuse me :-).

    Lia

  23. “…I was just “A Major” could be a musical reference. The “Trout Quintet” is written in A Major; composed by Schubert at age 22; written for piano and stringed instruments including the cello and double bass. Of course I would assume that ttotc key references would be in F major. All just for fun; different ways to look at Forrest’s information; usually just sends me down the rabbit hole.

    Lia

  25. I think this thread has some good explanations of why the chest remains undiscovered. You have some really smart people missing really obvious things. On one hand, people are creative and notice that the missing letters in D– and H– anagram the emailer’s name to Roman L. That’s really clever in my opinion. So then everyone’s wondering what 50 might mean. But then no one mentions that there is, in fact, three Ls.

    It’s weird. People are really good with obscurity, apparently, but miss obvious things like that.

    So if 50 matters, it could be 50 + 50 + 50, or 50 X 50 X 50, or even 350, or what have you.

    It’s like if you were to say, I dunno, something like: “I’m going to tell you the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Then you hide a ‘C’, an ‘A’, and a ‘T’ in it, and everyone gets hung up on “cats” and totally forgets about the bears. That’s probably a bad analogy, but you get the idea.

    Jeremy P.

    3. Hi Jeremy — there is ambiguity over whether Forrest is hinting at three L’s or four, or even eight. You have the triplet of h— and the “ell” in Romnella’s (fake) name, plus a second instance of her name in his reply, and one “fell” and two “Well”s. So is it the L’s that matter or their Roman L numerical connection to 50? The latter is perhaps more likely since he says the incident occurred in 19*50*, plus there are almost a dozen references to 50 in TTOTC.

      Zaphod73491

      1. You forgot “or none”, as in maybe he’s not hinting at anything 🙂

        Maybe he likes to anagram. Maybe he never did before the Chase but he sees everyone posting anagrams on here all the time and thinks, “That looks like fun.” So someone actually named Romnella writes to him, his imagination reads it as a Roman L, and he works a little creative writing into his answer to her. Maybe it has nothing at all to do with the Chase. That’s actually the safest assumption.

        I think if you did want to tie it as a hint related to the Chase, it would most certainly correlate to something in the poem or the book. Another safe assumption would be that everything you need to find the chest would already be in there somewhere. So if three L’s, four, five, or what have you matters, it would be in the original material and wouldn’t need hints here except as maybe a reminder.

        Jeremy P.

        1. Hi Jeremy — yes, could just be a coincidence that Romnella anagrams to Roman Ell, and that he chose to dash-out the h— and d— for reasons other than that those 6 letters are all in the Romnella name. However, irrespective of whether L or 50 has any connection to the poem solution, the likely-fictitious Romnella name combined with the MacGuffin of this story happens to provide the same clue *for me* that Forrest has hinted at dozens of times in TTOTC, TFTW, the Scrapbooks and elsewhere. If you get the same answer over and over again using a wide variety of delivery methods, it gets pretty hard to dismiss it as random chance. I think Forrest intentionally provides variable hint types figuring that no searcher will recognize them all, but many searchers will at least catch one or two of them.

          But I recognize that many searchers won’t accept that Forrest might continue to provide subtle hints outside of what appears in the poem, TTOTC and TFTW, even though they are useless for solving the clue. But they really aren’t “hints” at all; more like Easter eggs for people on the right track.

          Zaphod73491

        1. Good catch, Lia.

          Maybe there’s a link between Roman ells and Forrest’s “66,000 links north of Santa Fe” comment…no pun intended.

          Is Forrest taking some kind of Poetic License there?

          Maybe…maybe not. You don’t get to be a fighter jet pilot without being very precise.

          An example of poetic license might be Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”. Most everyone’s first thought when they read that title is…”Wow! That must be really deep!” Which it is. In fact…1 league is 3.45 miles. So 20,000 leagues is actually 69,047 miles! That’s pretty deep…especially considering that planet earth is only 7,917 miles in diameter.

          Well…long story short…Jules Verne is referring to distance traveled “under the sea” (submarine) and not actual depth.

          You’re welcome. Now you don’t need to read the book.

          Just throw that one right in the ol’ dumpster. 🙂

          Just kidding.

          The point is…we have to find out the hidden meanings that Forrest is concealing…and not just what his words seem to mean on the surface. I suppose that goes without saying. LOL!

          JC1117

          1. A”Good scratch” of the surface is more accurate Jc1117. To be honest I’ve spent 3-4 years just scratching the surface of what forrest fenn might be intending layers in his poem to mean. Have officially decided I won’t be the one to solve it or find the gold. Taking a girls trip to Santa Fe to punctuate my ttotc journey’s end with a smile and move on. Best wishes to you.

            Lia

          1. I am at least 99.994% (number chosen arbitrarily and almost randomly) confident that any measurements of any kind — or any numbers of any kind, for that matter — are not part of a “winning” solve.

