A Field exercise

Pima Community College has an excellent Archaeology Department. The Field work/exercises though, almost cost me a friendship.

Marilyn and I met in class, discovered we lived around the block from each other and so began our friendship, driving to and from classes together especially, the evening classes and the Saturday fieldwork.

We partnered up for many of the exercises, one being a mapping project. Each team was given a 10meter square area to map.

“Map everything: rocks, bushes, grass etc. everything in your area and be sure to use your compass to properly place items on your grid map. It has to be exact!” Tough and exacting instructions to us from Buff, the Field Director.

We each had a compass. They were identical. We had had the same class on how to use it. But we were messing up.

The usual and comfortable way to hold a compass is to hold it, arms slightly extended/bent, away from the body and about chest high.

Marilyn and I never got the same readings for anything!

Our tempers began to flare as we were now behind the rest of the class. Pressure was on. Still we could not get it right.

Marilyn’s civilian job as the Hematology Lab Director at a local hospital was but a tad more exacting than mine as a Nurse. We worked under the Perfectionist’s axe!

Finally, we called Buff to our area and explained our dilemma. One of us wasn’t ‘doing it right.’

Buff had a tough time trying to figure out why we would get such different readings when we were doing things the same way.

He checked for the accuracy or problems of our compass; he checked for metal nearby.

Metal? Marilyn said she wore an under-wire bra.

That was it! Her bra was causing the problem!

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