No Potato...

I was about to leave and, from the cab of my truck, waved good bye to an acquaintance living and working on Last Chance Creek in the Yukon. He waved back, but rather strangely I thought...until I realized he was actually flagging me down. "Hey, I've just shut down the sluice to check up on something. Want to come down and have a closer look?" Within five seconds, give or take a few milliseconds, set park brake, turned off engine and slid down the slope to the steel giant that moments ago was gulping gravel and sloshing it down with water; it's bowels dis-aggregating the boulders, pebbles, sand and clay, finally running the slurry through the sluice boxes, which, like our intestines, trap the good stuff and let the waste right on through. My host jumped up onto the boxes and pulled up the grates to have a look. After only an hour on the first day of operation, the upper riffles were already laden with the yellow metal. After raking the riffles out a bit, two specimens of well-crystallized gold popped up and they were handed to me. Today's image subject is one of those crystals.

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Eight years ago, I curated a major exhibit on gold and in an interview before the exhibit opened was asked, "If you could be a mineral, what mineral what it be?" I found that tantamount to the more frequent question as to what my favorite mineral is except that it more directly, perhaps philosophically, begged the question "why". Prior to that, I was unsure whether or not I had a favorite mineral, expressing instead an affection for all minerals and their diversity. Reflection caused me to admit that perhaps I do have a favorite mineral: gold. There are perhaps many reasons why; perhaps most amusing to me is the fact that the first months of my embryonic life were spent on a gold placer claim in the Yukon. I could also point to gold’s aesthetic nature and the value that humans have placed on gold, thus joining the millions, if not billions of past, present and more than likely future humans. But the most profound answer came from replying to "What mineral would I be?"
The first funeral I ever attended was that of an elderly friend and fellow mineral collector. During the ceremony a small collection of minerals was passed around allowing those gathered to reflect on the specimens and their relevance to my friend's heavily mineral-influenced life.
What struck me at the time is that the mineral that best mirrored his life was absent---gold. Like gold, this man's character was not easily tarnished; he was patient, fair and giving, and by anyone’s definition, of "golden" character.
It is gold's nature, the fact that it can be beaten and drawn without breaking and its virtual immunity to chemical corruption that make gold so endearing.
While gold has undeniably corrupted humanity throughout history, it has also brought out the best in the human race. With the admirable qualities that gold embodies, it is not gold that is the root of all evil; it is the lust for gold. (I know, the expression is actually about money, but gold has since the early days of commerce been money, and still is...just ask the increasing throng of pundits pontificating about the collapse of fiat currency). Nonetheless, even the latter has inspired humans to achieve amazing feats: from the Klondike miners that had to endure incredible hardships to reach the goldfields; to the creators of some of the world's greatest masterpieces; and to the Olympic athletes, who push the limits of human capability in "going for the gold", represented not only by gold medals but often by lucrative endorsements.

Plus, with a specific gravity of 19.3, it is just cool to have a good size nugget sitting in the palm of your hand :-)

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Photo tech stuff: Necessity truly is the mother of invention...single tensor light with white letter paper diffuser (bond or not?...can't remember), Al foil reflector and the specimen was sitting on my Zune's viewing screen. Studio: My mom's desk in the basement. Rather pleasing to get away with it...