Sometimes you find treasure when you go looking for it. And sometimes
it just washes right up into your life.
After joining a group of self-published authors called the
Marketing and Publishing Group at Helen Hall Library in League City, I met an
amazing woman, Rene Armstrong, with whom I seemed to have a lot in common. We
both grew up in Texas City, she graduated one year ahead of me at T.C. High
School, both our families lost all our possessions during Hurricane Carla in
1961, we both are self-published authors with a creative streak for crafting,
and we both have dealt with the trauma of breast cancer. What were the odds
that we would wind up at the same meeting in League City?
When Rene learned that I was on the final leg of my cancer
journey, with a prognosis of just a couple of years left, she made it her
mission to make sure my bucket list was full to overflowing—this woman’s joy
and energy are BOUNDLESS!!!
In addition to promoting her book, Wings and a Ring (a story about a WWII
airplane pilot and his fiancé, taken from old letters Rene’s husband found in a
junk shop), she and her friend, Wyvonne Langford (also a breast cancer survivor,
who grew up in Texas City), make jewelry from sea glass they find on the beach
in Galveston and at the Dike in Texas City, and then sell it at craft shows.
When these ladies offered to take me with them on a treasure
hunt to find a piece of sea glass, and then show me how to craft my own
necklace, I was thrilled.
We spent a fun day, riding the ferry over to Bolivar Island
to start our search, then had a tasty lunch at a new restaurant called
Flamingos Seafood and Grill, and headed to the Dike in Texas City, where we
found a Mother Load of sea glass sprinkled on the beach. At right, Wyvonne and I brave the cold winds of March in our search for sea glass on the beach at the Dike.
At left, Rene and I show off our bounty--a bag full of colorful pieces of glass shards from broken bottles that were tossed into the ocean. After tumbling around in the sandy water for years, the sharp edges of the glass become smooth and the glass appears frosted-- jewels in the hands of these talented crafters.
Back at Rene’s house, I received a lesson in wrapping silver
wire around my new found treasure (a rare piece of lavender glass) to create a
custom-made necklace—a beautiful memento from a special day of laughter and
wonder and friendship that I will cherish forever.
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| Wyvonne and Me Wearing Our Sea Glass Creations |
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| My Custom-Made Necklace |
Thank you Rene and Wyvonne for a day I'll never forget!!
