[meteorite-list] Who will write the Saharan story?

From: Martin Horejsi <martinh_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:48:13 2004
Message-ID: <B7F79897.1B0%martinh_at_isu.edu>

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Hi Dean and All,

Dean, I think you are casting some of your non-anti-NWA bias on my
statements. I totally agree with the wonderful contribution that the NWAs
make in our collections, especially the excruciatingly rare ones like the
lunars, SNC, achondrites, Rs, CCs, 3s, LLs and those wildly brecciated L6s
and Impact melts that I just cannot get enough of.

In fact, I bet I have been consuming the hot desert meteorites for longer
than you have been collecting meteorites (if anyone remembers when
ad-Dahbubah was offered by several dealers almost a decade ago, it
originally came from me).

My point, and it is a simple one, is just that many (but of course not all!=
)
of the hot desert meteorites have a rather homogenous history of discovery.

If you read dealers lists, or the Meteoritical Bulletin, you will usually
get rather generic (translate: boring at best, unknown at worst) descriptio=
n
of any given NWA=B9s discovery. Nobody hit it with a plow, nobody used it as =
a
door stop, nobody carried it around in their trunk for a decade, nobody dug
it up building a stock pond, nobody found it in their rock pile, nobody use=
d
it to prop up a car, nobody passed it through generations, nobody built it
into their chimney, nobody discovered it while elk hunting in Montana (a
thinly veiled reference to my Two Dot article in M (formally M!)).

All I mean Dean is that so many of the hot desert meteorites have the same
discovery story. For those of us who collect the stories as well as the
meteorites, the NWAs and many other hot desert meteorites offer little
excitement.=20

If you can offer more information about the discovery of the NWAs you are
selling, I would love to hear about it. And frankly, I bet it would make a
difference in my interest in purchasing the specimen.

Notice that nowhere in all of this do I even mention the honesty-of-locatio=
n
issues, the unknown-TKW issues, or un-classification issues. Oops, until
now.

Cheers,

Martin



On 10/21/01 12:23 AM, "dean bessey" <deanbessey_at_hotmail.com> wrote:

>>> > > and as collection pieces, but they hardly inspire the sense of wond=
er
>>> that many of the >>other specimens the earth has given up, or those wh=
o=8Fs
>>> fall the inhabitants of this planet >>personally experienced. <snip> F=
ew of
>>> the hot desert meteorites carry with them much of >>a story. >>
>> >
> While I acknowledge that there are some people who care more about the
> immiginary lines on a map that somebody dreamed up a few hundred years ag=
o,
> for the most part I totally disagree with you on that. How much of "A sto=
ry"
> does some meteorite plowed up by a farmer in texas convey and what sense =
of
> wonder does it portray? There is a sense of wonder when you hold it up an=
d
> realize that it is from space and has travelled 14 kazillion miles and ha=
s a
> great story to tell. I dont see how that wonderment is amplified because =
some
> farmer or meteorite hunter who happens to own a gps unit stuck his gps un=
it
> next to it and took a photo using the latest man made digital technology.
> Now consider the story that hot desert meteorites carry and how it affect=
ed
> society. The greatest story of all regarding meteorites (Excluding the
> meteorites themselves) is probably the story of the NWAs. You cant name a=
ny
> meteorite that has made such a difference in the lives of more people and=
 that
> changed a whole way of life than the lowly NWAs have done. An entire coun=
try
> is searching for meteorites and overnight one of the worlds poorest peopl=
e are
> all of a sudden getting $20,000 paychecks for a few weeks work. For sever=
al
> years now the number one topic among meteorite lovers is the NWAs (Like i=
t or
> not). An entire way of life has been changed and hundreds of people are n=
ow
> wondering about being able to afford a new house rather than a new camel.
> People from all over the world are jockying for position in the hopes of
> getting in on the next rare find coming out of NWA. The NWA (And other ho=
t
> desert meteorites)has changed our minds about how rare or common that
> meteorites in general are - both SNCs and H5s. . And it has allowed anybo=
dy to
> be able to afford a piece of the moon or Mars. Anybody can have their ver=
y own
> rock that came from the Moon. Not just NASA can have a moonrock but your
> average joe can have a Moonrock now - all because of hot desert finds. No=
w
> that is a wonder to behold and something that really affects our lives - =
not
> just the lives of nomads but the lives of TV and newspaper reporters who
> report news who relays the next interesting meteorite story to a eager
> listening audience. Brunos last NWA SNC was newsworthy enough that it mad=
e CNN
> news. Your average texas find likely never even made page 8 of the local
> paper.
> And as one holds the latest new hot desert Lunars, SNCs, and L6s in his h=
ands
> the "wonder"
> to the person with them would not be greater if they could say N33 52 11=
 E15
> 25 17. (Or is that N33 52 11 E18 25 17)
> DEAN
> =20
>=20
> =20
>=20
> =20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
> <http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp>
> Show your support at the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund -
> http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/my-pay-page/PKAXFNQH7EKCX/058-5084202=
-7156
> 648 _______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailin=
g
> list Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>=20


