Hi All,
 
Was paging through my collection catalog this evening, and while looking at
the entries, a range of memories were experienced...recalling the
circumstances of obtaining this or that specimen, seeing the "deleted -
traded" entry for some (missing the shell traded away, but smiling about the
one gained), etc. But the most poignant are the "specimen destroyed"
amendments to a couple records. One was a 10" Tonna galea which my (then) 3
year old sister mistook for a ball and smashed against the floor. After that
episode, she and I had several long talks, and she never mishandled my shells
for the remainder of the time I lived at "home". However, I neglected to
include her hamster in the talks...I was using an old china cabinet (with no
doors and no pedestal) to display some of my larger and showier shells in my
room. On the bottom shelf was a 6" gem Argonauta argo from the Bass Straits a
friend had given to me..."Ponsona" escaped one night, and during her rodential
roamings, discovered the china cabinet, the bottom shelf, and my A. argo.
Found it chewed to little bits and pieces along with trace sign (footprints in
the thin layer of dust, and a little nugget or two), so I knew it was the
hamster and not my sister once again. Good thing Mom never allowed me the
bullsnakes I always wanted to keep...I just may have turned one loose.
 
Any other stories out there?
 
Ken Zentzis
Wichita, Kansas