Adam's jewels.

Today is supposedly Jewel Day, according to the Holiday Insights page, and they ought to know. "Jewel Day is your chance to give or receive jewelry. Will you receive jewelry today? Who knows? But one thing we can be certain about ....... jewelry stores love this holiday." Sure, if anyone had ever heard of it.

I suppose if you boys blew it on Valentine's Day, you can try to make up for it now. Tell the jeweler down the block that you want to celebrate National Jewel Day. He'll smile and be happy to show you things to buy, although he may suspect you're a little crazy.

I once heard a geologist being interviewed on a podcast -- it was not typical; I don't go around hunting interviews with geologists. I always did find the subject interesting. In college my Rocks, Gems, and Minerals class, or "Rocks for Jocks," did fill an emergency three-science-credit hole in my transcript that I needed for graduation. (You didn't need to be a jock to take the class, as you probably guessed since I was allowed to take it.) We certainly studied gems and their formation, although we never got our hands on any.

Pity, that.

Anyway, I believe the geologist I heard interviewed may have been Professor Ian Plimer of Australia, and if it was he then I heard him because he was being interviewed about his very important book. What I remember most is his excellent Biblical observation. It went something like this:

While there are a couple of descriptions of the creation of humanity in the book of Genesis, we're concerned with the most famous one, in chapter 2. In verse 7, "the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." But he doesn't create the woman yet. In verse 8 God plants the Garden of Eden; but it's when we get to verses 10 to 12 that we're getting somewhere, mineralologically speaking:

10 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.
11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.

God does not make Woman until verse 22. You see why? Because he knew Man would need gold, and gems, and perfume in order to get Woman to overlook his flaws and think well of him.

See? Man abides, God provides. Pray for diamonds but hoist the pick.

Better get out to those big National Jewel Day sales, boys.