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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Shark Teeth and Gold Flecks


Shark Teeth and Gold Flecks


My youngest child graduates from high school this June.  He is headed to college in the fall.  It does lead me to reminiscing.  They grow up so fast.  Sometimes you don’t want them to grow up.  Sometimes neither do they.

When Spencer was but a bit of a thing, we went to the beach every summer.  I would plant myself in a chair and soak up the sun while he gathered items of interest on the beach.  One time he brought an old broken shell to me.  It looked a little like a tooth.

“Daddy, look at this, is this a tooth?”

“Hmmm, why yes, I believe it is.  Sharks lose their teeth and grow new ones, every once in a while one washes ashore…it is rare, but I believe this is a shark’s tooth…from a mako I think.”

“Here, save it, I’m going to look for more.”

Spencer found sharks teeth all summer, and I identified and saved them.

“Oh, this is a good one, from a great white.”

He found sharks teeth from tiger sharks, sand sharks, leopard sharks, black tip, lemon and thresher sharks.  He learned a little about each shark.

When he got tired of hunting shark teeth, I showed him how if you sift through sand, you find an occasional yellow fleck of sand.  These flecks were gold.  A single fleck was not worth very much, but if you find enough of them…

We collected shark teeth and flecks of gold for several years. 

At some point he figured out the teeth were just broken shells and the flecks of gold were just flecks of yellow sand.  He never called me out on the hoax.  I never knew at what point he believed, or when he just went along with the game because it was a fun game.

Anyway, he goes to college this fall and he knows a lot about sharks and the value of gold.

16 comments:

  1. You must have built up quite a collection of "shark teeth" over the years.

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  2. You shattered the illusion... for a moment there I had you down as being really knowledgeable about sea life. What fun it must have been, though.

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  3. That is a precious story, Joe! I'm picking my youngest up from college tomorrow. I can't wait to see him. All the best to Spencer in the Fall!

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  4. What a wonderful memory. You entertained him and he entertained you. Now he'll be going to college. The way of things.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend Cranky. ☺

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  5. Fun memory of your son's childhood. Soon you'll be joining the ranks of us empty-nesters.

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  6. Ahh. My daughter used to rag on me for all the fibs and lies I told her during her childhood, but recently told me now that she has kids of her own she understands. Nice story.

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  7. Grandma used to drop shells she had bought at the shore and let the granchildren "find" them. They all had a blast!

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  8. So true they grow up so fast! I'm sure Spencer will do just fine in college :)

    betty

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  9. You fooled me! I was trying to figure out how you knew which kind of teeth belonged to which shark!

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  10. What a sweet story! Time does go by quickly. I have a Granddaughter graduating from HS and one that got engaged..WHAT?? Congrats to your graduate! Also, you were the one who had faith my trees would flower after that crazy snow..you were right so I totally believed the shark/gold story! Have a good weekend!

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  11. Wow, as a marine biologist wanna be, I was really impressed with your tooth knowledge---for a while. Still you really made a day at the beach interesting for a youngster. That was cool.

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  12. I have a collection of shark's teeth from my visits to Florida.

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  13. Now if you'd only taught him how to save a whale by removing a Titleist from its blowhole...

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  14. It's amazing how the memories come flooding back. I have one leaving for college, too, so I know how you feel. You see a child and a thriving, hormonal, smart young adult all in one body.

    Looking forward to empty nest stories and more special memories.

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