On the latest edition of strangeness with strangers... I went for a walk along a stretch of river I don't visit often. The water level is at a near record low, so I thought maybe I could find some more agates or other cool rocks that aren't usually exposed. I wasn't completely out of civilization, but far enough that there were no houses or traffic nearby. I hadn't been walking very long nor found anything pretty yet, when a barefoot old man in swimming trunks came down the bank from above. He walked over to me and said, "Hi, I'm here to go for a swim. What are you doing?"

I told him I was looking for agates since the water was so low. We talked about the conditions. He asked what I do with the agates. I told him that was still in debate. He said, "Well, I am going to swim now." As he turned to walk away, I looked down at the water's edge and a little glimmer of yellow caught my eye. I reached into the water and pulled out the most beautiful little vibrant bumblebee colored agate.


Of course I was excited, so I doubled down on searching for others in that area. I went up and down that stretch of river, as the old man swam a few hundred yards away. I found nothing but a few underwhelming fossils.

On my way back to the spot where you can easily ascend the bank, the old man came walking out of the water and up to me. He said "Here, I found this for you. It's not an agate but it's pretty," and he handed me a sun bleached mussel shell with a perfectly shimmery interior.


I said, "Oh that's beautiful, thank you," but by the time I looked up, he was over the bank and gone. I went up the bank, too, and he was nowhere to be seen. No car. No one walking on the road. Nothing. I'm not sure if I talked to God or a magical merman today, but I found 1 pretty little agate and received an awesome gift, so either way, I'm happy about it. 😊