February Show Travels Lead to El Paso, Oshkosh

Following a quite hectic January that found me busily engaged attending a trio of coin shows, the first Saturday of February found me engaged in a civic commitment at home. Locally, the Iola Lions Club is responsible for the conduct of a Norwegian supper event in conjunction with the annual Iola Winter Carnival, this year having been its 59th renewal. As for many years, this year I was again chored with the task of the dipping meatballs service for our 996 guests. Attending to that task was bookended with the setting up and breaking down of a public outreach show display promoting the Iola Historical Society’s participation in an attendant craft fair component.

The following Thursday found me flying off to El Paso, Texas, to attend the 57th annual International Coin Club of El Paso coin show. That was a most enjoyable and relaxing outing, although the travels there and back were anything but. On the flight out, both operated and connected, and my arrival in El Paso was simply only about an hour behind schedule. The trip back – on what became a full moon night – was one of those proverbial trips from hell.

Heading out from home at about 5 a.m. to catch the scheduled 7:10 a.m. United Express morning flight into O’Hare, upon