More productive, positive options to consider
To the editor:
I sent my neighbor a picture of the sunset while walking the beach with my dog and I texted in jest, “I just found a couple of nice shells and I can’t stop Lol.” She responded with, “I guess you haven’t seen the article limiting the number of shells taken” to which I texted back, “Is this an April Fools joke?” To my dismay, she sent me a copy of the letter to the editor from the April 10, 2024, issue of the Island Reporter.
OK I admit it, I’m a self-proclaimed shellaholic and I am guilty. Put me in jail and throw away the key. Or how about this: I’ve told my children that when I die, gather up all of the shells I have collected for these many years while on Sanibel, rent a boat and go out in the Gulf of Mexico and have a celebration of life as you dump them back into the water. That way someone else, as well as the homeless hermit crab, can have a chance to find them. What a lovely way to recycle to nature her amazing creations, as well as bring others the thrill that comes with finding this abundant treasure. Perhaps the return of collected shells could become an annual event to raise awareness and support for the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium or the Sanibel Shell Show. How about a variety of shell recycling ideas highlighting the return of thousands of shells to the Gulf.
I’m looking for and suggesting incentives and possibilities here. That’s far more productive and positive than a fine or worse from the shell police. Let’s find a way to share the joy and gratitude for the many gifts of the sea, but not limit or deny them.
Judy Boone
Freeland, Maryland