Something new, strange, and a little bit addicting has been going on in public spaces around Hanceville this week.

A lot of kids (and no small number of grown-ups) are walking around staring at the ground. In pairs or in bunches, they’ll stop and double back to re-check some unremarkable spot on a sidewalk. Or at the base of a tree inside one of the city’s parks. Or maybe on a window ledge outside a local business.

What’s gotten into these people?

Well, in a literal sense, they’re kinda rockin’ out.

Since launching the Hanceville Rocks Facebook group Monday, local parent Megan Bear has watched her pebble of an idea gain a small landslide’s worth of momentum. In three days’ time, the civic-minded social media group she started has amassed more than 500 members. And by the time you read this, that number will probably be much bigger.

Part Easter egg hunt, part community pep rally, and part social experiment, the project, in Bear’s words, is “basically a giant random act of kindness” — a way for people in Hanceville, whether they know each other or not, to communicate positive messages and have a little fun.

Sounds great. But what, exactly, is it?

“Well, you paint rocks,” Bear offers, with all the assured patience of someone who’s settling in for a longer, perfectly rational, explanation.

“You paint them, and then you hide them, and then people find them. Since we started this, we’ve already set out about 70 rocks, just in and around Hanceville. On a lot of them, I’ll paint an inspirational message or something positive and encouraging, and then we’ll leave them in a public place for other people to find. When somebody finds one, they can re-hide it; or they can join in and paint their own and hide that, too. Or, they can even keep it.

“Of course, we want people to paint their own and kind of grow it so that more people are doing it, but keeping it is totally okay. In fact, that’s kind of part of it: if you’re having a bad time or going through something tough and you discover this little inspirational message, you take that with you. You should! And if not, then you join in and leave your own rock for someone else to find.”

So think of it as a locally-themed Pokémon Go style of game; one that requires old-fashioned scavenging skills instead of a pricey smart phone. Every phase of Hanceville Rocks engages and rewards the senses: painting the rocks, hiding them, discovering ones that others have hidden, and — in some cases — redeeming designated “prize” rocks for locally-donated rewards.

There’re no rules, really, and certainly no age limits. Bear said she launched the Hanceville Rocks group with children in mind, but she acknowledges the appeal the project holds for adults who like interactive mysteries: things like geocaching or, yes, Pokémon Go.

So what possessed her to do this now?

Looking around at the trap of summertime ennui that envelops many out-of-school kids, Bear said she created the Hanceville Rocks Facebook group as a way to give kids a fun activity that’s intrinsically meaningful, and that encourages them to invest in the town they call home.

“I’m one of those people who has to be focused on something if I’m going to get outside and do things,” she explained. “I’ve got to have a reason. This, I thought, can be a fun, no-cost activity that kids can do throughout the summer; one that gets them out into their community, and that helps them take pride in their community.”

Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail loves that last part.

“I think it’s just really cool,” said Nail Wednesday.

“Without jumping on the bandwagon to take it over or anything, the city wants to get involved, too. In the next few days, we’re going to have a thing where, whoever finds a certain ‘special’ rock, we’ll have a $10 bill waiting for them here at City Hall. I just think it would be a great thing for local organizations, churches, and summer Bible Schools to get involved in, and with the way this thing has already taken off, I think we’re gonna see some of that.”

Even though Bear’s responsible for launching Hanceville Rocks, she’s not precious about directing it. In fact, she says, she’ll know the whole thing’s a success when it’s grown to a scale too big for one person to manage; when it’s taken on a life of its own.

At the current rate, that may happen sooner than later. Bear — along with fellow Hanceville parent Kayla Mayer and an entourage of kids — hadn’t spent more than three minutes at the city’s C.W. Day Park Wednesday before one of the kids spied an unfamiliar rock; one that someone else in the community had painted and placed.

“We hope that it spreads, eventually, across Cullman County,” Bear said. “I started it here in my city, but I’ve already been talking with somebody in the City of Cullman who’s planning to start placing rocks in their parks. We’re hoping to reach out to people at different areas, so hey — if anybody’s interested, just reach out to me on Facebook.”

To do that, log on to Facebook and do a search for — you guessed it — Hanceville Rocks.

Then, whether you’re a kid or a grown-up…try not to get addicted.

 

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.