What is this shell doing here?

by Kristy Hendrickson-Salvadori
(Mendota, Califonia US)

About twenty years ago, when I was just eight years old, I was playing in the backyard of our new home when I found a few shells scattered around. I dug up a few and that's when I found a closed clam shell. I remember it took me a while before I finally got it open, and there it was, a perfectly round shaped white pearl. I gathered up my findings and placed them in a velvet bag and hid them. I don't know why, but being a little kid I did.

Now the most interesting part to me is that we lived in Central California. In a a very small town called Huron. This is a very dry town. I don't know how it got there. Any form or body of water was at least 200-300 miles away.


Well three years after living in that home we moved away and I never took my findings with me. I'm twenty eight now and I still live in central California out in the country about 10 miles from a town called Mendota. A few days ago, I was out watering my backyard and I came across clam shells. I found both halves of one shell and now I catch myself always looking down whenever I'm outside. Just searching around. I feel like people think I'm weird when they drive by.