Influence

  How interesting can rocks be? I mean, really?!  I’m pretty sure that all geologists who really get into it must be just interested in selling out to petro-chemical companies for going into petroleum exploration.  Right?  

  I like turtles, it’s obvious to Everybody that turtles are cute, charismatic, and cool critters.  My life idol is Peter Pritchard: a David Attenborough figure in the turtle world, who once spoke of walking, on his way to a turtle conference at a Las Vegas hotel, past all the zombies slouched in front of their slot machines and thinking, “These people look miserable; barely even interested in this pursuit which is meant to be exhilarating.” He pondered the irony and it hit him as he reached the conference room: They have no Turtles in their lives! Or at least a decent turtle substitute.  The joy and passion that turtles hold for turtle people is undoubted.  

  This is how I come to one of the more influential teachers in my life, a man whose turtle substitute is rocks and whose passion and knowledge, combined with an approachable demeanour and good humour allowed him to convey subject matter which could have made most of the class fall asleep.  I owe my first semester of Geology pass to Professor Richard Arculus.  It was proven as second semester geology's fail appeared like easier subject matter to me, but the way in which it was carried out was above average, rather than completely phenomenal.  

  I recall clearly the day when Prof. Arculus explained what Kaolin was (a type of clay) and how it was used.  I was staggered to hear that this mineral had been passing through my body for some time now, without my knowledge, and was used (unless my memories of this turning-point of days aren’t as accurate as I’d like to think) not only in toothpaste, but also in many forms of powdered “mashed potato,” and McDonald’s thickshakes!  Could rocks actually be interesting?  I wasn’t completely sold on that one, but that was the closest I ever got to thinking so.