I was thrilled not only with the thought of owning a clean copy of the book, but also of the upcoming symposium  ...of which I had never heard of such a thing, and a chance to meet Cathie. Cathie allocated some of her busy schedule and snail-mailed me a copy of the latest newsletter, The Drifting Seed, and a few copies of past newsletters. I complimented Cathie on the newsletters, her illustrations, and her excellent website, but pointed out that the website could be improved just a tad if it had copies of all past newsletters on it, so that anyone interested could get them at any time. Not to leave her hanging with this thought and task, I offered to scan and prepare past issues for website downloading, and create a demo page on my own website for her to examine. Disbelieving, due to offers of help from others in the past, yet trusting me (for some reason), she sent me precious originals or printed copies of all past newsletters. Within three weeks, due to the impending symposium, I directed Cathie to the newsletter demo page on my own website. Thrilled, she gave me access to her website for uploading the new files.

I finally met Cathie, face-to-face, at the 1999 Sea-Bean Symposium. I bought myself a reprint of the "World Guide" (along with 4 additional copies for gifts!). Cathie and I "hit it off" and she asked if I would take "full and forever" charge of website maintenance. Continually in shock from her enthusiasm, I agreed and we kept in touch. She was always tapping me for nature-related information, due both to my science background and her constant quest for knowledge of nature. Cathie's constant enthusiasm was contagious (as all who knew her will attest), and we ended up writing a book together: "The Little Book of Sea-Beans and Other Beach Treasures"   ...the only book she ever co-authored. I marveled as I used to watch her draw, especially as she'd tilt her head slightly to one side, ponder a bit, then strike an odd pose   ...and then, voila! out came "Little Larry" on paper in just such a pose. We did the book together, but surely, Cathie made it a fun book to do and to have.

Cathie had big plans to do a series of "Little Books" with me, to the point of listing (pg. 74 of the Sea-Bean book) the second in the series, "The Little Book of Sea Turtles". Although I started it, Cathie had no time for it in her later months as she knew that she had to focus on her next "big book" priority: "Beaches and Beyond". The little sea turtle book never made the predicted production date of 2001, and will surely suffer from lack of her input, should it ever be printed.

I am glad that Cathie and I crossed paths. I will very much miss Cathie, her spirit, and her enthusiasm. However, I will always remember her as I continue to support her by promoting the sea-beans that she so dearly loved and by providing "full and forever" website maintenance for her, as promised. Cathie legally left the www.seabean.com website to me in her will.