The excitement was bubbling from Greg Strine as he braved the cold Thursday.
Like dozens of others, Strine spent part of the day at Manly Bennett Memorial Park after NASA scientists confirmed the meteor that passed over metro Detroit about 8:08 p.m. Tuesday broke up about 20 miles over the Earth and showered most of its fragments on Hamburg Township.
“I really want to find a space rock,” said Strine, who lives in Hell, an unincorporated community in Putnam Township. “I’m trying to follow my intuition. Sometimes I just get a feeling about things.”
Strine was home watching Netfilx on Tuesday evening when he saw the flash of light outside his window.
“I’d love to discover a new family heirloom, something I can pass down to my own children someday,” he said.
Jason and Andrea Lattimore of Hamburg Township were home when they saw bright flash, too.
“She thought we were getting invaded by aliens," Jason Lattimore said, nodding at his wife with a smile.
“This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen around here,” Andrea Lattimore said, noting she skipped a class and her husband left work early for their outing. “It’s an excuse to get outside,” she said.
Those who came out bundled up against the cold – about 17 degrees in early afternoon. Many used metal detectors or long-handled magnets to look for meteorites in the snow.
An hour or so into their excursion along the wooded paths, a rosy-cheeked father and son emerged smiling from the woods to retrieve extra clothing and some digging implements.
“I figure if we find something, sweet, and if we don’t, that’s fine, too,” said Ryan Blevins, who gave 11-year-old son Cody an unexpected day off school so the two could drive out from their Dearborn Heights home to look for meteorites. “It’s more about having a good time and making memories. How often do you have a chance to find something that came from outer space?”
"I believe everything happens for a reason," Blevins said, quoting a Bible verse, then adding, "...maybe there's a message in this. Maybe, instead of looking for treasure here on earth, we should be looking for a different kind of treasure. A spiritual treasure."
It was, he said, something to think about.
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Contact reporter Laura Colvin at 517-552-2848 or lcolvin@livingstondaily.com or follow her on Twitter: @LauraColvin22