I just have to tell this one and the dialogue occurred almost precisely
as I have written it...

After spending a delightful morning
at the show, looking at the exhibits and visiting the dealers, I
left to go to New York state for a commitment there. Naturally
I was running late.

As I drove up the New Jersey Turnpike, I needed to stop for gas,
and was a bit annoyed that I couldn't find a "self" operated pump.
Finally I stopped at a fueling area and a smiling man proceeded
to service the car. As he peered in the window as time to pay
came, he spotted something on the front seat:  A copy of
"Shells of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies".
The cover has a colorful photograph of a femorale.

I had brought this along to help with any final IDing of the shells
for my own exhibit at the show, just in case it was needed).

" Please give me that book!"  he said. " Shells ! Beautiful !".
"Must have !"

"What ?" I said. " Well, I would, but it's an autographed copy".

" Please give it to me !  Junonia ! Sanibel ! Love shells ! Beautiful."

I picked up the book and riffed through the pages. Sure enough, as I went
by the well-thumbed scaphella photograph  page, his eye caught it and he
smiled excitedly  "Junonia ! There !"  I agreed.

"Please give me - rip out page and give me!  Will wash car !"

Well, what was a person to do ?  So, indeed, I tore  off the covers,
and kept them and the autographed front page, rationalizing too that I
have another shell book autographed by that very special author we all
knew.
And I told myself that I could frame the covers and the signed page.
It would be easy enough as well to buy myself another copy of the book.

Before I handed it through to him I signed it  "from one shell lover
to another, (which I knew this interaction had now become) . Then
something occurred to me. "Oh, would you like a
junonia ? "   "Oh, yes, yes !".  "I'll get you one if you give me
your address".  He scrawled it on the back of a Mobil receipt, now
totally beaming with pleasure. (and I do have one for him which I'll
mail when I can get to the post office).

Declining the offer of the car wash, I said I had to be getting on.
I smiled all the way to Poughkeepsie.

- Karen