stranger than fiction

Today's work day could qualify for a show on America's strangest jobs. Starting at 7 am, I sat on a boat in the Ohio River while professional divers searched the murky depths for possibly endangered clams. My job was to identify the clams to species and then returm them to the water. People (some with binoculars) were watching from the walkway on the shore. The local police officer decided to watch for awhile, too. I had my state and federal collection permits ready to show anyone who asked. The mayor of this small town was supposed to show up for publicity purposes, too, but didn't. Boats were going by repeatedly, I suppose to get a better view. Fortunately, the barge captains had better things to worry about and kept a respectable distance away.
All of this for a life form that most people don't even know exists.