            People are over-thinking the poem. I don’t think enough folks are
            showing the poem to children. And speaking of children, do y’all
            remember that FF has said that he thinks of himself as a thirteen-
            year-old? This info could be helpful to a searcher, if properly applied.
            But only if bearing in mind when FF was born. It relates to American
            culture . . . a tiny(ish) hint, I admit. And this also (weakly) ties into
            one of FF’s recent Scrapbooks about bells, IMO. Good luck, y’all.

            tighterfocus

  26. I think there are a lot of things you can do with the name (including reading it backwards, and ALL N MORE, but am missing where the D, H, and extra L come from?)

    Shifting the letters in GLASS give KP..EWW – does that count? :)

    astree

        2. nmc, I’m replying here for more room. About your “ALL MEN” question…
          No, that’s not the way I see the Fenn hints working.

          Think mirrors (glass) here.
          M and N divide the alphabet.
          If you are stuck in the middle (between the mirrors as two halves of the same alphabet), go back to the beginning (A).

          We’re talking “aberrations” and “dichotomies” here.

          I hope this doesn’t help TOO much, 😉 .

          Buckeye Bob

  27. 80% of you are nuttier than squirrel dung….anagrams…catsup/catchup indeed!

    All this says to me is that his character is such he’s told a few inconsequential fibs in the past.
    He’s a quick thinker and fast mover…catch him if you can!

    Wensley Dale

  30. Condiments version of Rock-Paper-Scissors

    A1 beats ketchup on steak
    Mustard beats ketchup on sandwiches
    Ketchup ties mustard on hot dogs
    Veganiase beats mayonnaise
    Ranch beats ketchup and mustard on fries
    Plastic beats glass when it comes to condiment containers

    Ok that didn’t work as well as I had planned, good thing it was just IMO

    Help!

    23kachinas

  31. When Forrest was a private, I am sure that ANY sergeant was impressive.

    As a Major, Forrest was smart enough to know that he couldn’t fly were it not for the Non-coms (Non commissioned officers – the Sergeants – E5 – E-10)
    Sure he “Out ranked” the Sergeant, but did it really matter? Probably not.
    JDA

    JDA

    2. Non-Coms don’t keep the airplanes flying, the Airmen do. And a gaggle of unkempt non-gigged, hydrazine-encrusted Enlisted Troops are three hundred times more important to a Fighter Pilot’s Success and Safe Return than all the over-starched NCO and Senior Officer Bus-Drivers combined. As an E-1 with 6 months experience I knew more about the P&W F100 then anyone else in the Squadron, except the Pratt&Whitney Tech Rep (and, as an E-3 – with Direct training from General Electric Engineers in Evendale – the GE F110) — at all three bases I was stationed at — and the E-4s, E-5s and E-6s (and ALL the Eagle and Viper Drivers – including the Commander) came Directly to me if they wanted their engines fixed right and fixed properly, with the least chance of turbine-wheel shell-out or compressor blade failure .. Non-Coms are middle-management not mechanics .. and the vast majority of ’em were, and still are, over-bearing, self-indulgent “career” paper-pushers with zero qualifications to be a mop-pusher, let alone a supervisor .. The “Time In Rank” Promotion Privilege” — with Zero opportunities of advancement for talent, experience and knowledge — made me get the double toothpicks out as fast as I could. There was no way in hell I was gonna tolerate spending 20 years taking orders from dumb****s who know less about airplane performance and safety than I do – especially when their moronic actions kill pilots and they try to blame some poor enlisted schmuck who happened to be in the wrong place so they can keep the chrome-plated epaulets. I’ll take an E-3 who knows his or her job and a Captain who knows how to fly, and not bitch about “not receiving a salute” in the middle of a fuel-drenching engine-control change, over an E-8 desk jockey and a slap-happy Article 15 Bird Colonel any day of the week ..

      Brad

      Brad Hartliep

  33. Hey Stealth, you still around? Another post you might be interested in.

    overWHELmed.
    ..The glass FELL IN.
    “Well, Private…..”
    “Well, I didn’t know….”

    Your theory about a well is beginning to make more sense. 🙂

    Sparrow

  39. It is safe to say that Forrest knows when to face his fears and follow his destiny. Spring into action and save maybe a few lives.
    It is also safe to say that Forrest also knows when to keep his mouth shut.
    I find this very comforting.

    Snider

  41. Forrest has provided a couple of (minor) hints here that support a correct solve of the poem, while
    not helping anybody who isn’t “in the know”. I apologize for anything I’ve said here that offends
    or bothers anyone. Forrest is teasing (some of) us, and having fun at the same time. And if he has
    referred to anyone in particular, I think he’s barking up the wrong tree, because I don’t think that
    particular person has much chance of finding the TC.

    tighterfocus

    1. No offense meant, tf, but just to point out that that person you think doesn’t have much of a chance would be the same one the rest of us are playing “catsup” with…right?
      I’m hoping you are seeing the humor here. 😉

      Actually, it occurs to me that wintertime is a “catsup” period for everyone so maybe there’s no one person implied.

      Buckeye Bob

      1. If FF was implying that most of us are “way behind” in our solving — compared to a
        certain individual, then it appears that FF believes that this individual is “closing in”
        on the TC. I have a specific individual in mind here, but don’t think that this individual is capable of a complete, correct solve before the TC is found . . . despite having/displaying an ambitious “can-do” attitude toward this chase.

