They are, of course, uneducated in the world of shells and shelling. Just like a Noble Fir growing locally at a Christmas tree farm in hot as hell Texas is darn near impossible to do, so it is with shells. The above picture is of a very large and intact Cyrtopleura (no cute name indicated) it hails from the West Indies and Florida.
They are very delicate and more often than not they are broken when you find them. this is about the biggest shell you are going to find. A huge pink Queen Conch, usually found on Caribbean shores, isn't going to come rolling up one day. This winter season I've collected about 30 large Cyrtopleura. They look like angel wings and are really beautiful.
The small shell to the left of the Cyrtopleura is tiny in comparison but still intact, still perfect. A tiny sea charm. It is actually called a cockle shell, I couldn't determine which one in my Field Guide to Seashells Of The World authored by Gert Lindner, so it shall remain un-latinized. To the average shell collecting tourist it isn't worth the bend over to pick it up.
I wonder if we sometimes tend to discount blessing in our lives like this. It is it any less a blessing because it is small? What exactly deternines a small blessing versus a large blessing? I contend they are all the same and our gratitude shouldn't be a measuring stick.
Me? I have more than my share of blessings...and shells of all sizes.
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