Historians - Bringing the Past to Life

I can still recall the first time I felt history come alive. It was a day like any other, and I passed a massive rock on my way home from school. I've seen it many times before, but I took time to pause and look closer this time.

An adult I knew as a friend of my father saw me standing in front of the rock. He asked if I knew what kind of stone I was looking at. I replied that I had no idea; it looked like any other rock except for its impressive size. That giant rock was—and still is, as far as I know—a glacial erratic, but I didn't realize that when I stood in front of it, touching its rough surface.

He then started telling me a long story stretching back 10,000 years. Of course, he said some white lies, but the gist was that the rock had traveled over the continent to settle right where it stood that day and still stands today.

He must have been a great storyteller since I still recall what he told me decades later. He didn't just tell a story but taught history very colorfully. His tale of a glacial erratic sparked my curiosity to learn more about the past around me, and I am forever grateful that he pushed me into the past worlds.