Answer:
it is a quote by Gertrude Stein.....
The rock was weathered by water, sand, and other rocks
to contrast the concern the boys should have felt with the satisfaction they really felt.. It can be seen the boys ere very happy when the cubs boat blew up and when the cub appeared in church and was treated as a hero.
The narrator dies and wants to go back to his previous life but he has to force himself to learn to move on like everyone else