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Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Rock

rockI've written about all sorts of animals that I've met along the way. I've written about plants, the forest, and lakes, ponds, and rivers. All of them move and change in their own fashion. Some of these have been very exciting experiences, others have been calm and soothing. After all of these things, I realized that I had to write about something very important that I almost overlooked. A rock.

That's right. A simple little stone. Who hasn't seen an interesting little rock and picked it up and put it in your pocket? Most of us have done this at least once at some time in our life. This is one of a kid's favorite things to do, and some grownups continue to like special little rocks they find.

While I was almost finished with my hike, and on my way out of the nature preserve, I saw this rock out of the corner of my eye. It almost seemed to sparkle. It was beckoning to me, almost as if it wanted me to pick it up. It looks so round and smooth, almost like an egg. I have to say that I fell in love with this rock.

rockJust look at it. There's not another one quite like it on this trail. It's almost as if there's a light shining down on it. Who could miss it when they walked by? Not me! I bent down and stared at it and studied it. Then I chose the perfect position, and took these pictures. What a wonderful rock!

As they say though, if you love something, set it free. So I left this rock right where it was. I set it free. I've regretted this decision ever since. I wanted that rock. I don't know why I left it there. It should've been mine. I even went back to the park and looked for it, but it wasn't there anymore. Gone forever. My poor lost little rock.

In the end, I guess I was never meant to have this rock. Somebody else must have picked it up. Now it's the little weight for someone else's pocket, and I have nothing. Somebody might say that there are other rocks, but I only wanted this one! Gone forever. Gone forever. My little rock.

20 comments:

  1. For a minute there I thought your posting has something to do with Alcatraz

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  2. I am tempted to say rock on Ratty! But bing an English gent I will write it instead.

    Remember all that glitters is not gold.

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  3. Rocka are so much fun to look at. I love to hold them to look at them and feel their texture. There are so many cool things out there when you are hiking if you stop long enough to look for them.

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  4. It was a beautiful rock so smooth and shiny and I can see why you wanted it. Although I bring home beautiful fall leaves and other things, I guess I'm like you and I've started leaving rocks where they are.

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  5. How beautiful! I would want to take that rock home also..Great photos!

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  6. Oh yes, I have boxes full of rocks! That one does stand out. I am sad that you don't have it to run your fingers around, but you have locked it forever in the picture!

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  7. I still have a smooth black rock I picked up on the banks of Lake Superior years ago. For some reason I can't part with it..Ha! So I know what you mean. Great post Ratty!! Oh! I have some from the top of Pike's Peak too!!

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  8. Love that story. I found a rock while hiking that now is in the hands of a pastor friend. He still carries the highly polished rock with him in a velvet bag.

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  9. Are you giving us the hint that we are going to see Queen, the rock singer, the "we are the champion" in your Friday Fiction?

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  10. I love smooth rocks for some reason. They always intrigue me. I wonder what type of formation they have had to go through to form that way.

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  11. Kruel - The Rock could have either been about Alcatraz or the wrestler. :)
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    Mike - All things that glitter isn't gold, but some things that glitter may be gold. The rock is still a treasure.
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    Kallen - Exactly! Even something as insignificant as a small rock can be the most precious thing in the world for a few moments in time.
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    Red Pine Mountain - Maybe the memory of the rock is greater than the actual thing.
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    Icy BC - That rock really did seem to stand out from all the rest around it.
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    Sharkbytes - The strange thing is that I never even touched it. At the time, I thought it was perfect right where it was.
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    Ginnymo - A Pike's Peak rock would be great. Your Lake Superior rock is a perfect example of what I meant.
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    Secondary Roads - That shows the great personal value that a rock can really have. Sometimes they are better than diamonds because there is no monetary value.
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    Rainfield - Now that's a great idea! I make no secret at all that Queen is my favorite band. It would be fun to work them into a story somehow.
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    impNERD - Smooth rocks are my favorite too, and I also like uniquely shaped rocks. I could be very wrong, but I would guess that a smooth rock would be shaped that way by moving water.

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  12. That is what I figured as well, but I find many of them on trails or just in the middle of nowhere. I wonder if people just drop them or what happened, especially since there isn't much water around. Or was it because of the water that was there thousands of years ago... that sort of thing :)

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  13. impNERD - Actually when I was looking at this rock, I was thinking very similar things. It seems so out of place with the rest of the rocks. The picture was taken in a new park, and they laid the gravel down recently. But that rock isn't really gravel.

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  14. i thought at first the rock in the first picture was a quail egg, maybe, i miss the quails :) but really, the picture is so striking, the texture of the rock really came out great. I collect rocks :) whenever it allows me to.

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  15. At least you have the memory of the time spent together. It's best to rock and lose than never to rock at all.

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  16. And then,(my favorite part), you can wet the rock and it looks totally different and shiny!!!

    The Retirement Chronicles

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  17. I know how you feel. And if fact my kids have this issue all the time. Except they want every rock they see and too many be come special. But there are times when there is one pretty that just feel right in your hand. Maybe you should not free that you love sometimes.

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  18. Betchai - I thought the rock looked like an egg too, that's part of the reason I like it. It seems to glow in comparison with the others.
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    WiseAcre - These pictures and my memories are all I have now. I want to cry whenever I think about it. ;)
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    The Retired One - I didn't think of that, but that's the perfect kind of rock for that. Now I miss it even more.
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    Julia - When I was a kid, my mom had to yell at my sister for saving a backpack full of rocks.

    I only realized that I let it go when it was already gone. By then it was too late.

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  19. I understand exactly how you feel when you find an interesting stone. I've got a battered old plastic box on my desk containing hundreds of interesting pebbles / fossils I've picked up :-)

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  20. John - I have to stop myself from picking up any rocks, because it would quickly get out of hand. Fossils are a different story. I'd collect any fossil I find. I haven't seen one in years.

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