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Re: Re. Monahans article
Stuart, Please do not feel bad at all! You should be proud to have an interest in
meteorites, not glum about this public relations disaster. This will blow over
soon and people will forget about it I hope. There will more interesting falls
(hell, Portales is quite beautiful and interesting). Your piece is on it's way
across the big pond today Stuart. I hope you like it. I was also quite disturbed
at being degraded as not having money. I guess we can clearly see that these
dealers only care about $$$$$$$$ and I truly hope that list members ensure that
their "small change" goes to a dealer who does care about the little guys! Since
our small money is not worthy enough to deserve us to have comment, you should not
want to offend them by spending a paltry $20 or $50 a month on their meteorites!
Hey, there are several of us out here that are small collectors ourselves. I did
not start selling meteorites for the money. I did it because I bought 2 pieces of
the same meteorite at the Tucson show and decided to list one on Meteorite
Exchange to sell it in order to get my money back to buy more (I am also of very
limited means until Portales fell which is allowing me to splurge). I sold that
piece for the same amount as I paid for both! I simply started selling them to pay
more or less for my own collection. I also ENJOY doing it. It seems some people
now have regressed into simply being in it for the money. Too bad, this is
actually a good hobby. Steve's statement was quite clear that "most" of us do not
have enough money to participate and thus we are not worthy of voicing our
concerns. Well, my answer to Steve and the other interested parties (you figure it
out), is this. I was first at Monahans, I was first at Portales, and Ill do my
best to be first at the next fall. What I am saying is that the small guys CAN and
DO get the rare valuable meteorites and then it will be pay back time when us
people without "two nickels to rub together" will then be holding the cards and
you will be unable to deal with us. When I announced that I had 12 pieces of
Portales, the phone rang off the hook for two weeks nonstop. Some of the callers
were dealers who never had time to speak to me when I would call. This is because
I was never a big money spender. However, when I got something they all want, I
suddenly became their best friend, and "Man in the field" ? YEAH RIGHT! REMEMBER
guys, what goes around comes around. Someday Stuart, you will hold something rare
and exiting and everyone who has ignored you will suddenly want it. JUST SAY NO!
Have a great day!
Mike Farmer
STUARTATK@aol.com wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> So far everyone seems very restrained about this article... well, I'm sorry,
> but I'm not going to be. Someone has to say something in defence of the many,
> unseen "little people" on this list who have been insulted by the references
> in the article in question.
>
> But first of all, I have to say that the subject of the auction itself is so
> far over my head - the politics, personal issues, legal ins and outs, the
> fairtyale figures, all of it is just *so* not a part of my life that I can
> dismiss it. For God's sake, just sort yourselves out, okay? This is a
> dreadful, shameful mess, very sloppy, and reflects very badly on us as a
> community. I share Julia's concerns. It's worrying, as she points out, that
> meteorites and investment are joined at the hip in the article... don't want
> to, but I have to say "I told you so" and people argued against it. Okay, WE
> know they're NOT a good investment, but people with money to spare aren't
> going to know that, and are going to scan articles like this in their papers
> and on the net and just see the $$$$$$ signs and go in search of meteorites of
> their own. That will suit the big dealers just fine, maybe that's just what
> they want, but it will mean there'll never be a hope in hell of all us little
> guys adding to our collections, because it'll become a chain reaction, a
> buying frenzy: the genuinely rare pieces will go first, as they have the
> largest prices, and then investors' attentions will turn to "what's left", and
> eventually even pieces of Canyon Diablo and Sikhote Alin etc will be priced
> beyond the range of beginning or even modest collectors.
>
> I'm also concerned and distressed about the way we will be portrayed in future
> - as greedy, etc - because that's just not fair! I've made so many friends on
> this List since joining, several people have been outstandingly generous to me
> - and they know who they are - so I recoil from the word "greed" because it
> only applies, I think, to a very few people. But it's been used, and will be
> used again, so I think that we really, really should consider some sort of
> response to the article, or ask for a right of reply, I'm not sure which would
> be best.
