Consolation Prize

Yeah, I got a cache, as I am wont to do. Unfortunately, it’s not the cache I went to the area to get. An FTF dropped nearby a few hours before, so I rushed out for it as soon as I got out of work. When I got near ground zero, I noticed it had already received a DNF. This was not entirely unexpected because I knew a local cacher lived nearby (I had run into him a few times in the same area while going for earlier FTFs). He beat me to it, meeting another cacher doing the same, but neither of them found it. I was disappointed that they beat me, but I had to go ahead and take a look. I was there, after all. There was only one reasonable place it could be: a pole with a sign related to the title of the cache. It was probably magnetic, and the hint even mentioned to be careful when returning it lest it is dropped. I poked my fingers into the top of the pole and felt nothing. I expected no less since the other two cachers were more experienced than I. I thought that maybe it had slipped down beyond finger reach. That was easy enough to test. I got my handy magnet on a stick, poked it down into the pole about two feet, and scraped around the inside of the pole. Still nothing. I briefly considered tying some twine to the magnet and dropping it down the hole to see if I might be able to fish something out of the bottom. Of course, how would I get it to the bottom without it attaching to the inside of the pole? I had to let it all go. I wasn’t getting an FTF. That was all right, though. Since I try to find one every month, I have the entire rest of June to get my hands on one. I claimed a nearby LPC and declared victory for the day so I could hurry up and get home. I had writing to do, didn’t I?