To celebrate shell collecting and the upcoming COA 2001 Convention, a poem
found in the Shell Museum archives, of author unknown to me (I'd appreciate
to hear from anyone who knows who wrote it):

Shell Collector

Here's to the sunburn, the sprain in your back,
The windburn, the chill, the weight in your sack,
The bottles and the bags, the unpackable gear,
All strapped around you and banging your rear.
Here's to the barnacle gash and the bruise,
The salt in your eyes, the sand in your shoes.
Here's to the stink in the cottage at night,
The boiling, the cleaning and scrubbing just right.
The searching through crud 'till your eyes dull with pain,
For the needed elusive unspellable name.
Here's to the polishing, boxing, arranging,
Consulting, re-sorting, re-naming and changing.
Here's to the weariness, lameness and cuts,
And to all the people who think we are nuts.
We go on collecting foul weather or fair,
Not minding at all with a glassy eye stare,
For the sane of this world who look on in surprise,
We keep right on looking for that wonderful prize,
For the shell with a bump, some spots or a twist,
Ah! This shell is best and hard to resist.
So you keep right on walking, or diving or dragging,
By now are sagging, and lagging and bragging,
It's time to head back and on your return,
You still look for more, you'd think you would learn.
So you stumble along, keep collecting and pray,
That tomorrow will bring another good day.

--

[Check the Shell Museum web site for updates on Sanibel Shells and The
Nautilus tables of contents.]
__________________________________________________________________________
José H. Leal, Ph.D., Director
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
Editor, The Nautilus
www.shellmuseum.org

3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road
Sanibel, FL 33957 USA
(941)395-2233
fax (941)395-6706