My first rock was collected in Withernsea, England in the summer of 1978. My mother was born in Hull in 1930 and spent her first twenty years in this village that sits on the edge of the North Sea. Her mother had a tobacco and candy shop. Her Uncle Charlie had a stand where he sold fresh mussels to eat as you walked along the promenade which runs alongside the rocky beach from one end of town to the other. The views are always breathtaking and the smells are soothing. The village has its shares of arcades, the bowling green and a lighthouse to entertain the summer visitors.
My mother tells of the time when her father and her were taking a walk along "the prom" during the war. German fighters often passed by after the british bombings on their way back to Germany. This time however, they had decided to let loose the leftover bombs on the village. Many buildings were destroyed, along with the movie house which had luckily just emptied from the afternoon matinees. The town bowling green sits inside a crater formed by one of those bombs.
We spent three weeks in July with my mother's Auntie Vi and Uncle John. It was my first visit to England, but not my last. I regarded them as my grandparents for I never knew my real ones. Every birthday and every holiday, there was always a little something sent from them. During the time we were there, they made me feel so special and made sure we were having a good time.
One lazy afternoon, my Uncle John and I wandered into town and to the beach. At the time, I had no idea what the sea could offer up with each tide, but my Uncle John knew. The moment he broke open a rock and I saw the fossils inside, I was hooked.
The concept of holding a piece of history and the bones of the earth has fascinated me every since.
My mother tells of the time when her father and her were taking a walk along "the prom" during the war. German fighters often passed by after the british bombings on their way back to Germany. This time however, they had decided to let loose the leftover bombs on the village. Many buildings were destroyed, along with the movie house which had luckily just emptied from the afternoon matinees. The town bowling green sits inside a crater formed by one of those bombs.
We spent three weeks in July with my mother's Auntie Vi and Uncle John. It was my first visit to England, but not my last. I regarded them as my grandparents for I never knew my real ones. Every birthday and every holiday, there was always a little something sent from them. During the time we were there, they made me feel so special and made sure we were having a good time.
One lazy afternoon, my Uncle John and I wandered into town and to the beach. At the time, I had no idea what the sea could offer up with each tide, but my Uncle John knew. The moment he broke open a rock and I saw the fossils inside, I was hooked.
The concept of holding a piece of history and the bones of the earth has fascinated me every since.
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