Sand

…makes things disappear
Living with the sand as my floor has piqued my interest in archaeology. You would never imagine how many and how quickly things get buried completely in the sand. A pen dropped can disappear in seconds if a careless foot pushes it deeper in. On market day, countless droppings litter our hoof-printed main street. By day's end when I come back from the outlying towns, they've remarkably disappeared…It helps me understand that a whole civilization can be buried in time, simply under foot and wind.

…reveals all
Walk as lightly as you please, but sand will imprint who was there and where they've gone. Just by observing the sand at my feet, I have picked a lot about my cultural surroundings. It's easy to tell if donkeys or goats or camels passed there and which way they were going, and if the truck passed through before or after them. At our house if the guards swept the sand during the night, leaving only neat brush strokes, I can tell if I am the first one up or not.

…is a chalkboard at hand
I hardly give a thought now to bending down to spell a word in the sand. Everyone does it. It's quicker than hunting a piece of paper and pen and erasing is easy. It also makes a nice artist's palate.