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<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Re: [meteorite-list] Who will write the Saharan story?</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<FONT FACE=3D"Verdana">Hi Dean and All,<BR>
<BR>
Dean, I think you are casting some of your non-anti-NWA bias on my statemen=
ts. I totally agree with the wonderful contribution that the NWAs make in ou=
r collections, especially the excruciatingly rare ones like the lunars, SNC,=
 achondrites, Rs, CCs, 3s, LLs and those wildly brecciated L6s and Impact me=
lts that I just cannot get enough of. <BR>
<BR>
In fact, I bet I have been consuming the hot desert meteorites for longer t=
han you have been collecting meteorites (if anyone remembers when ad-Dahbuba=
h was offered by several dealers almost a decade ago, it originally came fro=
m me).<BR>
<BR>
My point, and it is a simple one, is just that many (but of course not all!=
) of the hot desert meteorites have a rather homogenous history of discovery=
.<BR>
<BR>
If you read dealers lists, or the Meteoritical Bulletin, you will usually g=
et rather generic (translate: boring at best, unknown at worst) description =
of any given NWA&#8217;s discovery. Nobody hit it with a plow, nobody used i=
t as a door stop, nobody carried it around in their trunk for a decade, nobo=
dy dug it up building a stock pond, nobody found it in their rock pile, nobo=
dy used it to prop up a car, nobody passed it through generations, nobody bu=
ilt it into their chimney, nobody discovered it while elk hunting in Montana=
 (a thinly veiled reference to my Two Dot article in M (formally M!)).<BR>
<BR>
All I mean Dean is that so many of the hot desert meteorites have the same =
discovery story. For those of us who collect the stories as well as the mete=
orites, the NWAs and many other hot desert meteorites offer little excitemen=
t. <BR>
<BR>
If you can offer more information about the discovery of the NWAs you are s=
elling, I would love to hear about it. And frankly, I bet it would make a di=
fference in my interest in purchasing the specimen.<BR>
<BR>
Notice that nowhere in all of this do I even mention the honesty-of-locatio=
n issues, the unknown-TKW issues, or un-classification issues. Oops, until n=
ow.<BR>
<BR>
Cheers,<BR>
<BR>
Martin<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On 10/21/01 12:23 AM, &quot;dean bessey&quot; &lt;deanbessey_at_hotmail.com&gt=
; wrote:<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana">&gt; &gt; and as collection pieces,=
 but they hardly inspire the sense of wonder that &nbsp;many of the &gt;&gt;=
other specimens the earth has given up, or those who=8Fs fall the &nbsp;inhabi=
tants of this planet &gt;&gt;personally experienced. &lt;snip&gt; Few of the=
 hot &nbsp;desert meteorites carry with them much of &gt;&gt;a story. &gt;&g=
t;<BR>
&gt;<BR>
While I acknowledge that there are some people who care more about the immi=
ginary lines on a map that somebody dreamed up a few hundred years ago, for =
the most part I totally disagree with you on that. How much of &quot;A story=
&quot; does some meteorite plowed up by a farmer in texas convey and what se=
nse of wonder does it portray? There is a sense of wonder when you hold it u=
p and realize that it is from space and has travelled 14 kazillion miles and=
 has a great story to tell. I dont see how that wonderment is amplified beca=
use some farmer or meteorite hunter who happens to own a gps unit stuck his =
gps unit next to it and took a photo using the latest man made digital techn=
ology. <BR>
Now consider the story that hot desert meteorites carry and how it affected=
 society. &nbsp;The greatest story of all regarding meteorites (Excluding th=
e meteorites themselves) is probably the story of the NWAs. You cant name an=
y meteorite that has made such a difference in the lives of more people and =
that changed a whole way of life than the lowly NWAs have done. An entire co=
untry is searching for meteorites and overnight one of the worlds poorest pe=
ople are all of a sudden getting $20,000 paychecks for a few weeks work. For=
 several years now the number one topic among meteorite lovers is the NWAs (=
Like it or not). An entire way of life has been changed and hundreds of peop=
le are now wondering about being able to afford a new house rather than a ne=
w camel. People from all over the world are jockying for position in the hop=
es of getting in on the next rare find coming out of NWA. The NWA (And other=
 hot desert meteorites)has changed our minds about how rare or common that m=
eteorites in general are - both SNCs and H5s. . And it has allowed anybody t=
o be able to afford a piece of the moon or Mars. Anybody can have their very=
 own rock that came from the Moon. Not just NASA can have a moonrock but you=
r average joe can have a Moonrock now - all because of hot desert finds. Now=
 that is a wonder to behold and something that really affects our lives - no=
t just the lives of nomads but the lives of TV and newspaper reporters who r=
eport news who relays the next interesting meteorite story to a eager listen=
ing audience. Brunos last NWA SNC was newsworthy enough that it made CNN new=
s. Your average texas find likely never even made page 8 of the local paper.=
<BR>
And as one holds the latest new hot desert Lunars, SNCs, and L6s in his han=
ds the &quot;wonder&quot;<BR>
&nbsp;to the person with them would not be greater if they could say N33 52=
 11 E15 25 17. (Or is that N33 52 11 E18 25 17)<BR>
DEAN<BR>
&nbsp;<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;<BR>
<BR>
&nbsp;<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<HR ALIGN=3DCENTER SIZE=3D"3" WIDTH=3D"100%">Get your FREE download of MSN Explor=
er at http://explorer.msn.com &lt;http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp&gt;=
 <BR>
Show your support at the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund - http://s1.amazon.=
com/exec/varzea/ts/my-pay-page/PKAXFNQH7EKCX/058-5084202-7156648 ___________=
____________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-l=
ist_at_meteoritecentral.com http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-=
list <BR>
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana"><BR>
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Received on Sat 20 Oct 2001 11:09:43 PM PDT


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