FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Linda St-Cyr]

With a little luck, if we started at 4:30 or 5pm, it might still be going an hour later for those of us who have to leave our selling rooms...? Granted we all can't meet everyone else, but we could overlap with some people. I can make either date, but I can't come until I close the room.

[John S. White]

This is beginning to get out of hand and I have been encouraged to make a command decision, so here it is. The meeting will occur at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the restaurant El Minuto (assuming that the restaurant agrees to provide the space, something that I cannot arrange until I am in Tucson). Linda, surely you can close your room an hour early just this one day, put a sign on the door and I am sure your customers will understand. Having made this decision it will be helpful if all of you who believe you can make it then will let me know that via the Forum. One way or the other I will drag Jordi to the restaurant, even if kicking and screaming.

[Jordi Fabre]

John you dont will need kick me or scream me, I will be there! ;-)

Jordi

[Linda Smith]

My colleague, a fellow geologist and myself will be there. Looking forward to seeing you.

[Linda St-Cyr]

OK, John, for you I will close early! I guess you enjoy our exchanges if you want to see me there! :)

[Tracy]

It's unclear precisely what time we will be arriving in Tucson that day, but we'll stop in when we can...thanks John and Jordi!

- Tracy

[Gail]

Tracy, will Sue be coming along? I would love to get to say hello to her as well.

[Jordi Fabre]

Good new for all FMF friends, Marie Huizing will be with us:

It's just that after reading the Forum on a daily basis for such a long time, I get the feeling this will be a "family reunion," and I feel like part of the family, albeit the black sheep for not signing up.

Marie Huizing

[Tracy]

Hi Gail -

Sue is coming along, this will be a joint adventure (the best kind!). Arriving in Tucson after a couple of days in and around Bisbee. We both look forward to seeing you at the gathering.

- Tracy

[Pete Modreski]

The planned meeting sounds great. Having gotten a little behind on reading the Forum posts over the holiday, I was quite amazed when I finally clicked here and read all these back-and-forth comments about it (I guess I'd kind of forgotten that the Forum now only sends out one email about posts on a given topic, even though there may be innumerable successive posts). Thanks, John, for deciding on a time & place.
Ah, I am not totally sure if I will make the meeting, but we shall see. My oft-times schedule for Wednesday during the Show week involves setting up our USGS booth in the Galleria by around noon that day, then, having already had a couple of days to browse dealers at the hotels, taking off and spending an enjoyable afternoon going for a hike in one of the foothills canyons, my "afternoon with nature" before the show begins, and not getting back to civilization (at the far north end of town) till sunset and twilight chase me out. Well, we shall see; have a great time, and perhaps I will see some or all of you at El Minuto. And of course, Jordi, I'll see you at your hotel room too. P[P.S., El Minuto is often pretty crowded; I wonder if "our gang" showing up there will really be able to fit in?] Cheers to all, Pete M.

[John S. White]

Pete:

I, and others I am sure, will be greatly disappointed if you dont make it to El Minuto. Part of the reason for selecting the time of 4:00 PM is that the restaurant should not be crowded. The lunch crowd would have long disappeared and the dinner crowd should not be showing up yet. My plan is to try to reserve a portion of the restaurant for just our group.

[Gail]

John, I am from the old school of "let he/she who takes on the task of organizing be the decision maker.". Whatever YOU decide and whatever TIME you decide is what we all live with. If some can't make it, there are other days to meet up in small groups or privately.

A rather funny story about my learning to organize:
When I was in my 20s I used to get together with friends and we would spend ages trying to decide where to eat, when to eat, whom rides in what car with whom, were we all getting seperate checks?
I would get frustrated as one after another would say things like " I ate there last week!" or " Isn't that expensive?" and we would go on and on and on.
One day, I did something I didn't know I had in me, I simply said...in a serious tone...
" Okay, we are going to so and so restaurant, all pay seperately, Judy can ride with Gordon and Sam and we can head out NOW."
They all looked relieved! I mean it...I was shocked but all they wanted was someone to just make the decision and take charge.
This was an epithany for me. I went on to organize small play groups for children, then on to small events and, eventually, on to putting on charity bicycle rides for thousands.
99 percent of the people I deal with really want someone else to make the decisions, so...on behalf of FMF, we thank you so much for taking that role and making it happen!

Lesson learned? Not all events please all people, but you just work around them.
Off my soapbox now...

[Linda St-Cyr]

If I read Pete's reply correctly, he said he wanders out of the wilds around sundown. Well I consider this a challenge - can't we keep a party going from 4 pm to sundown? Geez people, we're not ready for the geriatric ward yet, are we?

[Les Presmyk]

I am not sure what happend to my comments but they appear to have disappered into the ether. I applaud John's choice for a venue as El Minuto is one of our favorites and his time selection makes a great deal of sense. Unfortunately, Paula and I will not be able to attend because I will be checking in competitive exhibits and Best of Species entries until 6pm. I invite all of you to stop by our booth, De Natura, at the main show and say hello. It will be fun to put voices and faces to all of you.

Have a safe trip to Tucson. See you next month.

[Pete Modreski]

Just getting back to add my own last little note to this topic. Surely, I wouldn't want to miss such a neat gathering of all these good folks, so I am sure that I can try to rearrange my schedule so as to be at the El Minuto to meet everyone.

P.S., I can always take my "Arizona mountains outdoor recreation" time on Tuesday instead of Wednesday; that might involve missing... hmmm, probably the Friends of Mineralogy meeting & social hour Tuesday afternoon at the... actually I have no idea where that will be, as no announcement has yet been made from that organization (FM) about its time and place yet, given the way Marty Zinn's shows have had to move all around each year.

And even if it weren't for the fact that everyone from this Forum was going to be there... how could I pass up an extra chance for some Mexican food and Negra Modelo at El Minuto?

Looking forward to seeing many of you there, best regards,
Pete