Underground treasures
How on earth were these unearthed? These minerals are mind-bending. With a few hours to spare in D.C., I am walking through the Museum of Natural History, focusing today on the displays of fancy stones. I’m not a rock-hound but have always delighted in finding beauty beneath my feet. I spent a week as a kid gathering what my sister and I thought were agates in Canada, only to later find that we had a bucket-full of smoothed quartz. But my parents kindly let us haul them all the way home. My minor discoveries cannot rival these. As impressive as these delicate and strange minerals are, I am equally astonished by how they were ever dug up intact. Some of these feel like they would shatter if you touched them! People also have hidden gems. Because of our recent move to Virginia, I have a heightened awareness of the challenge of uncovering the more subterranean aspects of others – the stories, values, loves that shape them. That’s why the simpl...
