Throwing rocks

Essays written in the past.  This was written in 1997

I write these to my grandchildren.  They are my observations on things that have happened to me or that I have experienced vicariously.  I think that sometimes we go through life as a participant, but not as an observer.  Perhaps you might gain from these experiences and thoughts.  My hope is that they may be of some benefit to you in your life.  Perhaps to save you from some unpleasantness.

Throwing rocks

Yesterday, July 28, 2001, I noticed that the lawn was getting long and I had decided the day before that I would mow the lawn.  I had earlier this summer gathered rocks out of the garden space and had piled them up in a spot under the overhang of the house.  They were out of my way and I thought that they would be there for use later or close to the trash can to dispose of when an appropriate time came along.  Three of my grandchildren were playing in a nearby tree and had been for a few days prior.

I started to mow the lawn and noticed a rock the size of a baseball in the lawn near the tree.  Obviously one of the children had thrown it there from the pile of rocks about ten feet away.  I picked it up and thought, “I don’t want to run over this rock with the lawn mower.”  From previous experience I had known that a rock that size could bend the shear pin in the lawnmower and then the mower would not run.  I would then have to take the mower apart and replace the shear pin.  I have done that on a number of occasions in the past and I did not want to spend the two hours doing that and so I picked up the rock and placed it in its previous location.

I started the lawn mower and commenced mowing the grass.  As I neared the tree I saw another rock about the same size which would be in the mower’s path on the next swath.  I reached down and picked it up and deposited it alongside the previous rock.  As I continued to mow the grass I was heading away from the tree toward the garage door when the mower struck a rock hidden from my view in the grass.  It was smaller than the previous two and the mower blade hit the rock and propelled it with high velocity out from under the mower in an arc and hit the wall of the house with a loud thud.  Fortunately the mower continued to run well and the shear pin was apparently not damaged.  Had I been mowing in the other direction the rock would have gone flying in the vicinity of the children playing in the crab apple tree.  One of the children may well have suffered the consequences of their actions.

Sometimes when we throw rocks we do not realize what the end result of that action would be.  A child does not understand the ramifications of the action.  They have not had the experience of the adult.  I remember that one of the things that my parents asked of me was not to throw rocks.  I remember when I was living in Cheyenne that one of the boys in the neighborhood used to throw rocks at me and my brothers.  I was want to throw them back at him and perhaps I did.  I don’t remember, but I do know that throwing rocks can hurt if you are hit by one. 

I read in the Deseret News the other day that three Boy Scouts were charged with throwing rocks into a lake in Utah.  It seems that the rocks that they were throwing were dinosaur tracks that they had pried up from their place of resting and tossed into the lake to hear the splash.  The park ranger was beside himself at their insensitivity and stupidity.  They were not aware that the rock formation that they were standing on was one of the longest and most well preserved set of dinosaur prints in the world. 

Getting back to my grandchildren, I stopped the mower and brought them all over to me and told them that I did not care which one of them threw the rocks.  They were not to throw rocks in the future and I did not want them putting obstacles in the lawn. 

I wonder how often we do not foresee the consequences of our actions.  Perhaps we in our insensitivity throw rocks or obstacles into peoples way with no thought as to what the consequences will be for our own and others safety or well being.  If we are sensitive to the spirit we can minimize the negative impact of our actions.  If we keep the commandments which God has given us, we will avoid the results of disobedience.  Every time you throw a rock remember that there is some consequence to that action.  The parental warning, “Don’t throw rocks!” is still a good one.