Artist Alter of Intention : (1) Jim's Fulgerite

In Illinois I was fortunate last year to meet a gentleman retired from the military, an artist named Jim. When I visited his house, he took me into the basement of his home, and I was absolutely shocked at what I found there. He has a room full of what I would easily classify as a "Curiosity Cabinet" collection. These were very common among the nobility in Europe in the 1800's, and I'd never seen a collection in private hands of such magnitude. His travels all over the world with the military had allowed him to see and experience things none of us could ever imagine. Books, gemstones, trinkets, toys from all over the world were included, but the thing that thrilled me the most was something I had never seen before. In his mineral collection he had several hollow tube looking things, and when I wondered what they were he told me the story of fulgerites. The three in his collection he'd actually picked from the sands of the Sahara desert himself over several years. I love learning about new things, and I am always so happy when I learn about something totally new. Being of advanced age it is easy to be jaded, but Jim could tell I was thrilled by this new information. I scribbled the mineral name down on my checkbook register so I could study them at home later. So when I left Illinois to begin the leg of my journey taking me to Texas, my friend Jim gave me this piece of furgerite, and it has found an honored place on my alter.
When lightning strikes Fulgerites are created from the silica sand. It melts and fuses forming these tube-like miracles of "frozen" lightning. It takes a bolt of lightning, billions of joules of energy, 10,000-30,000 degrees Fahrenheit of heat, a few milliseconds and the melting point of silica (sand) to create one of these treasures. Their interior is naturally formed glass, and they often are hollow and translucent. They are very rare, but can be found anywhere there is sand after a lightening storm.

This is on my alter to remind me that sometimes people strike the sands of your life and leave behind something rare and precious, and it happens generally when you least expect it. The best of my friends are like this to me, and I hope sometimes I am to them too. Thanks Jim :)