Just a Pile of Rocks
I suppose a few rocks piled one on top of the other would have no significance to anyone really. Just some fools monument that has no meaning to anyone. But these stood as a memorial of a time nearly 26 years ago when I would share the last few days with a good friend.
I first saw this memorial on the way to a school camp. We had to walk to the camp as the bus we rode could not cross the ferry. I walked with my mate some distance to the camp where we would spend the week for school. It was about this time that I was first developing my love of photography and would carry a camera everywhere I went. On the walk and barely stopping I spotted this monument and took a snap. At the time it amused me that someone would take the time to stack a pile of rocks in such a fashion. I knew the picture would not turn out so great but to my surprise it did, though I always promised myself that I would go back some day and take a better one.
Just a few days after that camp, my good friend died in a car accident. It would be the fist time that I would feel the weight of a coffin as a pall bearer but sadly not the last. I remember getting the pictures back and showing my friend and we both agreed that one day we would take the trip together and do it again. Sadly that will never happen but, Andrew, I kept my part of the deal.
I met the son of the owner today and he took the time to show me the camp. He told me that it was his grandfather that had erected the pile of stones. He told me that stones had no significance other than to be a decoration. It is funny how they look so much smaller than I remember them. As I walked, I saw the shack we stayed in as well as the hall. All I could see was a young boy sitting in the spot smiling and sharing jokes, a young boy that would never grow old. Even after all this time and nothing to go on but a memory, I found those rocks.
I went to a bar and had a few drinks and my mind dwelled on how circumstance had brought me to a place so near these rocks. I reflected how life can bring you so close to keeping a promise but keep you distracted enough not keep it. But today I kept that promise.
I first saw this memorial on the way to a school camp. We had to walk to the camp as the bus we rode could not cross the ferry. I walked with my mate some distance to the camp where we would spend the week for school. It was about this time that I was first developing my love of photography and would carry a camera everywhere I went. On the walk and barely stopping I spotted this monument and took a snap. At the time it amused me that someone would take the time to stack a pile of rocks in such a fashion. I knew the picture would not turn out so great but to my surprise it did, though I always promised myself that I would go back some day and take a better one.
Just a few days after that camp, my good friend died in a car accident. It would be the fist time that I would feel the weight of a coffin as a pall bearer but sadly not the last. I remember getting the pictures back and showing my friend and we both agreed that one day we would take the trip together and do it again. Sadly that will never happen but, Andrew, I kept my part of the deal.
I met the son of the owner today and he took the time to show me the camp. He told me that it was his grandfather that had erected the pile of stones. He told me that stones had no significance other than to be a decoration. It is funny how they look so much smaller than I remember them. As I walked, I saw the shack we stayed in as well as the hall. All I could see was a young boy sitting in the spot smiling and sharing jokes, a young boy that would never grow old. Even after all this time and nothing to go on but a memory, I found those rocks.
I went to a bar and had a few drinks and my mind dwelled on how circumstance had brought me to a place so near these rocks. I reflected how life can bring you so close to keeping a promise but keep you distracted enough not keep it. But today I kept that promise.
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