----- Original Message -----
From: "Jesus E Moses" <jesusemoses@...>
To: <sterlingda@...>
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 2:31 PM
Subject: The most valued Stone


Sterling,
here is a private exchange
I had, You might find interesting.


John writes;

 A Glimmer of Glamor




by John Belvin



In 1866 some children found "a pretty pebble" while�
playing in the sandy bed of the Vaal River in South Africa.
A trader took it to Grahams town where it was sold for $2500, a
good sum in those days, and displayed in the Paris Exhibition of
1867. Dr. Atherstone identified the pebble as a diamond that same
year.

All at once many men began a rush to Africa seeking wealth.
Soon there was a mining camp of more than 10,000 men on the Vaal
and Orange River. And towards the end of 1870 other stones were
found setting off a second great rush.

In a certain area prospectors found open fields where
diamonds lay on top of the ground like pebbles. And to the�
natives living there, that's what they were considered-- pebbles
common to that area. The first thing the foreigners did was to
try hiring the natives to pick up the diamonds; but the natives
living in that area were content. Free time was valued more than
money. They had no debt and no real need for any money. And
besides that, they didn't particularly like the idea of having
to spend their days crawling around on their hands and knees
picking up pebbles.

So these foreign strangers got together and devised a
plan. They bought up all the land in and around the area; formed
a government and started taxes. They taxed the natives land,�
taxed their cattle, and even taxed their dogs. Now the natives
needed money-- to pay their taxes. The natives now had to find
work and the strangers hired them to line up side by side,
wearing tin cans with a string attached and hung around their
neck, crawling on their hands and knees across the fields picking
up those pretty pebbles.

Today the diamond industry is a monopoly. An immense�
amount of money is spent by De Beers in advertising to create a
desire for their product; then they control the output to give a
sense of rarity.

If everybody can have one, just how rare are they really?
The oldest of our legendary tales mentions diamonds as a
stone which was to be found in the brains of serpents. And let us
be forever watchful for any hidden hydra-headed serpent amongst
us. He was, and still is, more subtle than any beast of the
field (Genesis 3:1).


__________________________________________________

In Re; to the above I replied;

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jesus E Moses" <jesusemoses@...>
To: <jmack@...>
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: Glimmer


I think that there has been more Diamonds
that have been mined than gold.

Both have little use.
The Girls sure do like them though.
And Diamonds make Good cutting tools.
Gold does not corrode, so it is good for
a conductor.

The US has allowed De Beers into the US Diamond business.
I still don't know how that happened.

Snakes, .......You got that right.
Their pretty Snakes, with shiny rocks.

I found a Good Rock.
I wear it all the time.
Out shines any Diamond, Gold, or Silver.
When the Light catches it just right,
It can blind you for a moment.

That's when people tell me to take it off.
I will not!!!
I have every right to wear this Stone!!!
It has other things it can do, besides Shine.

Then they tell me it is not my Stone.
I try to share it with them.
But they say it is not theirs either.

So I'll just keep it for myself.
I can not force them to wear it.
Nor will I beg them to wear it.

But This Stone Grows on a Tree.
Pluck it off the Tree, And put it on.
That's what I did. Free.

I wonder what a Diamond that weighs
168 lbs. would go for.


Anyway I make Humor of everything.
Forgive?

With the peace of Christ.
JEM
I think I'll post this at Greaterthings.
Hope you don't mind??
Also, We had a good exchange before,
I would like to post some of it also,
If you do not mind? Let me know? JEM

_______________________________________

John replied;

That's okay JEM, I don't mind, anything I send is free to roam wherever
it
may. We're getting a little thaw around here. Like to see this snow melt.
H.A.N.D.
(have a nice day)
-JJohn