DAE bond with strangers over misplaced glacial erratics in city parks?

In my experience, I was walking through the park and pointed out a large granite boulder that clearly didn't match the local geology to a fellow passerby. Your mileage may vary, but we ended up discussing how it must have been deposited by glaciers millennia ago, and it sparked a whole conversation about ice age history. Take this with a grain of salt, but it made me realize how these ancient stones serve as silent connectors between people today. I never expected a random rock to turn into such a shared moment of curiosity.

3 comments

3 Comments

evanw841mo ago

That 'silent connectors' line is so true. I use those park boulders as conversation starters all the time, like nature's own chat prompts. Once, I spent twenty minutes with a retiree mapping out ice age movements in the dirt. Honestly, it beats talking about the weather.

the_troy1mo ago

Sounds a bit deep for just chatting about a rock. Most people just nod and keep walking, forget the whole thing two minutes later. It's basically fancy small talk.

fiona_walker741mo ago

In Griffith Park, I saw a guy explain ice age movements for twenty minutes straight. I missed my bus because of it. So much for small talk.