Hi folks,

        I've heard that meat tenderizer is also very good for shark bites...
but from the shark perspective. Use it before diving and your favorite shark
will love it!!!  ;-))

        BTW, I loved the thread about museum displays. And I should have
sent a message yesterday but there was too much work around here.

        Here comes another two centavos of Real (what means less than two
cents of Dollar). It was quite interesting to see that the opinions were
divided mostly in two different sides. Some defending the museum's point of
view, others defending the public perspective. Mostly museum people in one
side and public in the other. Two sides of the same coin and one will not
live without the other. We both should understand that if there is someone
with an opinion different from ours, we should stop and LISTEN what he
says... and think about that. So, Wes, what I would like from you was just
to forward to the people of the Bishop Museum that a sheller visited you and
left the Museum FRUSTRATED with the shell display. On the other hand,
sincerely, many thanks for all explanations about it.

        Forgive me if I gave the impression that I was defending that the
public should have access freely to any part of any museum. English is not
my mother language and surely I didn't express my thoughts correctly. Anyone
that has at least two neurons (and I have three, AKA as Chip, Dale & Goofy)
will agree that to allow anyone to go anywhere just because you are paying
the "bill" of that organization is an obvious nonsense. I must recognize
that I didn't want to visit the scientific collection and, probably, if I
had expressed such willing they would welcome me there. What bothered me and
probably some others was the comment "special reason" to have access to a
scientific collection.

        Three years ago I was in vacations in California. I visited the
Natural History Museum of LA County and Lindsey Groves hosted me in a walk
around their scientific collection. No special reason, just curiosity! And I
left the Museum with more knowledge than I had before. You always learn
something. The very same happened with Jon Sloan, in the California State
University, and with Sally Shelton, in the San Diego Natural History Museum.
I was a stranger, I didn't have any special reason to visit them but they
welcome me to their working places. Many thanks to you guys!!

        Back to the museums displays, I don't know about you, but when I
visit a museum I want to learn something. And there is SOOOO much to learn
in the Bishop Museum. I learned AAAAAAA LOT about the Hawaiian and the
Polynesian culture and history, but NONE about shells. Yes, Andy, you're
right. Trying to remember what I saw there after your comment, most of the
displays were artifacts and not too many natural history displays.

        On the other hand, if you are in the shell collecting world, you
will learn from the very beginning that the Bishop Museum has THE best shell
collection on Hawaiian Shells... and my expectation to see the shell display
in the Museum was very high. As high as my frustration when I saw that
"dozen" shells in the display. Probably the problem was just MINE. I already
learned that the higher the expectations, the higher the frustrations.

        Another thing was quite interesting in the thread. It seems that
natural history displays and specifically shell displays are loosing space
in the museums... and many shellers are not happy with that. What can we do
about that? What can COA do about that? As someone said, it is a question of
ranking and we, shellers, are very low in most museum priorities.

        Regarding the money and people topic, I'd like to say that I come
from a poor country. Here budget is a real problem for most organizations
and some others also struggle with lack of people. It is much easier to
cross your arms and say: with no money and no people, there is nothing we
can do. On the other hand we can see here in Brazil, and in any other parts
of the world, that some people just put their brain to work and create
wonderful solutions that couldn't be seen before. Creativity, this is the
word.

        I sincerely think that if museums give higher priorities to shell
displays, with some creativity they will be able to show us wonderful
solutions, even with lack of money, people and space.

        All the best,


        Eduardo Moreira
        Brasilia, Brazil