Springfield Show 2005

摘要

Harvard! Harvard! Harvard! resonated through my mind as I drove from my new home in Macungie (translates to "Bear Swamp" in Native American), Pennsylvania toward the Martin Zinn extravaganza at this year's Springfield, Massachusetts mineral show. No, it was not the Harvard football team's fight song, normally chanted by future corporate lawyers, mineralogists, anthropologists and social scientists. It was my brain anticipating seeing a hoard of fine and fascinating mineral specimens from one of the world's premier mineral collections. Harvard University was exhibiting over 50 cases of prime minerals just for me, and I was willing to drive 500 roundtrip miles to study them! I was not alone in my quest, as I soon discovered when I arrived at the Eastern States Exhibition Center. Quite a few people had the same idea I had: please, Marty, show me the rocks! This year I arrived on Thursday: set-up day. This gave me more time to inspect dealers' stocks for new specimens before the stampede at the opening bell. Keep in mind that about 180 dealers, both wholesale and retail, were setting up. It takes a concentrated effort to go through so many minerals in so short a time. I was not disappointed because I soon found out there was a lot available both in the "What's New" category and from old collections.