There is a bead store in Ponchatoula Louisiana where they don't take American Express and they don't take Visa either. They also don't take checks, and you can't order from them online or on the phone. You even have to call ahead to make sure they aren't gone on one of their buying trips. Those restrictions help keep the prices at the Turquoise Coyote down, down ... waaay down. After filling my basket like a kid in a candy shop, I asked Robert, the shop owner if he had any opals. He had just gotten back from a buying trip so he opened a box he hadn't had time to unwrap yet, and very lovingly held 2 strands of breath-taking opals out to me. These had come straight from the source. In all the years I have searched for opal beads I had never seen any this beautiful. When I got my breath back, I asked him "how much would you need to get for these?"

He said, "for both?"

"Yes."

He did some quick calculations and gave me a price, telling me it was only a few percentages above his cost. It was more than I had ever spent on beads before, but I didn't even give it a thought.

"I'll take them."

Robert got unusually quiet after that, and feeling guilty, I told him that I wouldn't take them if he was feeling bad about selling them. He told me not to worry about it, but when the associate was tabulating my bill, I asked her if she thought I should let him keep them because he was so obviously depressed about it. She also told me not to worry, that he felt bad that he didn't get a chance to show them off to his wife. These were truly my find of a lifetime and I wish there was a better way to show off how unbelievably beautiful each stone is. I've never gotten back down to Ponchatoula, but when I do....I'm heading straight for Turquoise Coyote.