Feather
What did Ralston compare a feather to?
Forrest Gump
Ralston Ralston, Nebraska JCI Ralston Forrest Gump William Chapman Ralston
Ralston-Abstract Ralston,_Nebraska-Abstract JCI_Ralston-JCI_Ralston_Branding Forrest_Gump-Feather William_Chapman_Ralston-Namesakes
Ralston may refer to: 
Ralston is a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,943 at the 2010 census. Ralston is surrounded on three sides by Omaha, Nebraska but is a separate city. Since Ralston's population is below 10,000, state law technically allows for Omaha to forcibly annex Ralston (as they did with Elkhorn, another nearby city, in 2007, and had previously done with Millard). Omaha officials have never expressed a desire to annex Ralston; an agreement had been signed with Ralston's then-mayor, Wendell Kronberg, in the late 1960s whereby Omaha would leave Ralston alone.  
 Branding. The symbol for the chapter is a red and white, four-panel checkerboard. This is often used on their marketing materials to identify them. The mascot for JCI Ralston is a donkey named "Jack A. Ralston". 
Various interpretations have been suggested for the feather present at the opening and conclusion of the film. Sarah Lyall of "The New York Times" noted several opinions that were made about the feather: "Does the white feather symbolize the unbearable lightness of being? Forrest Gump's impaired intellect? The randomness of experience?" Hanks interpreted the feather as: "Our destiny is only defined by how we deal with the chance elements to our life and that's kind of the embodiment of the feather as it comes in. Here is this thing that can land anywhere and that it lands at your feet. It has theological implications that are really huge." Sally Field compared the feather to fate, saying: "It blows in the wind and just touches down here or there. Was it planned or was it just perchance?" Visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston compared the feather to an abstract painting: "It can mean so many things to so many different people. "The feather is stored in a book titled "Curious George", Forrest's favorite book, which his mother read to him, connecting the scene's present time with his childhood in the 1940s. The placement of the feather in the book is directly on a picture of the monkey walking on a tightrope. Whether that was intentional or not, it is very symbolic. The feather also has a correlation with Jenny's constant obsession with "becoming a bird and flying far far away" due to the abuse (sexual and physical) she endured from her father. She goes as far in the film as to ask Forrest "if jumped off the bridge, could [she fly?"
Ralston Avenue is one of the principal roads in Belmont, California. Ralston Street in Reno is named for William Ralston. There are Ralston Avenue exits from both Highway 92 and Highway 101. Ralston Middle School, Ralston Hall, and the William Chapman Ralston Award are all named after him. A small mining town in southwest New Mexico was named Ralston City in honor of William Ralston, its largest investor, but has since been renamed Shakespeare, New Mexico. The town of Modesto was to be named for Ralston; he declined, however, and it was called Modesto as one of the Spanish-speaking workers at the naming ceremony for that town said he was ""muy modesto"" or very modest. Modesto is home to Ralston Tower, an 11-floor building dedicated to elderly living. It is the second-tallest building in the city. 