        I don’t mean to always seem “negative” toward others. Although I don’t wish for
        each and every searcher to find the TC, I genuinely hope that all searchers in this hunt do enjoy it, and are rewarded with pleasure, adventure, and rich memories of it all. So far, it’s been this way for me.

        tighterfocus

        1. Are you referring to this scenario:

          Do you think that someone who is sure about the location of the home of brown could reverse engineer where warm waters halt? ~Ben Raylor

          Thanks for the question Ben.
          If you are sure about the location of home of Brown why are you concerned about where warm waters halt? But to answer your question, sure you could and a few searchers might throw in some gas money for a percentage of the take. Good luck.f

          Is someone doing this now and you don’t know it?

          C.M.R.

        3. Hey tighterfocus,

          I’d like to think this person is me. I took a slightly different approach to solving the poem, and my solve is complete. I hear people claiming they are going to get it next week… if they truly had it solved, they would be patient and wise. Good luck in your search, everyone. 🙂

          Jake

    1. I didn’t sign up to read the entire article, but I think I can get a gist of it unless I’m wrong.
      Looking up salt, I’ve learned a few things on top of what I already knew about salt.
      First, salt is as we all know a preservative for foods. (I didn’t know that ancient people used to salt grain too.)
      B) Salt kills bacteria and thus used on wounds. I learned that Gen, Custer brushed his teeth with salt, which I’ve rinsed my mouth with salt at times when my gums hurt a little.
      3) Salt is a symbol of a pact, an agreement. I’ve learned that there has been a world wide symbolism of salt and bread to confer this meaning in a polite way. I wonder if salted bread in various forms in those free baskets in restaurants is related to this? Seems very likely.

      That “pact” part seems like what your article was gonna be about. A pact between God and people. When we pass on, we go back to the earth. I’m sire there’s a lot more to it than that, but that strikes me as the basis.

      In this treasure hunt, ff has made a pact with us.
      I wonder sometimes if his claim that he was going to leave his cold form at the spot of the treasure isn’t more symbolic than not.
      Regardless, the symbolism is unmistakable.

      Buckeye Bob

  44. Amazing. My father, Harvey Boswell, was the the Air Force. He entered service vet young. He wound up workin in the mess. His grandfather, also Harvey Boswell, didn’t some time in TX with uncles who remained out west.
    It’s a small small world … and I indeed did “look”.

    Sher

  46. Geydelkon sometimes I think someone is leaving a whole lot of breadcrumbs. Now if only one of us could figure out where they lead.

    My 10 year old daughter saw me looking at pictures earlier today and said “you need to look at the end of the rainbow to find the treasure.” I said “When did you get so smart?” Now I just need to get to the end of that rainbow!

    Maybe if I get my wheels turning I can catch-up…

    Lol. Blessings to all.

    Point Foot

  48. I feel chasing this poem certainly has helped bring my inner child back out again! Thank you Forrest for that. I believe that is a blessing into itself.

    If I am so lucky I may get a 10th shot sometime this season to go chasing rainbows again…

    Point Foot

  49. There’s something I’m missing here…
    But here’s Ella…
    Usually brunette with gorgeous eyes. She is a loyal friend and will always be there for you no matter what. Can be insecure, but to others see that she is beautiful inside and out. Empathy is like her with sense, and she has such a hugeheart. Ella has a very bubbly personality and you can often spot her singing or dancing around. She has a very vivid imagination and likes to dream big, sometimes her mind wanders and she becomes absorbed in her own little fantasy world. She has a good sense of humour and can make you smile even on your worst days. Makes sure you are there for her the way she is for you, and even if she tries to push you away, don’t you ever give up on her. Anyone would be lucky to have someone like her in their life.

    Jdiggins

        1. I like how both of your minds work, Strawshadow and Jdiggins.

          I envy both of you. I’m totally serious.

          The following is not an actual representation of me trying to get my mind working…but close…

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0sBS0K5f4I

          The Thrill of the Chase is not only a Sponge for Brilliance…but It does a Great Job attracting Patrick Stars as well. 🙂

          https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/85/9c/93/859c938f7def591a308fc4480d649ec1–funny-things-funny-stuff.jpg

          JC1117

          1. Better late than never;), theres a time for ketchup after you pass the catsup. Funny stuff JC1117, I wish I had your imagination. I’m in agreement with you, Jdiggins is a golden rarity blessed with uniqueness and clarity. But then again, so are you my friend:)

            Strawshadow

  50. Ole Slick Mikey worked the oyster beds. One day this big promoter visited and said “Boy you shur shuck fast you could be a star in the big city.” Ole Slick said “You know it.” Off to the city they went and shure nough Ole Slick Mickey became the fastest shucker in the city. People came from all over the world (it being one of those world class cities) to watch him and we’re in awe of his speed. All that ended one day when someone saw him put some ketchup in his chili. What?! You weirdo ketchup? He looked up at everyone eyeballing his bowl and calmly replied “Shucks what’s wrong with you folks? I’m on my lunch break and besides where I’m from we put ketchup on our ketchup.”

    Lifesablaze

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