Back in May I went for a walk down to the river behind my house. On my walk I spied a man and two little girls. The little girls were wearing swimsuits (it made me cold just looking at them) but they were not turning blue. They were in the water with the man who had his jeans rolled up to his knees. They were NOT splashing around. But they were as giddy and excited as two kids could be, in the river ,on a hot august day. I asked what they were doing. The little girls answered 'gold panning'. I looked at the man and he confirmed with a nod. I said ' Really?.... there is gold in this creek?' The two little girls who couldn't have been more than 6 and 8 years old started talking. They said yes and then showed me what it looked like, how to find it, where it came from, They taught me the term 'placer deposit'. Every now and then the man would chime in. (he had a sluice set up and he wanted me to know that he had his permit for it). I talked to them at length and those two little girls knew exactly what they were doing. They answered every question I had, knowledgeably and confidently. After about 5 minutes their collective body language told me they wanted to get back to what they were doing. I was greatly impressed by two things. 1.) This was some quality parenting. Without even thinking about parenting.... Dad had shared his enthusiasm for gold prospecting with his kids, gotten them involved in his passion. He had obviously shared a great deal of knowledge with them. It was obvious to me that they talked about what they were doing in the car, over dinner, at the grocery store and pretty much anywhere else that a family could chatter away at each other. There wasn't a cell phone or mp3 player in sight. (there was a back packed crammed with sandwiches and towels). Dad wasn't sitting on the bank with his data phone as the kids frolicked in the water. These people were engaged... together...in a common interest. The kids didn't feel locked down and Dad didn't feel 'obligated' to spend some time with his kids. This wasn't 'quality' time with the kids . This was QUALITY time. I applaud this father and his neurotic obsession with gold . I applaud him infecting his children with 'gold fever'. I don't care what a mess the rest of his life might be (mom was conspicuously absent). The one thing he needs to do right... he is doing right!
2.) Their enthusiasm was so infectious that I went home and ordered a $31 gold panning kit from Amazon. I have been going down to the river two or three times a week since I encountered them.. I have a bucket full of 'fines' that I just have to figure out how to get the gold dust out of the sand (then I can buy those shiny red mary janes with the bow on the toe). I wish dad would bring the kids back. I have a bunch more questions for them!
And completely off topic... All my girls are laying..I'm getting 9 eggs a day. I cant set up my fantasy egg business yet because I need a dedicated fridge to store them. I cant put in a fridge until we have the electricity in the house redone. So, for this moment in time and to make room in the kitchen fridge...... Any body want some FREE, farm fresh, free range, organic, eggs?
2.) Their enthusiasm was so infectious that I went home and ordered a $31 gold panning kit from Amazon. I have been going down to the river two or three times a week since I encountered them.. I have a bucket full of 'fines' that I just have to figure out how to get the gold dust out of the sand (then I can buy those shiny red mary janes with the bow on the toe). I wish dad would bring the kids back. I have a bunch more questions for them!
And completely off topic... All my girls are laying..I'm getting 9 eggs a day. I cant set up my fantasy egg business yet because I need a dedicated fridge to store them. I cant put in a fridge until we have the electricity in the house redone. So, for this moment in time and to make room in the kitchen fridge...... Any body want some FREE, farm fresh, free range, organic, eggs?
