Gem Geeks

Admittedly, it's a little geeky (A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but feels socially inept), wandering around Tucson, Arizona, pawing gingerly through boxes of terminated quartz crystals, looking for that remarkable specimen . . . or was it Tiger Iron?

Indeed, when Gemologists converge on Tucson, the socially inept are unreservedly transformed!

Lori Tucson 2013

In February 2013, gemstone and mineral aficionados converged once again in Tucson, Arizona, to play in the desert. Cold mornings, warm afternoons, the glow of sunrise on the mountains, magnificent golden, green, and orange hues, the fresh smell of the dry desert air, and, of course, the majestic Carnegiea gigantea (Saguaro) Cactus.

In years past, during economic prosperity, finding a room in Tucson during this show would not have been possible. Fortunately, we found a comfortable room. Granted, it was seven miles from downtown. Yes, we waited until the very last minute to reserve our room.

“It's been a long time since we’ve had to scrape ice from our car windows,” said Lori. Since 1987, Tucson has had an annual trip for work. My renewed joy was an opportunity to spend quality time with good friends after a three-year sabbatical.

We made a three-day weekend out of it. The relaxing drive from Southern California took about seven hours. For the gem dealers, it's all about business; for the gem geeks, it's about socializing. In the world of gems, there is no single show on earth where so many people from around the world converge to share stories, show samples, lick agates, dance the night away, and simply throw caution to the wind.

It is amazing what gem connoisseurs will spend money on, present company included. This year's big purchase was a slab of Tiger Iron (geeky stuff) from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. After seeing many beautiful species of gems, including my favorite, a stunning 23-carat Cats-Eye Chrysoberyl ($83,000.00), for some strange reason, this material would not let me pass it by. That piece now inhabits the fireplace mantel in our home.

Maybe that’s what the Tucson Gem Show is really about. Gemologists who secretly love to pull baubles from their pockets and engage in conversation about the clandestine world of gems and minerals . . . just ask anyone,

“What special piece did you find?”

Comments

Anonymous said…

Ha! I finally had to have some Ethiopian opal. :)

Blaire, aka Gemgeek!

March 18, 2013 at 9:10 PM

Patrick B. Ball said…

Good for you Blaire, it's all about the unusual gems anyway!

March 20, 2013 at 5:37 AM

Boy on a Beam

In this special bonus episode, Boy on a Beam. In a world long ago, when the days moved quite slow, Before buzzes and beeps and the fast things we know, A boy sat quite still on a very fine day, Just staring at nothing . . . and thinking away. No tablets! No gadgets! No screens shining bright! No earbuds stuck in from morning till night. No lists, no charts, and no chores to be done. He just sat there thinking—that's quiet-time fun! His name was Young Albert. He sat in his chair, Thinking of things that weren’t really there. “Suppose,” said Young Albert, with eyes open wide, “I ran super fast with my arms by my side! Suppose I ran faster than anyone knew, And caught up to sunshine that zoomed past me—too! If I hopped on its back for a light-speedy ride, What secrets would I find tucked away deep inside?” “Would stars look like sprinkles, all shiny and small? Would UP feel like sideways? Would BIG feel like Tall?” He giggled and wondered and thought, and he dreamed, Till his head fel...

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩 In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...

The Thought Experiment–Revisited

In this episode. The Thought Experiment–Revisited The Boy on a Light Beam In 1895, a sixteen-year-old boy did something we rarely allow ourselves to do anymore. He stared into space and let his mind wander. No phone. No notes. No “Optimization Hacks” for his morning routine. Just a question: What would happen if I chased a beam of light—and actually caught it? That boy was Albert Einstein . And that single act of curiosity—a Gedankenexperiment , a thought experiment—eventually cracked open Newton’s tidy universe and rearranged our understanding of time itself. Not bad for an afternoon of daydreaming. Imagine if Einstein had been “productive” instead. He would have logged the light-beam idea into a Notion database, tagged it #CareerGrowth, and then promptly ignored it to attend a forty-five-minute “Sync” about the color of the departmental logo. He’d have a high Efficiency Score—and we’d still be stuck in a Newtonian universe , wondering why the Wi-Fi is slow. In a post I wrote back in...

When Fear Becomes the Default

In this special episode, When Fear Becomes the Default. Early Sunday morning, I was cycling past a small veterans’ pocket park in San Marcos. The air was still, the streets nearly empty. On one corner stood a young woman, alone, holding a hand-painted sign that read: “Be ANGRY. ICE agents are murdering people.” I pedaled past, but the words stayed with me. I knew the context—the footage and headlines from Minneapolis the day before, already ricocheting through the country and hardening opinions. Even in the quiet of the ride, the noise followed. Two miles later, I stopped at a red light. A black car with dark windows pulled up inches from my bike. My heart jumped. My first instinct wasn’t neighbor —it was threat . I found myself bracing, scanning, and wondering if the person inside was angry, armed, or looking for trouble. Then the door opened. A well-dressed young woman stepped out, walked to the trunk, and pulled out a sign that read “Open House.” She turned, smiled brightly, and sa...

On The Fly

Search This Blog