The Drink Tank 145 (2007).pdf

The Drink Tank Issue 145

Photo from Jon Johnson and no...I didn’t pay him!

For the Earth is Hollow, and

I Have Touched the Sky

-or-

(How I learned to wander

the high desert to pick

up rocks and other shiny

things.)

ergonomics.

For the experienced buyer at

Tucson, it is always a challenge to get

through your list, and have time to see

what new and exciting things are out

there in an all too rich environment.

The irst time I went (which was not all

that long ago) was with a fellow jeweler

in the convention circuit. She told me

some very sage advice. “Wear good

walking shoes.” It doesn’t matter about

how much money you spend, or what

you see, it is about how you can take

care of your feet. Many long hours are

spent standing or walking from place

to place to ind that what is on your list.

The next thing is dressing right. Tucson

is in the high desert. Cold nights,

sweltering days, and a mixed bag of

temperatures all around your stay. This

year’s particular trip rendered the irst

day windy, cold, and wet Seattle-like

winter weather one day, and by the

time I left the temperatures ranged in

the 80’s. I planned my trips accordingly.

No breezy tents the irst day.

Take the right equipment to store your

purchases in. This one is my big pet

peeve. People who bring strollers

sans children, and annoying rolling

luggage deserve a special level of hell

at these events. I have a backpack,

light enough to store my precious

pretties, and one I can easily maneuver

without killing or thwacking buyers

when in narrow rows. My colleague

also jokingly said, “Bring a ton of cash,

you’ll spend like a drunken sailor.” (I

am still looking out for that ton of cash.

If anyone does run into one, please

direct my attention to it!) I still have yet

to act like the drunken sailor, well, in

Tucson that is.

The Tucson Gem Show is

overwhelming, even for the seasoned

buyer. Just how many amethyst

geodes the size of a Volkswagen bus

can you run across? The thought

comes to mind as I walk row after row

in some of the largest tents in the world

looking at these wondrous treasures,

the title of the classic Trek ™

episode, “For the world is

hollow, and I have touched

the sky” . So many minerals

taken out of the earth and

brought to Tucson, you

have to ponder the weight

of what is there, and the

mining process that brings

it forth. One has to wonder

how mining has also changed the

environment over the past number of

An essay of innumerable

facets by Spring Schoenhuth

Every year at the end of January

through the middle of February there

is a worldwide migration of jewelers,

artists, lapidarists, prospectors,

miners, beaders, manufacturers,

paleontologists, gemologists,

diamontologists, shamans, rock hounds,

neo-hippies, and “weekenders” to the

largest Gem Show in the world.

What on earth am I talking

about, and where? The high desert of

southern Arizona. Tucson to be exact.

The Gem Show was born in 1955 as a

way to educate elementary students

about geology, and has exponentially

grown over the years to thirty-two

shows in forty-four separate locations

in the Tucson area. Although the

show has changed focus, it still is very

much an education in geology, as

well as economics, budget planning,

inding the best bargain, world cultures,

inding a hotel room, and footwear

Just one of the many giant tents for the Gem

Show.

years. I am originally from Montana,

“The Treasure State”. I lived under the

shadow of the “Prairie Prick”, the 506

foot smoke stack of the Anaconda

Mining Company that smelted copper

ore. The ‘Big Sky’ was getting its

share of strip mining, and air pollution.

Then there is the human labor of the

miner extracting precious metals

and gemstones deep from the earth.

That alone is overwhelming to think

on. Misery, mining disasters, slavery,

corruption, monopoly, all rolled up in a

little ring or trinket around your neck.

But that is only the beginning of the

hollow earth. You have the poor

oysters. All the irritation an oyster goes

though to produce a single pearl. Fifty

percent of the oysters will die during the

three and a half years of production

of pearls. (Okay, so they’re oysters,

not the highest on the evolutionary

scale either.) Pearls. There are giant

tents devoted to them, tons and tons

of pearls in every color, shape, quality,

and size in Tucson. Then there is the

coral. I am not talking the fossilized

variety, but the harvested animal, the

marine equivalent of a fur coat. Ton

loads.

If that last bit of rant seems to

be depressing, I apologize. What is

the attraction if it is so depressing, and

tiring, and overwhelming?

Simple. You ind what you like. The

artisanal excellence of the stonecutters.

What the current trends are. Probably

the one most folks are into; the “shiny”

factor. The ravenesque quality fans are

known for when looking for baublage.

him to consider retirement. I hope to

see him at least once a year; because

something tells me he cannot bear

to be away for long from the Tucson

market. It makes for a far better trip

knowing he’s there.

If you are coming to Tucson

for the spiritual enlightenment, the

metaphysical awaits you. To certain

practitioners, stones vibrate certain

energies and are used in healing arts.

For the person who has an interest in

paleontology, it is heaven on earth.

One friend who went with me to Tucson

noticed I could be in any large area,

and gravitate toward dinosaur bone

within minutes. What can I say? They

speak to me! There are ive major fossil

shows during this time, and my favorite

is in the Inn Suites. Why “Dinosaur

Bob” (Bob Bakker) was there last year

just hangin’ out. The infamous Larson

brothers are there too, of the Black Hills

Institute.

Amber carved

chess board, courtesy of J.O.G.S.

My particular passion is fossils,

and I enjoy talking to some of the

vendors in the shows. Mostly preferred

are the smaller operations that can

afford to be in Tucson year after year.

