Lucky stones

Sang-Shil has a beautiful tribute to Julia up that brought back some wonderful memories, of Korea and of something I used to do as a kid. I grew up outside of Cleveland, and for many years Lake Erie was my backyard, in Mentor-on-the-Lake. Cleveland and the lake get a bum rap, because I have to tell you it was fun to grow up there. Yes, looking back I can see just how un-diverse it was, and I couldn't live there now, but as a kid - there's nothing like having an entire lake as your own personal playground.

I always loved walking the beach, too, looking for pebbles and other interesting stuff. Even now, when an interesting stone catches my eye I put it in my pocket and take it home. I once took a trip with my mom to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where she grew up, and brought back two souvenirs: two six-packs of beer from the Big Buck Brewery in Gaylord, Michigan, and a bag of river rocks from Eagle River. This was pre-9/11 and I got through, but I sure did get some strange looks. Probably deserved, as I had the kids in tow.

So when we had nothing else to do as as kids, my friends and I would stroll the beach looking for the pebbles and beach glass, all buffed smooth by the lake and sand. If you could find something other than brown stones and glass, it was a good day. For me, Coke-bottle green was a treasure, cobalt blue, too. It was also a good day if you could find a lucky stone - a small, smooth white stone that we believed would bring us luck.

When I read Sang-Shil's post, those memories came back, and I dug out the lucky stones from my bag of rocks. They're in a place of honor now, not quite in a stupa because I couldn't get them to stand up in a tower, but nonetheless near our beautiful kwanyin. They will stay there and be a prayer that Julia and Judy are healed, completely healed. I hope they bring you luck, my dears!

Pray hard for Julia right now, my friends, very, very hard.