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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jim Dale, post: 8228772, member: 100459&quot;]When I was 11, my family moved from California to Texas.&nbsp; Because my father was in the Army, I was able to visit many places I would never have seen otherwise.</p><p>Anyway, on our trip, we stopped at the &quot;Painted Desert&quot; where there was a myriad of trees that had petrified and fallen.&nbsp; There were signs everywhere telling visitors not to pick up souvenirs.&nbsp; As you can imagine, as an 11 year old, I didn&#039;t think it applied to me, so I picked up a piece of petrified tree the size of a ping pong ball and stuck it in my pocket, never telling any of my family of my theft.</p><p>Years later, I found that piece of petrified tree in my drawer and felt guilty because of my theft.&nbsp; I carefully, boxed it up and mailed it to them with my letter of apology.&nbsp; About a month later, I received a box.&nbsp; When I opened it, there was a letter in it thanking me for my &quot;honesty&quot; and the piece of petrified tree.</p><p>Somewhere in the many moves the Army shipped my father to, that piece of petrified tree was lost, but the memory remained.&nbsp; It taught me a great lesson of honesty, but it took me 4 years to return the petrified tree.</p><p>I am thankful for my father&#039;s service in the Army.&nbsp; I was able to visit many places in Europe, the United States, and several other places.&nbsp; I was going through some pictures and I found one that had my sister (10) and me (9) sandwiched to our father on the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.&nbsp; Have they straightened the tower or is it still leaning.I went back in 1966 and something was lost in the visit.&nbsp; I guess it was because I was alone.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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