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This Weekend Is Loaded With Auctions
Home from my 3rd T-O-R in three weekends and I'm happy to be off the road. My family is also ready for me to be home too! But one thing thinking back that I have enjoyed over the last three weeks is the chance to pull up a chair and talk to so many collectors in the hobby.
Just this weekend I counted three people that were at the Indy show who I never spoke to in person but they pulled up a chair and talked to me in Jamestown. A TOR is in invitation to slow down and reconnect with others - find out what they have been up to, how their OA lodge/camp is doing and the like. I even found out Homer Dearmin is the new Lodge Adviser of Wahissa 118 (congratulations!).
The only part of TORs that I kinda wish would change is people don't bring their collections to share. I know there would be many reasons NOT to do this but if we are all carefully building these collections over time then it does seem like a shame that nobody ever gets to see them. A great exception is Brian Kent who has assembled a very cool collection themed around his stops in a military career in the Army. At both the Easley and Jamestown shows he had it set up on display.
I have 251 live auctions on eBay including some really good Florida OA ending tonight. Despite the best intentions I never touched my piles of neckerchiefs last week but I have it back on the schedule for Monday.
To finish my thought I'm not advocating for more display competitions at shows. Maybe perfectionism would be the enemy there and since most collections are a work in progress people would not want to show an "incomplete" set. But TORs should be a chance to celebrate the hobby versus a chance for the diggers to rummage through finding bargains. So one thing I'll do in Charlotte is create a space at the show for displays like we had last year and to celebrate the history we all love to preserve.
