Dial "0" for Gail at Grazzini Brothers

Where do you go to get palm-size samples of rocks - granite, marble, slate, and sandstone - to use in your rock module kit? Home building supply stores? "Nope*, we don't have samples for sale." Rock shops? "We really only carry decorative specimens - nothing less than $10, nope." Landscaping supply stores? Nope. "We only carry limestone and concrete pavers." Nope. Nope. Nope.

I was just about to go hammer on my neighbor's rock boulders for the granite and shale samples and to go down to the river cliffs for the sandstone (in a snow storm), when it occurred to me to enter, "where to buy natural stones in MN" into the Google search engine. Up came a selection of countertop and commercial contractor supply companies. I called the closest company. Nope - the telephone number had been disconnected. The second company only did monuments in limestone.

Then I went to the website for the third closest company - Grazzini Brothers & Company. The website is pretty fancy, and the company provides stones for buildings all over the world, so I was not too hopeful when I called the 1-800-number. "Press 1 for this and 2 for that and 3 for another this and 4 for another that." I could not keep track of all of the options (and no option for palm-size rock samples was listed anyway), so, out of sheer confusion, I pressed "0" for operator.

That is when Gail came into our SciSci lives. After I answered some very specific questions as to what types of rocks, how big the rocks need to be, and when we need them, she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, YOU are just the person I have been waiting for for years to call me! My husband thinks I am crazy. All these years, I have been bringing home the extra rock they throw away, knowing someone will want it! I just can't see that beautiful stone being thrown away. I knew there would be a use for it. I knew it. You are my connection to the outer world! Your name and number are now on a post-it note on my computer. When I get all of the different kinds of rock together.....wait, where are you located?" "Bloomington, Minnesota," I said. "PERFECT!!!! That is so close to me. When I get all of the different kinds of rock together in the trunk of my car, I will drop them off at your location. PERFECT!!!"

Well, nothing more need be said. If you need rocks, dial "0" for Gail at Grazzini Brothers. She delivers.

*Nope - This word means "no" in Minnesotan.