>
> Call me naive, but I can't help feeling very sad about this. This whole thing
> should have been a classic "meteorite fairy tale": kids find meteorites, get
> shafted by local govt, public stand beside them and they win... meteorite
> becomes famous and community gains... instead we have this whole "greed" thing
> taking over, creeping over us and our dealings with each other like some
> escaped martian lifeform ( :-) ) and we look like a bunch of money-obsessed
> fanatics. There's a lot of jealousy, personal dislike, indignation and
> discomfort here which I don't pretend - and have no desire - to understand. I
> just know that there's something... I don't know... "grubby" about this.
>
> As for the poor, innocent meteorite itself - oh my god yes, that's right,
> there IS a meteorite at the heart of this story! - well, it sounds like it
> could be special, with those crystals and all, and we should be filling our
> postings with discussions about its structure, appearance and origins - you
> know, stuff about meteorites..? As for its contamination, well, I've been
> following both sides of this argument, ducking as each accusation whistles
> over my head, but I'm in no position to comment on if it's been damaged or
> contaminated or not because I wasn't there and haven't seen the pictures yet
> cos I've been to busy with my REAL life to check them out. If it has been
> damaged in any way then that's a great, great shame, and the people
> responsible for that damage should be ashamed and remind themselves just how
> important these wonderful things are. Damage - to the meteorite for the sake
> of a good photo must be considered a crime against science, surely?
>
> And one sentence leapt out at me: "Scientifically there's a limit to its
> value." WHAT?? Did I really just read that??? What "limit" is this? I thought
> we were all being told how rare and exciting it was, and how the blue crystals
> are exceptional... who knows what we might learn from studying this meteorite,
> what questions it might answer? What new questions it might pose? Is there a
> "scientific limit" to the value of the lunar rocks brought back by the Apollo
> crews? (See ya Al, take care Out There... and thanks...!) Would there be a
> limit to the scientific value of samples returned from Mars? Has the limit of
> the "scientific value" of the Viking, Voyager and Galileo images been reached
> yet? Should we just throw out all the unprocessed data? Good grief... I really
> can't believe I read that...
>
> But what has REALLY annoyed me is the article's derogatory reference to
> meteorite collectors, specifically the less financially secure collectors.
> Maybe this is a veiled personal attack on just a couple of people but I don't
> care, it tars us all with the same brush. How dare he say that! Damn, what
> business is it of *anyone's* how much money someone else makes? I'm well aware
> that there are some people on this list who I would consider to be VERY
> wealthy, but I haven't read any postings from them bragging about that. Me, I
> earn next to nothing for a crummy job, so I value the few meteorites I posess
> even more because I've sweated for them, personally. I admit it, I don't have
> two nickels to rub together, and the only way I could afford to bid in the
> "auction" would be if a) I won the Lottery this weekend, b) an SNC fell in my
> backyard, tonight, or c) I rubbed at that dusty old oil lamp on the shelf over
> there and saw purple smoke start to come out. But that doesn't mean I'm not
> allowed to give an opinion!! Just because I don't earn big bucks doesn't mean
> I'm not allowed to voice my comments on and concern over this issue! (Hey,
> Art, maybe access to the List should be permitted only to those who can prove
> they earn over a certain amount? Or maybe after running a Credit Check? What
> do you think?) I may have missed something here, but if that *is* the case,
> then does the fact that I scan the aisles at my local store looking for items
> with "Reduced" stickers on mean I'm not allowed to join in conversations about
> such things as food safety, world hunger or disarmament? Last time I checked
> the size of your bank balance didn't dictate the level of your participation
> in democratic discussions. Duh. Stoopid me.
>
> Sorry if you think I'm ranting but... well, no, actually I'm not sorry, not at
> all, I'm very annoyed about this. How much money I earn is no-one's business.
> Just because I can't afford to bid in the auction doesn't mean I can't express
> an opinion about it, just the same as I can moan about CD prices even if I
> can't afford one.
>
> Anyway, that's how I feel. Feel free to write and condemn me for over-
> reacting, I'll live with it.
>
> I just feel like I need a shower right now.
>
> Stuart A
>
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