The proper way to collect seashells

My wife and I went away for a long weekend getaway to the beach last weekend. We strolled the empty boardwalk (give it a few weeks and I’m sure it will be packed to the gills) and later when the rain stopped and the sun came out, we put away our raincoats and walked along the edge of the shoreline, getting oh so close to the water, but not actually getting our feet wet.

Now, I’ve been to the beach scores of times over the years, but I learned a first on this trip. While on the sand collecting shells, my wife told me that the way I was collecting was wrong. I thought I might have misheard, but oh no, I heard correctly, my approach was supposedly off. I was picking plain shells when I should have been looking for fancy ones.

Harumph. I grumbled underneath my breath, everyone is a critic.

Oh, my wife was teasing me. She’s an expert at finding different colors, shapes and sizes of shells. I marvel at her ability to find everything from conch and auger shells to sand dollars and cockle shells, while I struggle to find the shell right in front of my face. She reminded though me of an age-old lesson: to each his own.

I’ll stick with my plain ones. They make me happy and that’s all that matters.

No Difference by Shel Silverstein
 
Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We’re all the same size
When we turn off the light
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We’re all worth the same
When we turn off the light.
Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same
When we turn off the light.
So maybe the way
To make everything right
Is for God to just reach out
And turn off the light!

“No Difference” by Shel Silverstein, from Where the Sidewalk Ends.