Short form:  Drove to Chicagoland, met some cool guys, bought some 
     cool tools, went home happy.
     
     Long form:  On Saturday morning I drove from Fort Wayne to Pierceton 
     (town motto:  Follow your nose to Pierceton) to pick up Scott Post.  
     Scott and I were the sole representatives from the Hoosier state, even 
     though neither of us were born here.  We drove to Ralph's house, met 
     Alan Graham, had a quick tour of Ralph's shop, then drove to the Flea 
     Market.  And drove.  And drove.  And drove.  The market was lots of 
     fun and I snagged a real nice Stanley No. 32 folding caliper rule with 
     the sweetheart logo and some goodies for SWMBO.  Turning ten galoots 
     loose on a flea market is comparable to turning a group of Vikings 
     loose in a Convent - suffice it to say there was very little iron left 
     at the end of the day.  Alan won the award for the most booty - he 
     actually had to purchase a satchel to carry his goodies.  I heard that 
     in future fishing disputes between the U.S. and Canada, the weight of 
     iron Alan took home with him will be figured into the equation versus 
     pounds of fish caught.
     
     Anyway, the evening at Russ' house (thanks for having us, Russ) was 
     great.  Good food, good beer, good tool talk - life is good.  The next 
     morning at the MWTCA meet was even better than the flea - I found a 
     nice No. 12 scraper, No. 7 jointer, a fence for my No. 78 duplex 
     plane, some assorted auger bits, and some much needed saw nuts that 
     were still attached to a beat up handle and sadly overused saw blade.  
     All user stuff, but at good prices.
     
     As I said earlier, a good time was had by all.  Thanks to Ralph for 
     his efforts and demos - what a guy.  
     
     Joe Palazzolo
     Fort Wayne, IN
     
     P.S.  Does anyone have the phone number for the Stanley Spare Parts 
     Department?  I tried the 800 directory, but they couldn't find 
     anything.  Thanks.