Well, it is almost that time again.
I will be headed to Tucson in three weeks to buy at the biggest rock, mineral, gem and jewelry show in the world. If you are not familiar with the event, you might enjoy the Tucson Photo Essay that we have on our website. I think that we are the only people who have ever presented such a piece
This year will be a little different and sad for me.
Kathi’s chronic pain condition has gotten so bad that she will not be able to go to the show. I am not able to drive due to visual impairment, and Kathi has always taken us in the past, even though over the last few years it became almost an impossible effort for her
We would have to take an extra rest day in Santa Fe so that Kathi could spend the day sleeping in order to be able to make the rest of the drive. Then, most often at the shows I would have to do almost all of the buying myself while Kathi either rested at the hotel or tried to sleep in the car.
It has finally become beyond Kathi’s ability to do Tucson, and I will miss having her there with me, as going to the Tucson Show is as much a tradition for us as any other event in our lives.
Fortunately, our elder daughter’s boyfriend has very generously offered to take time off of work and spend ten days with me on the road.
We love Derek to death, and this will be his first time experiencing anything like Tucson. He has been studying up, and I expect that the two of us will have a very interesting and fun time.
Kathi and I could not be more grateful for him stepping in to help us keep our passion going, and someday he just might wind up keeping the family business living on.
If there is anything special that you would like me to look for for you in Arizona, please let me know. I usually do lots of special shopping for clients, and looking for requested items always adds to the adventure of the experience.