Souvenir

Today I decided to clean and weed the area under the drinking fountain in our front yard where all the children over the years had deposited special rocks. I, too, returned from travels with a rock as my souvenir.

I’ve discovered over the years that rocks with wish lines in them, rocks of quartz color variation, or rocks that are flat and good for “skipping” are dominant in this sentimental family collection. Many countries are represented here. Amongst the rocks there are a few shells from Fiji and other ocean-dominated countries.

Rocks from various latitudes, longitudes and elevations, tropical, temperate and Arctic zones. A memory of a night hike in the Dolomites or a rain forest of Australia.

Each rock triggers a memory never to be forgotten by one unimportant individual in one unimportant lifetime, giving significance and magnitude to both the individual and the rock.

No beauty is destroyed, indeed too insignificant to be missed. We just transplant a small rock allowing it to be noticed, special, appreciated. What other souvenir could be so inexpensive? Individual? Easy to transport? So far no airport detector has found or confiscated a rock.

Why does one rock catch our eye? Why does one moment demand remembering? Where we stood? What we thought? As we travel, meet and interact with others, we leave bits of ourselves behind and we take bits of the people and places we’ve visited with us.

Come drink from our outdoor drinking fountain and view our international colony of rocks.

Our country is a bit like our rocks. People from everywhere in the world, different races, compositions, colors come together to create a diverse population, creating something new and beautiful by blending together.

These rocks represent to me this transference and diversity and it is beautiful to look at. May we always enjoy the differences that create such beauty as we blend together and create a future together.

By Ruth Scott