What started out as a simple distraction for Brandi Romano and her kids from the ongoing pandemic has turned into a campaign of positivity for all of Golden to enjoy.
Romano and her kids have decorated over one hundred rocks by her estimation and have been leaving them lining 5th St. on the way out to the airport.
“At first it was just something to brighten someone’s day, but now I hope it grows,” said Romano.
“I was just looking to say things to others that I wanted to hear myself.”
Romano says she chose that particular location as it’s well travelled and a popular area for people on walks. With everyone on lockdown, it’s been a popular trail for those trying to get a bit of fresh air during social distancing.
She says the area is big enough that people can maintain space and social distance appropriately, allowing people to “connect without connecting.”
“There’s at least 200 rocks there now and someone has done paintings on the telephone posts, so there’s all sorts of stuff spreading from it and it’s really neat,” she said.
Romano decorates her rocks with sharpies, but says she’s seen others use things like paint and using Mod Podge to make the project their own.
The added diversity and personalization that others have brought is a nice touch, with Romano estimating that at least five others have contributed now to the growing rock collection, based on the different hand writing and styles she’s seen. Romano says she’s enjoyed watching the response on Facebook and seeing the collection grow.
“I really like the fact that it’s inspired people to take their minds off of what’s going on,” said Romano. “It makes me happy to see people post a rock and say ‘look, I found this today and I really needed it’.”
Next, Romano says they’ve already started laying out some rocks at the hospital with encouraging words.