One of those folks is Jimmy of 49’er

Minerals.

Jimmy is the happiest person I

know. He is animated, knowledgeable,

and truly, deeply, passionately in love

with his wife Joyce (“She, who is his

anchor”). This human bundle of energy

bounces around his venue like a

super ball on speed. He has a wicked

sense of humor, feeds you with What

Matters (Chocolate), and always (let

me underscore again, always) leaves

me happy that I came to Tucson. He

is usually my irst stop. Sadly the cost

of doing business in Tucson has forced

Trilobite fossil matrix, just one of the paleo-

pleasures that await the fossil fanatics.

If meteorites hold a fascination,

then this also is the place for you.

There are very reputable dealers and

experts who make a living of traveling

around the world inding things that

have fallen to earth from the heavens

above. On this most recent journey I

just happened to walk into a room as

a couple of people were uncrating

the largest piece of Imilac Pallasite

slab taken from Chile that I have ever

seen. It measured approximately two

by three feet. It was only exposed for a

few minutes and I stood in astonishment

the entire time while they carefully

repacked it. I inally gained enough

oxygen in my brain at last to utter “That

belongs in a museum”. To which one of

the packers replied in agreement. The

price of my trip was paid for with that

one moment.

glass, antique porcelain cut into highly

unique cabochons. That is only a blink

of what he does. He always manages

to surprise me and hands me something

that makes me exclaim “You bastard! I

love you, I hate you!” because I know

I am going to spend a lot of money at

his booth. This trip a gentleman kept

snatching things I had put down (thank

goodness, or else I would have bought

much, much more given time to

contemplate putting something down).

He was lamenting how he couldn’t quit

his day job, as he was so in love with

rocks. “I’m going to eat rocks when

I’m eighty,” he cried. I know exactly

how he felt, as my day job supplements

my business too. Sigh, hand me a fork,

Apatite is what’s for dinner.

And Now...Letter Graded Mail

sent to garcia@computerhistory.org

by my loyal readers!

And let us begin with Mr. Ste-

ve Green!

Hi Chris,

I’ve long been of the opinion that

TAFF candidates should be allowed to

nominate their preferred destination

should they win. A smaller, fandom-

oriented event such as Corlu would

appear much more suitable a showcase

for a UK delegate’s talents than some

distant corner of a worldcon, just as a

US delegate might well prove a better

it at Novacon than the three-ring

circus Eastercons have morphed into

over the past twenty years. So long as

candidates make their intentions clear

from the start, I can’t see how anyone

could object.

All best

-- Steve

Can’t argue with ya on that point.

I had wanted to run with Eurocon

in mind and had more than a couple

of folks seriously warn me against it

because it 1) wasn’t Eastercon and

2) wasn’t even the UK. When the

Fan GoH thing was announced, that

sorta sealed it. I’ll stick with Eas-

tercon if I manage to squeeze out

a win because it’s the right time of

year and a lot of folks I wanna meet

will be there.

Imalac Pallasite

At one of the more high-

end shows I discovered my favorite

stonecutter, Gary. This man has an

eye for the weird. Billiard balls, beach

Apatite

Indeed the world is hollow. If you

have money to spend on rocks, Tucson

is the place you’ll ind them. I’d be

happy to show you around, or just bring

it back to you. If you have a trailer-

truck load of money to spare, please

consider investing it with me, so I can

spend it like a rum illed pirate. Really!

Spring Schoenhuth teaches third grade in

Fremont , California, and is owner of the wildly

successful Springtime Creations.

And of course, there’s Mr. John

Purcell!

Why is it, Chris, that it feels

like every other loc I write is to you?

Shouldn’t you be taking a break some

time soon? A nice long, get-away-from-

it-all vacation overseas sounds like a

nice idea, doesn’t it?

Are you kidding me? The only thing

I’d do on a vacation away from it

all would be to produce dozens of

fanzines!

So here we go once again with

yet another loc to yet another Drink

Tank. I am beginning to think you will

be crossing the 150-issue point before

the end of this year; all you need are

two a month from here on out in 2007,

and that’s the kind of pace you could

do in your sleep. Come to think of it, I

seem to remember you dictating zines

in your sleep at Corlu Quire. I didn’t

take any notes mainly because I don’t

loc in my sleep. Lloyd Penney does

that.

I’ve got 150 planned for the middle

of November (right before LosCon) so

I can keep her goin’! Even if I make

it to 155, I’ll have shaved several

issues off my annual production for

both 2005 (60 issues) and 2006 (50

issues). I won’t make it to 160 (and

I won’t even try) but I’d like to keep

it to around 40 or 50 a year for the

foreseeable future.

As for this loc, let’s start off

by talking about one of my personal

favorite topics of all time: food. I really

love food! In fact, just about any kind

of food is good to eat. My children are

always grossed out when I regale them

with tales of eating curried squid,

fried rattlesnake, all washed down

with a refreshing peanut butter and

gin cocktail. Now that’s a meal! But

seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed Frank

Wu’s food musings; some excellent

ideas in here, especially #10 (eat

dessert irst) and #1 (“chocolate... so

dense a neutrino can’t pass through

it”). I am almost afraid that he’s

dangerously close to the truth when

Frank mentions what we are doing

with over-ishing and destroying the

oceans. I certainly hope balance is

restored because I love seafood. It has

been a long time since I’ve eaten ish,

and I really should do so again Real

Soon Now. Love grilled salmon steaks

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