> ---------- > From: Webb, Russell > Sent: Friday, January 16, 1998 11:10 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: RE: "true value" and hurricanes- a collector's friend. > > Ross > > I am sitting here amongst the seashells that my wife and I have > killed. Fondling the trophies from the "hunt". Actually it was more > like manslaughter than murder since we only took them out of the > water. They died on their own. Most of the shells we have came this > way-- we killed them ourselves. > > So here I am trying to rationalize my actions so that I can > sleep tonight. Ross, I feel sorry for you. Because of my > rationalization, if I am bad then shell dealers must be worse. This > makes me feel better. After all I have never been able to employ any > shell-mercenaries to collect for me in the Philippines. Not that I > wouldn't-- > > More than once I have been standing on the deck of a dive boat > with my goodybag, facing another diver who is holding a bloody string > of fish and someone asks "Are you going to kill those shells". I have > found that it makes them feel better if you tell them your going to > eat them. " They make great chowder" or "I spread them on toast". It > seem that you can kill just about anything if your going to eat it. > > After all, every year there is no less than a massacre in our > tomato garden. Seems nobody feels sorry for those garden slugs. > Anything to save those hard green tomatoes that never seem to get > ripe. At least if they had a shell--- > > So now we try to hide our shell collecting activities. Don't > carry a goody bag. Stuff them shells in your BC pockets. Then again I > have been busted with cowrie snot running down my leg. WHAT IS THAT > STUFF?? Seems a shell that small couldn't hold that much mucus. "Hay > mister is there something wrong with you---" > > Well, maybe. > > By the way we do have a few extras to trade. We can include > recipes and full data including flavor and texture and of course > request the same. > > Does anybody have plans for a "shell trap". Can't seem to find > anything that works well? > > Russ Webb > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------- > From: ross mayhew[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Saturday, January 17, 1998 8:23 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: "true value" and hurricanes- a collector's friend. > > Am i being collectively ignored, or does anybody else agree with me > that > a shell in a collection can mean many things to the collector, > scientist > or educator, even if its data is less than perfect?? Let's not make > people with "non-purist" attititudes regarding our hobby/passion feel > badly or that their collections are somehow "inferior" to absolutely > "environmentally-friendly" collections with great data for every > shell!! I have a streak of elitism myself, but a few of the recent > posts here, have sustaatially diminished it. > Yes, shells conveniently tossed up on the shore by hurricanes > ar > eminantly collectable- one can often obtain some very interesting > species in this manner. Good "dead-collected" specimens are only > differnt from live-collected ones in the amount of data they possess, > and the strong bias in the shell world against dead-collected > specimens > has always struck me as being a bit "elitist". With a rare species > especially, sometimes a dead one is all you might ever get, or be able > to afford. > > -Ross Mayhew, > your "not-quite-ideal-but-trying-hard" > Schooner Specimen dealer. > >