Progressive language

I don't know much about crystals and all the cultural beliefs associated with them, but Ryan strongly believes that you can use crystals to communicate with spirits. He gave me a small white crystal to keep in my purse as a good omen (along with a flower that's made of elephant poop, but that's a whole different story.)

This crystal brings me back to elementary school. When I was in second or third or maybe fourth grade, my teacher showed us how to find crystals. She brought some stones to class and had us smash them open with a hammer. To our amazement, these stones were chock-full of pretty, shiny crystals! Excited, I went home and gathered a bunch of rocks from my front yard. I smashed open the first one and found a big, beautiful crystal of many colors -- blue, purple, white, and green. I went on to smash the next rock, and the next, and the next, and the next. To my disappointment, I found no more crystals. However, I went on to keep the first rock for a number of years. I don't remember what happened to it, and I have no idea where it is right now.