When I was a little girl, my dad was really into rocks and fossils. He tried caving and spelunking and would, on occasion (when we were traveling through rocky areas), stop our car on the side of the highway to hunt for fossils. I grew up knowing what a rock tumbler was, how it worked, and what it was for. I grew up knowing that rocks are just cool.
As an adult, I'm an avid collector of geodes, rocks, mineral specimens, and fossils. I'm also a lazy collector. Except for a few exceptions, I don't know what most of my rocks are, where they're from, or what constitutes a "good" specimen. For the most part, I just collect what I like and what appeals to me. But the ones I love most have great significance and meaning to me. For example, a small blue geode (above, at right) that was the very first rock in my collection - probably not the best specimen, but I was a student at the time and the $10 I spent was a big deal to me.
Other sentimental pieces in my collection include my mother's amethyst, a celestine specimen my sister gave me (above, left), and a small, mounted geode slice from Uruguay that Leo sent me in the very first care package he mailed to me (right). The rocks in Uruguay are really spectacular. My luggage is always heavier on the return home. :)
Another piece that I love is a small Indian Shiva Lingam stone (left). This stone is purported to have properties that increase fertility, which is why it stays safely ensconced in my display cabinet.
I have a friend and mentor who believes that rocks have energy and life. He loves nothing more than when friends bring him a special rock from a special place they've visited. I don't know that I think rocks, minerals, and crystals have all the properties they're alleged to have, though I have a Moldavite necklace that I think gives me nightmares and other strange dreams (Moldavite is said to have very strong and unique energy, as it's created when a meteor strikes earth and fuses with a terrestrial rock - both extra-terrestrial and terran, it's unlike any other rock). Whether rocks and minerals have all the properties that New Agers want to believe in, I just collect what I like and enjoy the view.
When I was a little girl, my dad was really into rocks and fossils. He tried caving and spelunking and would, on occasion (when we were traveling through rocky areas), stop our car on the side of the highway to hunt for fossils. I grew up knowing what a rock tumbler was, how it worked, and what it was for. I grew up knowing that rocks are just cool.
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