This is Throwback Thursday #270. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc ...), please sent them to [email protected]. Thanks! email:[email protected].
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We have a poem about collecting... collecting fossils. artifacts, minerals, and just rocks. It's easy to over indulge and collect too much... is too much possible? That seems to be the subject of this poem and its tongue in cheek ending. The poem was penned by Peggy Allaway, daughter of Bill Allaway who was the first chairman of ESCONI. Peggy had quite the talent for poetry, serving as poeta laureate at the University of Illinois in the early 1950s.
This poem appeared in the May 1950 edition of the ESCONI newsletter.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
There was a rock hunter
Who sat on a hill.
He was tall, dark, and handsome.
(His first name was Bill.)He'd been digging for fossils
In the heat of the day,
But all he could find
Was a truck load of clay.He mumbled and grumbled
While poking the sod
In search of a fern leaf
Or small ceph'lopod.His rock-hunting partner
Was out digging too.
His find of the day
Was a rock in his shoe.He gasped and he wheezed
As he poked all around
In search of an arrow head
Deep in the ground.With a sigh of despair
And a shake of his head
He reached for an object,
A amall hunk of lead."I'm tired of all this!"
Was the sorrowful cry
"Let's go for some coffee
And fresh apple pie.""I'm tired of this business
I'm ready to quit
No more of this hunting.
I'm just going to sit."So they gave up their hobby
With no sign of grief
While their wives settled back
With a sigh of relief.You may think that this poem
That I've written tonite
Is rather fantastic
And you are so right!Peggy Allaway
