[TheForge] (no subject)

Fri Oct 22 17:12:38 EDT 2010

Yea Caitlin!!!!

On 10/22/2010 1:58 PM, Caitlin Morris wrote:
> I'm a new smith, hungry to meet people who can share techniques, share
> ideas, teach me something.  I was so excited to go to ABANA this May in
> Memphis because I had the opportunity of seeing demonstrations and work from
> smiths outside of my greater geographic neighborhood.
>
> Yes, that need can be met by going to more far-flung local events.  (And
> that's on my list.) But there's something to be said for attending a
> national-level event.  For me, it was something of a pilgrimage--Maryland to
> Memphis was a 14 hour drive and ate up a week of my allotted two weeks of
> vacation (yes, I'm still a cubical slave).  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
>
>
> That said, a 26 hour *drive* to Rapid City is a bit beyond my capabilities.
>   So the alternative is to fly and choose to either pay the fees to check my
> bags or deal with the scrutiny of TSA when they're trying to decide if you
> can kill someone with a center punch.  Either way it's a more expensive trip
> for me.  But I want to do it anyway.  Because I'm *hungry.*
>
> **And because waiting FOUR years for the next ABANA conference would be
> unbearable.  :)
>
> According to MY perfect world, ABANA would happen every year and I could
> decide which cities&  years I wanted to go to.
>
> We could put the ABANA conference on a rotation: Northwest, Northeast,
> Southwest, Southeast, Center
>
> But also in my perfect world, these conferences would be magically organized
> by elves and I wouldn't feel guilty about making them throw a perfect
> conference every year.  I wouldn't have to worry about the elves working
> overtime (cause that's what elves do, donchaknow?).
>
> Indeed, I considered applying to become an elf myself, but it requires
> something like 6 hours of volunteer work a week.  Which would be easy if I
> could just get everyone to convert to a 30-hour day... :)
>
> I don't mean to natter on here, but if there were tireless elves organizing
> the conferences and an unending font of money, I'd meekly request that they
> make *more* conferences so that I could meet more of you and learn more,
> faster.
>
> Caitlin
>
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> On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Jerry Frost<akfrosty at mtaonline.net>  wrote:
>> While I don't feel a lot of personal connection to ABANA I have to say
> it's
>> as relavant as it's members make it. My first contact was when Chris Ray
> got
>> me subscribed to TheForge list and I discovered there was a blacksmithing
>> group at all. I've been subbed since and have learned more than I've
>> contributed.
>>
>> As to how connected to the left coast or Alaska it is, how many folk from
>> the west ran in the last board elections? I know Will held a board
> position
>> for quite some time but could only do as much as he could. If most of the
>> people who run and get elected are from the east or midwest I can't say
> I'm
>> surprised that's where most of the representation lays things.
>>
>> Even in our small young Alaskan group there are only a few folk willing to
>> try making things happen while most just want to show up for meetings or
>> clinics. I don't blame them, that's what I was looking for myself when the
>> silly guys elected me president while I was on a bathroom break. That'll
>> teach me to leave the room during  a meeting! I insisted I'd only serve a
> 2
>> year sentence and do no more than I had to. I won my re-election while in
> a
>> coma and discovered some months later it was now a life sentence!
>>
>> I have no complaints about how ABANA is run, where events are held or
> who's
>> in office. I'm not about to run for a board seat. I learned my lesson!
> What
>> I will do is thank the guys who are serving for their service and efforts,
>> it's a lot more work than a person'd think, even at the deliberately low
>> level I'll allow in out local club.
>>
>> Speaking of which, Tomorrow, Sat Oct 23 is our quarterly meeting at my
> shop.
>> Bring warm shoes and such, I'll have the barrel stove burning but if it's
>> seasonably cold you're gong to appreciate warm feet and  a jacket at
> least.
>> Jer
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "peter fels&  phoebe palmer"<artgawk at thegrid.net>
>> To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA"<theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2010 3:35 AM
>> Subject: [TheForge] (no subject)
>>
>>
>>> Just to stir up some sand.......
>>>
>>> I can't help but feel that ABANA
>>> is primarily an east coast organization.
>>> Most of the conferences are too far away to economically attend, for
>>> those of us on the left coast.
>>> Most of the ABANA workshops etc are on the east coast.
>>> The Anvil's Ring sorta feels like it comes from another country.
>>> The organization has become so large as to have become an institution
>>> with all of the baggage that implies..
>>> Sure, efforts to include us are evident...but......
>>> Perhaps it should be split?
>>>
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