Speaking of rocks yesterday led me to think about rocks, paper and scissors for three days. Above you can find me exploring the edge of a wave looking for rocks. By the way I no longer had the itchy wool bathing suit but rather a cotton one with a ruffled back and seahorse print. I remember it clearly since it was such a welcome change from the red wool one.
I always collected rocks wherever we went. However, I chose them when they were wet and really appealing. Often I was disheartened to find the rocks rather ordinary looking when I got them home and they dried off. Occasionally I would find a piece of obsidian which kept its gleam when dry. At the beach I found agates which looked better wet but still attractive when dry. I still pick up rocks when we travel, putting them in my pockets. I still wonder when I take them out why I chose those drab specimens!
The other play with rocks was learning to skip them. My father was an expert stone skipper and spent quite a lot of time teaching us how to find the perfect skipping rock, flat and semi round, just the right size to fit our palms. He demonstrated over and again the proper stance and the correct arm movement needed to let the rock dance over the water. His would bounce several times in a row. Despite his excellent tutelage, I rarely got the rock to do more than go ker-plunk. While I have never mastered the art, I now have a grandson who excels at the throw. “It’s not really that hard,” he says. “Look.” And I am back many years watching my dad execute the same perfect pitch.
Saved By Words 
What a great memory. To share it with your grandson is the icing on the cake.
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I do feel blessed when he shows off like that.
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May you bounce into 2021 with vigour, good health, happiness, and success.
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Watching your grandson skip the rocks and remembering your father doing the same thing is priceless. Elizabeth, I hope you are writing down these small and hugely important moments for your grandchildren. BTW, I still play Rock Paper Scissors at school!
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I print out my blog every once in a while as books. Expensive but priceless for them.
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I do the same thing! Yes, expensive but priceless.
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My father could also skip rocks – and similarly to you, I never figured out how to do it.
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Maybe it is a male gene!
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I somehow missed playing Rock Paper Scissors when I was growing up! So I hear about it and am still wondering what it is.
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Well there are actually videos on line about it. I guess you aren’t the only one.
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I collected smooth pieces of glass from the creek and we all skipped rocks. I waited until I was an adult to collect rocks. I wrote about living by the creek some time ago: https://fromcavewalls.wordpress.com/2019/05/16/living-by-the-creek/
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I once found a rock that had a hole drilled in it. My grandfather told me it was an Indian relic. I promptly put it on a shoestring and wore it. We discarded glass at the beach not knowing that some called it sea glass and treasured it.
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I am inspired to write an entire post on treasures.
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I would love to read it.
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It is simmering…
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I’ve picked up disappointing dry rocks, too. Skipping rocks skipped two generations!
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Maybe Logan can learn it.
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Logan is good at lots of things. All the water around here is running downhill, so we’d have to look further afield.
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A swimming pool perhaps?LOL
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What a great idea! If we had permission from a pool owner, neighbor Logan and grandson David would enjoy skipping stones. David would then enjoy diving into the pool to bring up the stones. I wonder if Logan would do that???
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I am sure he would especially if he was in league with David retrieving them.
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What is it about skipping rocks that is so fun? I used to do that all the time when I was a boy.
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It is free. It is always available. It is easy for some people to get better at it. I am loving imagining you as a boy being good at it.
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Our grandson loves to collect pebbles, he has a box full of them. He and his sister are having holidays now and both paint some of the pebbles. And of course they look beautiful 😄
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I forgot about painting rocks. I didn’t do that, but my grandchildren do and then want me to buy them!
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😊👍
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My Gran, who lived with us, used to knit us swimming costumes when we were small. (Actually, we lived with her, so nobody complained, but didn’t they sag when wet?)
I never could skim rocks either. It was one of the many things I desperately wanted to master but never did, along with that piercing whistle through the fingers.
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I could never skip stones either. I gave up trying in my teens. I used to collect shells on the beach instead, always trying to find the biggest ones.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I had quite a shell collection too.
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