\u201cI\u2019ve got a meteorite to show you,\u201d the old guy said. Probably in his early 80s, with glasses resting on hairy ears on a big head resting on a skinny neck, he\u2019d shown up in front of my office at the university. I\u2019m one of the few geologists in the area, and he wasn\u2019t the first to assume that I know about meteorites. Most were after affirmation that they were about to get rich. Money, not knowledge.<\/p>\r\n
The old guy had a small bag, strong canvas, and from it he lifted a dark brown rock the size of a small cannonball. I took a quick look.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI figure I can get a couple of hundred thousand dollars for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n
Just then his cellphone rang, a flip-phone with big number but-tons. He answered it and spoke to what seemed to be a nurse. I overheard him mention sores on his foot as I left him to his privacy. Walking into my office, I looked up some info about identifying meteorites. The old guy wandered in behind me and sat in a chair, uninvited.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI need to take the weight off my feet,\u201d he said. He once again pulled the rock out of his bag and placed it on my desk with a thump.<\/p>\r\n
I printed out a pamphlet I\u2019d found and gave to him.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI\u2019m no expert on meteorites, \u201d I told him. \u201cBut I know a bit about rocks, especially the local ones.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
I paused, but the old guy didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t likely to be a meteorite.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
He looked at me but said nothing, then glanced at the pictures in the pamphlet.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cSee this layering?\u201d I continued. \u201cIt\u2019s common in sedimentary rocks, not meteorites. This is most likely an iron concretion. The iron is deposited by water moving through the ground.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThis has as lot of iron in it,\u201d he replied. \u201cFeel how heavy it is.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
I wasn\u2019t sure if I was getting through to him, so I just sat and waited to see what he\u2019d say next.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got these problems with my feet,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\r\n
I nodded.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThe sores on one won\u2019t heal up. And I have a lot of nerve pain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cDiabetes?\u201d I guessed.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he replied. \u201cAnd I was born feet first. They hooked straps on both my legs and pulled for hours. Crushed the veins. Now there\u2019s not much blood flow. You can\u2019t even feel a pulse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
He looked down at his legs, then at a new pair of shoes.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI came into town today for my new diabetes shoes. The medicine for the nerve pain numbed my feet, and a year ago I broke my toe. It still gives me trouble.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
His shoes looked nice\u2014oversized black tennis shoes with Vel-cro closures poking out below white socks and skinny legs, mostly covered by blue jeans.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThey are going to have to operate and put in shunts,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe last work cost me nearly a thousand dollars. And I figure eventually they are going to have to take off my leg, maybe both of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
I knew Medicare only covered 80% of most bills. He was looking ahead to needing money. Thus, the meteorite.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI was in the army for two years. Maybe the V.A. will help out with the artificial legs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a lot of practice with them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
I turned toward the computer, found an email address, wrote it down, and handed it to the old guy.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThere are meteorite experts down in Iowa City,\u201d I said. \u201cStart by having a relative take a photo and email it to this address.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
\u201cSome teacher found a sliver of one over in Wisconsin,\u201d he replied. \u201cThey gave her a hundred thousand dollars to study it. I figure this one is worth twice that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
The old guy looked as his watch.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI eat at 11:30,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s past that. I thought I saw a place for food as I walked in.\u201d His blood sugar was probably dropping.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cThe dining hall is right next door,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\r\n
He looked unsure of himself.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cI\u2019ll point you there,\u201d I said.<\/p>\r\n
I got up and walked him out. Some pastries sat on a table in the hallway, left from a morning seminar.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cJust what I need,\u201d he said, as he snagged one and ate it in three bites.<\/p>\r\n
Then we shuffled slowly up the stairs to the front door, where I pointed out the university cafeteria across the alleyway.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a buffet,\u201d I told him. \u201cAll you can eat. Only about seven or eight dollars.\u201d<\/p>","rendered":"
\u201cI\u2019ve got a meteorite to show you,\u201d the old guy said. Probably in his early 80s, with glasses resting on hairy ears on a big head resting on a skinny neck, he\u2019d shown up in front of my office at the university. I\u2019m one of the few geologists in the area, and he wasn\u2019t the first to assume that I know about meteorites. Most were after affirmation that they were about to get rich. Money, not knowledge.<\/p>\n
The old guy had a small bag, strong canvas, and from it he lifted a dark brown rock the size of a small cannonball. I took a quick look.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figure I can get a couple of hundred thousand dollars for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Just then his cellphone rang, a flip-phone with big number but-tons. He answered it and spoke to what seemed to be a nurse. I overheard him mention sores on his foot as I left him to his privacy. Walking into my office, I looked up some info about identifying meteorites. The old guy wandered in behind me and sat in a chair, uninvited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to take the weight off my feet,\u201d he said. He once again pulled the rock out of his bag and placed it on my desk with a thump.<\/p>\n
I printed out a pamphlet I\u2019d found and gave to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m no expert on meteorites, \u201d I told him. \u201cBut I know a bit about rocks, especially the local ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
I paused, but the old guy didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t likely to be a meteorite.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me but said nothing, then glanced at the pictures in the pamphlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee this layering?\u201d I continued. \u201cIt\u2019s common in sedimentary rocks, not meteorites. This is most likely an iron concretion. The iron is deposited by water moving through the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has as lot of iron in it,\u201d he replied. \u201cFeel how heavy it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure if I was getting through to him, so I just sat and waited to see what he\u2019d say next.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got these problems with my feet,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sores on one won\u2019t heal up. And I have a lot of nerve pain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiabetes?\u201d I guessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he replied. \u201cAnd I was born feet first. They hooked straps on both my legs and pulled for hours. Crushed the veins. Now there\u2019s not much blood flow. You can\u2019t even feel a pulse.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down at his legs, then at a new pair of shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came into town today for my new diabetes shoes. The medicine for the nerve pain numbed my feet, and a year ago I broke my toe. It still gives me trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
His shoes looked nice\u2014oversized black tennis shoes with Vel-cro closures poking out below white socks and skinny legs, mostly covered by blue jeans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are going to have to operate and put in shunts,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe last work cost me nearly a thousand dollars. And I figure eventually they are going to have to take off my leg, maybe both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew Medicare only covered 80% of most bills. He was looking ahead to needing money. Thus, the meteorite.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the army for two years. Maybe the V.A. will help out with the artificial legs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a lot of practice with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward the computer, found an email address, wrote it down, and handed it to the old guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are meteorite experts down in Iowa City,\u201d I said. \u201cStart by having a relative take a photo and email it to this address.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome teacher found a sliver of one over in Wisconsin,\u201d he replied. \u201cThey gave her a hundred thousand dollars to study it. I figure this one is worth twice that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The old guy looked as his watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI eat at 11:30,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s past that. I thought I saw a place for food as I walked in.\u201d His blood sugar was probably dropping.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dining hall is right next door,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
He looked unsure of himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll point you there,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
I got up and walked him out. Some pastries sat on a table in the hallway, left from a morning seminar.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust what I need,\u201d he said, as he snagged one and ate it in three bites.<\/p>\n
Then we shuffled slowly up the stairs to the front door, where I pointed out the university cafeteria across the alleyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a buffet,\u201d I told him. \u201cAll you can eat. Only about seven or eight dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":131,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/133"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/133\/revisions\/134"}],"part":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/131"}],"metadata":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/133\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=133"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=133"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pressbooks.dbq.edu\/storyoftheearth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}