Harvey Sachs wrote:
> From what I saw, Roy D. and Wayne B. had some really nice items, just to
>get you hyped for the Cirque.
*blush* Thanks Harvey, but all I had were those chainrings (just listed) and a wheel, Tom "KC Tommy" Adams lent me a corner of his table and all the rest of those goodies were his. Thanks Tom, and just to let the rest of the members know that Tom did display a Classic Rendezvous jersey behind his table between a TI Raleigh and a wool Cinelli jersey. The Gipiemme Benotto, Raleigh International hot rod and Fuji Del Rey that Tom displayed brought a few potential CR'ers over to ogle.
Highlight: When a vendor brought over a Colnago Super and asked "what year is this?" There was a line of CR'ers weighing in on the subject (the consensus was mid ~ late 70's).
Other members that I recall (through my short-term memory
loss); Jill DiMauro, Karen Rawls, Dan Artley, Curtis Anthony (thanks
for the hub!), Sam Fitzsimmons, Paul Raley and a vendor who said he
was a former member. I missed Steven Maasland and Richard Borneman,
whom I wanted to meet, which brings me to another point that Harvey
mentioned:
>It was really neat to put faces to names and get to chat about things.
Hmmm... you're at your computer now and you're reading the names on all the posts. You go to the show and all you see are faces, how do you connect the two? NAMETAGS! That's why I wear one, so when you see a dazed gray-haired guy wandering around in bike reverie, you can start a conversation with me, since you see my name and then you know me from reading my posts (someone actually asked about the Cinelli and track racing!).
2. To keep the conversation going, you wear one (I'll give you one free), and I might lapse into semi-sociability once I read your name and recall your posts. If you don't wear one, I'm going to have to ask your name, and then try to retain it in memory while babbling away. And usually I'm forgetting it within 5 minutes... but I know I'm not the only one, since others have asked me, "who was the guy with the big moustache?" or started a sentence with "The red Masi guy said...".
2a. If you say your name to me, I have to visualize it in a coherent written form in order to recall your posts.
2b. It helps when I have that senior moment while we're talking and my brain flashes panic mode, "Who am I talking to again?"
3. If you don't wear one, how do I know you're a member as I walk past and you're busy with something else?
4. Think of people like Dale, Richard, Brian, Hilary (I don't even have to give last names, just like Elvis or Madonna) and others at a gathering like the Cirque, where they're busy organizing, presenting, selling, or just being mobbed by us passionate collectors. They've had a hundred conversations within the last day, talking classic bike history, answering questions, and scouting out the hardware all around. You know their name, but how can they know and retain every one else's name? Give them a break and put your name out front.
4a. For those of you who haven't been to the Cirque, other major gatherings, or even a large swap meet, let me tell you it's an intense mental experience (at least for me when they let me out of the home). You're seeing dozens of gleaming fantastic bikes, you're sorting through rare shiny bike parts that you've only read about or seen on ebay, you're juggling the budget to figure out how to pay for those shiny parts, you're munching Krispy Kremes and sipping intoxicating beverages, I'm talking serious mojo-overload here. I have a hard time by the end of the day remembering my name, much less yours.
Ok, rant off - (... whew!)
I'm going to be making custom nametags for the Cirque and Dale's said he'll get the plastic clip-on tags, which are cool, since you can clip them to your brake cable while you ride. Sometime in April, I'll be asking who's going, so I can print them beforehand.
Roy "Hello my name is..." Drinkwater Lititz, "Mr. Nametag" PA