Cut the cutting?
“There, I’ve done it,” I said to myself yesterday just before closing time.
What had I done?
I finally had gotten around to making my hotel reservations for the American Numismatic Association summer convention.
Attending the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money, as the organization officially calls the annual gathering, has been a regular duty of mine for many years.
This year will be no different.
What was perhaps different is that making the reservation had been on my “To Do” list for several weeks, but there was always something that stopped me actually making it.
What days will I be in attendance?
I finally came to the conclusion that it will be for the entire week, Monday Aug. 12 until the close Saturday, Aug. 17.
Monday is set-up day and the ribbon cutting that formally opens the event is on Tuesday morning.
I cannot tell you how many ribbon cuttings I have seen. I don’t remember. They usually run too long and irritate the collectors assembled outside the doorway to the bourse floor by running past the scheduled opening time.
One I do remember was for the Los Angeles convention in 2009.
A person had sat down on the left end of the stage before the ceremony began to wait for the doors to open. He remained there during the ceremony with his back to the proceedings. That was the first time I had ever seen that happen.
Usually those of us milling around before the ribbon cutting take up our regular places when it starts. Dignitaries are on the stage, behind it or slightly to the side facing the public while the rest of us stand in front of them to watch the event.
The fact that one person more or less ignored us all as he waited to go into the bourse left an imprint in my mind and is a handy anecdote to precede my plea that this year’s opening ceremony be short and sweet.
Nobody wants to listen to speeches.
I know it is too much to ask to limit speakers to President Tom Hallenbeck, who would simply say something like, “Welcome, glad you came and let’s go in.”
But something close to that would be nice way to start.
Buzz blogger Dave Harper is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."
- Subscribe to the NumisMaster Coin Price Guide for access to the web’s most comprehensive list of coin values
- Join the NumisMaster VIP Program for free subscriptions, store discounts, and more!
- Buy and sell coins, currency, and more in our online classifieds
