Stoned

Lawrence Shields of Alexandria, Va., was on vacation with his parents in Franklin, N.C., when they stopped at a gemstone mine. As a gimmick, tourists can buy a bucket of dirt from the mine, paw through it, and keep anything they find. The 10-year-old found a 1,061-carat blue sapphire in his bucket, one of the largest ever found in the state. When bystanders got excited and took pictures, the boy’s mother “thought it was because he was a little kid,” she said. “We thought, These people in the mountains are really nice’.” The $35,000 rock might help to pay for Lawrence’s education, his father said. But “I’ve decided to buy a fishing boat,” Lawrence retorted. (AP) ...Now there’s a kid who has his priorities straight!