Wisdom in Story - Somewhere Sombody Loves that Boy

Somewhere, Somebody Loves that Boy

There were only a few, popular boys,
With whom the other children laughed,
And played, and talked.
They were what other boys wished to be.
And one of those boys, who wished, was me.

They were smart; and they were cool.
They were the important ones at school.
My chance to be popular finally came.
They asked me to join them in one of their games.
I came in great haste to join in their fun.
And was filled with joy to have finally won,
The thing I most wanted, popularity.

Now I was proud; I was smart; I was cool.
So when Johnny walked by, I broke my first rule.
I was taught to be good, kind, never mean,
But the popular boys didn't do those things.
So we laughed at Johnny and made fun of his clothes.
We pushed him, mocked him and brought him down low.
It was really no harm, just part of the fun.
Johnny was nobody; he was no one.

I walked home from school, quite proud of myself.
I was popular now, not put down on a shelf.
But inside, a needle pricked at my heart.
My conscience dug in and took from me, a small part.
I was sorry, a little, to have made Johnny cry.
But I was popular now and I didn't care why.

At night when I went to my knees to pray;
A voice from within me began to say:

"You may not care how Johnny feels,
For the wounds, in his heart, that he conceals
But somewhere, somebody loves that boy,
And somewhere, somebody's proud of him.
Somewhere he fills someone's heart with joy.
Somewhere, he too has family and friends.
Yes, somewhere, somebody loves that boy,
And sees the best in him."

The words went away; but my mind never slept.
My heart swelled up big in my soul and I wept.
I was truly sorry for what I had done.
But the sorrows I had now, had just begun.
I tossed and turned in my bed that night,
And wondered, if ever, I could make things right.

When I walked down the road to school the next day,
I saw hurt and broken Johnny along my way.
I quickened toward him; my sorrows to say;
But as I drew closer, he hurried away.
My heart gave a leap, then fell back in my chest.
It hurt me inside, though I had tried my best.

At recess, when the popular boys asked me to play,
I just shrugged my shoulders and walked away.
I went and found Johnny, by himself, all alone,
Tears on his cheeks, and his clothes worn and torn,
Then sitting beside him, "I'm sorry," I said.
He lifted up sharply, then again dropped his head.

He didn't say anything, nothing at all.
So I stepped up before him, stood straight and tall.
And looking upon him, "I'm sorry," I said.
Then his face made a smile and he lifted his head.
"Thank you," He said, from the smile that he wore.
"Nobody's said that to me, before."

So Johnny and I; we played on the swings,
While the popular boys, did other things.
They played with their trucks, and cars, and play guns.
And Johnny and I, we made our own fun.
We played in the mud and climbed in the trees.
And Johnny was happy, as I hoped he would be.

The popular boys then beckoned to me.
Come play with us, and leave Johnny be.
They bragged of their fun, of their games and their toys.
And said that I should come play with them.
But I couldn't be a popular boy,
'Cause unpopular Johnny is my best friend.

  

Find this story and many others in Wisdom's Way: Tales, Treasures, Truths - available at jemelww.com

Somewhere Somebody Loves That Boy is a poem excerpt from Wisdom's Way: Tales, Treasures, Truths

Copyright 2010 Steven A. Barben

The Stone Truth - Jasper, Agate or Not?

JASPER, AGATE OR NOT?

Origins and History

Botswana Agate at Jemel

       In ancient times, agate was defined as the beautiful translucent and opaque banded chalcedony found within geodes or nodules in basalt or other volcanic rock. It was named after the Achates River (now the Drillo River) in Sicily, still a major source, and was used by the Egyptians before 3000 B.C.

       The literal definition of jasper is “spotted or speckled stone”, though the jasper stone of the past probably didn’t follow its definition, as jasper was most often a green stone, spotted, speckled, or not; and may have been a green jasper as defined in modern terms or possibly nephrite jade or chrysoprase. In time, the typical jasper would become better known as an opaque red chalcedony often found in association with sedimentary iron ore deposits.

