ROCK: Bonnie Himes of Bradford read about “Joy Rocks” — a.k.a. “Kindness Rocks” — in the paper on Tuesday.

That same day, “I found one, and I thought it was really, really neat. Made me smile just like it was supposed to.”

She spotted it when she was coming out of the Foster Brook Creamery. The rock, which was pushed up against a post, had been painted white with decorations and the words “Do your best.”

Bonnie wasn’t sure how to let “this individual who took the time to do this” know she appreciated it. “It’s just such a nice, simple thing.”

She prizes her new rock.

“I still smile when I look at it today. Thank you to that person for that smile.”

CURIOUS FIFI: When Ron Swanson of Kane saw that Curious George will be featured at Pumpkinville in Great Valley, N.Y., he recalled a show he watched recently on the character’s origins.

Ron explained the idea for the inquisitive monkey came around 1940 by a Jewish couple living in Paris, France.

H.A. and Margret Rey were cartoonists who came up with the idea for the monkey, then called “Fifi.”

“They saw what was coming in Europe and decided to get out before Hitler invaded France,” Ron explained. “It was very difficult because most of the railroads had shut down.”

The couple packed up their Fifi drawings in a satchel and rode bicycles for 60 miles — a three-day ride — to meet the train. The plan was to go to Spain, then the United States.

On the train, a Spanish official was suspicious the Reys were spies, Ron tells us.

Fifi saved them.

The official began to question the Reys and demanded to see what was in their briefcase.

“The more time he spent (looking at the drawings), the bigger the smile on his face,” said Ron. The illustrations convinced the official they couldn’t be spies.

The Reys settled in New York and eventually found a publishing house to publish the story. The catch was, they had to drop the name Fifi, “so they started calling him George,” said Ron.

Ron enjoys studying World War II and found the story of the cartoonists who fled from the Germans “fascinating.”

“You don’t think of stories having origins like that when you read them.”

FOOTBALL FRIDAY: High school football kicks off tonight throughout the state.

Bradford High opens at home against Smethport at 7 p.m. at Parkway Field. For Owls’ coverage, see Saturday’s sports section.

For live updates, check out the sport department’s Twitter feed @EraSportsNow.