CARTHAGE – Jim Andziulewicz – that’s pronounced Angel-evitch – was getting his garden in shape for spring planting Thursday morning, throwing rocks from the soil into the river behind his house, or out into the yard for his puppy Buddy to chase, when he noticed it, shiny and flashing in the sunlight.
He picked it up, brushed it off. The rock, smaller than the size of his fist, glinted black, red and gold. After living on the same land since 1987, tilling that soil every year, he knew he’d never tossed another rock that even remotely looked like the one he stumbled upon Thursday morning.
“I thought it’d look good in my wife’s flower garden,” he said, and brought it inside after a time.
While he rested and watched a show about UFOs on the Discovery Channel.
That’s when he began wondering if the rock, so out of place among the thousands of smooth “river rocks” peppering his property, might have come from someplace far away – outer space, to be exact.
“I thought this might be a piece (of) heaven. A rock with gold, silver, and black onyx on it plus a shine like diamonds all through it,” he said, reading from a statement he had prepared.
Andziulewicz, who has spent the past two years recuperating from an on-the-job injury to his forearm and knee that had him in and out of surgery three times, said he “put it on my head here, for a half hour, (hoping) it’ll cure-all” his woes. He said he thinks the rock came from “the heavens, the angels,” and referenced his nickname – Angel – taken from the first two syllables of his last name.
And Andziulewicz’s moon rock, which he said he hopes is a sign of better things to come, seems to fit in nicely with the “Angel” theme he and his wife have got going on. They plan to open an ice cream shop called “Angel’s Heavenly Sundaes” either this summer or next.
As for his wife, Mary Anne, she said it’s going to take some convincing before she believes the rock is a meteorite.
Still, of her husband’s find she said, “it’s about time for something good to happen to him.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.