Beachglass
July 17, 2007, 11:08 pm
Fortunately, my addiction is not illegal, expensive or fattening. I’m hooked on beachglass.
I discovered the wonders of beachglass at an early age. My parents would take me to one of Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan beaches where I would construct a fiefdom of sand castles and spend hours sorting shells and rocks. And then, to my sheer delight, I discovered bright jewels mixed in with the earth-toned rocks and pebbles.
Showing these priceless gems to my mother, I was informed that they were “just old beer and soda bottles polished by the sand and waves.” I was unabashed; fortunately, I could recognize beauty regardless of its provenance.
Fast forward forty-six years. My husband and I had the incredible luck to move into our new home on Lake Michigan. I found myself living in beachglass heaven.
Each year, from spring until winter when the ice shelves cover the beach, we are beachcombers. A diamond from Tiffany’s couldn’t possibly make me as happy as finding a tiny piece of RED beachglass. My husband scored a huge, elegantly smoothed piece of PURPLE beachglass on his birthday last year.
I would certainly agree with Robert Louis Stevenson, “The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”
2 Comments for this entry
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Greetings and welcome...
The Suitcase Lady Blog is now in its fifteenth year. I am obviously a believer in these words from E. B. White. "We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry." Thank you for reading the writing that I delight in doing.
Just For Fun
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July 18th, 2007 on 11:52 AM
Wonderful! What memories you aroused… I collected colored glass also (probably on the same beaches), but my favorites were multi-hued wave-polished little stones.(Still have a handful from Pebble Beach in Door County.) I used them to make miniature grocery stores, with the pebbles representing various types of edibles. Amazing how well we used to amuse ourselves without costly man-made contraptions! IRB
July 3rd, 2012 on 6:41 PM
Hi Mary,
It was lovely see you at Trader Joes the other day. As I read your blog on Beach Glass, I wanted to share this art work I have. It’s two framed piece with collections of “Beach Barrettes”. hey are labeled with appropriate Latin Names such as Flora Tripitus. It was made by my son and a past girl friend.
I think of you fondly,
Joan Peifer