Modern Modifications

       Identifying characteristics distinguishing the two stone definitions began to emerge, specifically: agate – cryptocrystalline quartz derived from geodes or nodules, of volcanic origin, translucent to opaque, and displaying an organized pattern (lines or bands, concentric circles, etc.); and jasper – amorphous or microcrystalline quartz, massive, of sedimentary origin, opaque, and of a consistent color or displaying an unorganized pattern (spots, speckles, dots, blotches, etc.), or no recognizable pattern at all.

       What might be considered true agates or true jaspers still retain these definitions. However, with the great variety of agates and jaspers currently available, including new discoveries, many cross definition boundaries, sometimes in multiple ways and could easily be called agate-jaspers or jasper-agates. While a cryptocrystalline (fibrous structure) characteristic can be quite easily seen in translucent agates, it’s not easily detected in any opaque stone, so some jaspers could also have a cryptocrystalline structure. Because of their translucent characteristic, it can accurately be said that agates are of volcanic origin, since sedimentary chalcedony is generally composed of compressed quartz grains, clay, and other impurities that make it opaque. But red, yellow, green, black, brown, and many other jaspers can be and often are formed by volcanic processes as well as sedimentary, so the volcanic identifier doesn’t differentiate jaspers from agates. Chalcedony varieties with many agate characteristics are not always confined to geodes or nodules, and neither agates nor jaspers are always defined by translucency or opaqueness, or by organized or unorganized patterns.

Commercial Influence

       This leads us to answer the question of who decides what names to give stones with agate, jasper, or mixed agate and jasper characteristics. And, the answer is not always the same. Generally names are determined either by a discoverer of a stone, a commercial entity that first brings a stone to market, or a name simply emerges from what a group of people or the general public begins to call it.

       Usually, whoever determines the name of a stone tries to use the given definitions as foundations or, at minimum, guidelines for their decisions. For many stones like Brazilian Agate, Botswana Agate, Red Jasper, Yellow Jasper, and Fancy Jasper, naming is easy because they all fit into their definitions

Bruneau Jasper at Jemel

well. However, stones that don’t fit well into one definition or the other are many as well. Some examples include Moss Agate, Montana Agate, Pigeon Blood Agate (translucent, but unorganized pattern, and generally massive); Mexican Crazy Lace Agate, Blue Lace Agate (wavy organized pattern, but massive as crusts and seams, and opaque to only slightly translucent); and Bruneau Jasper, Biggs Jasper, Picture Jasper (opaque and massive, but wavy semi-organized pattern). Typically, it appears that if agate characteristics are found in a chalcedony based stone, the agate name takes precedence.

Rainforest Rhyolite at Jemel

       It is also worth mentioning that some stones called jasper may not be jaspers at all by modern definition. The original name for Rainforest Jasper was actually Rainforest Rhyolite. Rainforest Jasper, Leopardskin Jasper, Poppy Jasper, Ocean Jasper, and other orbicular jaspers all have a rhyolite (some varieties perlitic, spherulitic and massive) appearance, so therefore are likely rhyolites. However, most rhyolites don’t take a high polish as these stones do, so these therefore must have a high quartz content. They also actually meet the original definition of jasper – “spotted or speckled stone” better than most jaspers of modern definition.

       Caution should be taken with at least one stone, often called jasper, which is not and should not be called jasper. While there is a true Picasso Jasper available, much of what is called Picasso Jasper was originally called Picasso Marble. And whether the jasper name has resulted from confusion by an innocent or ignorant public, because the two stones are somewhat similar in appearance, or because of some commercial modification for increased popularity, most stones of richer color variation and beauty are, in fact, marble, not jasper. Marble is a calcite (calcium carbonate) based stone, not quartz/chalcedony (silicon dioxide) based. This means that, though beautiful and attractive in its own right, Picasso Marble is much softer (hardness = 3-3.5) than jasper (hardness = 7), and therefore not as scratch resistant or as durable as a true jasper.

Find many of these natural stone pendants at jemelww.com

Copyright 2015 Steven A. Barben 

General References

Pough, Frederick. 1983. Peterson Field Guides: A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals.

        Houghton Mifflin Co.

Mottana, Annibale; Crespi, Rodolfo; and Liborio, Giuseppe. 1978. Simon & Shuster’s Guide  to

        Rocks  and Minerals. Simon & Shuster Inc.

Note: Minor sources may include, but are not limited to a variety of printed and online sources as well as observation and experience.