Omaha is noted for many things, among which are Boy's Town, agriculture, grain, and beef. I saw a sign that said Omaha ships more beef than anywhere else on earth. So that should put to rest forever the answer to the burning question, "Where's the beef?"

I'll have to admit, the steaks we had while we were there were out of this world. There was only one thing that topped those steaks, good as they were, and that was the Omaha show. It was almost like a national. A national is made up of lots of insulators, lots of RARE insulators, lots of collectors, lots of dealers, and lots of fun. Omaha had all of that and more. Everyone knows how I love the nationals. Well, I truly feel I will have attended two of them this year. Yes, those of you who missed Omaha really missed something. 

The weather cooperated beautifully. Not a drop or a flake fell the whole 2-1/2 days of the show. Nor was there any snow on the ground to contend with. (We Southern Californians were a bit disappointed at not seeing any snow, but those who deal with it all winter long didn't agree with us one bit). I had always figured that I'd curl up and die if I ever got into temps in the 30's, but surprisingly, I survived the mornings and evenings, and didn't suffer as I had always imagined I would.

Set-up time on Friday was such fun; everybody was hauling boxes in and saying "hello". Before I go any further, I'd like to thank Carol and Paul Ickes and Janiece and Kenn Stobbe for a wonderful show. You all did a marvelous job, so much so that most of us were wishing it could last a week. I know that for those of you who did all the work, that would have been a nightmare. But for those of us who just walk in and enjoy ourselves and do none of the work, it surely would have been nice to have it last seven days.

One of the streets leading to the show site was 72nd Street. But we re-named it "Rusty Muffler Drive". I have never seen so many mufflers and tail pipes lying at the side of the road in my life. Either the street was excessively bumpy (which it was), or they don't know how to put mufflers on to stay in Omaha. I wish I owned a muffler shop right on "Rusty Muffler Drive". I could soon afford any insulator I wanted. 

For me there were several very nice surprises at this show. One of them was seeing Bob Alexander's new book for the first time. It's called "A Collectors Guide to Antique Telephone Advertising", and after looking through it, I just had to buy one. I also got it autographed by the author. It's done in color, and the style of print used is so pretty. If you don't already collect telephone signs, this book will make you want to start. Very nice, Bob. Another surprise was my being given a lovely pin made out of a butternut by Lillian and Pete Bishop. Pete makes them himself. What a thoughtful gesture, you two, and I thank you so much. 

Saturday was a busy day, too. There were 14 displays, each one very nicely done. I will leave mention of the displayers end awards to the official show report, but some of the items displayed that come to mind are: Colorful signals, Mickey Mouses, Australian insulators, strains, Pyrex insulators, threadless, Bell paperweights, all blue insulators, miscellaneous insulators, CD 102's, and cigarette lighters. Those of you who are familiar with these specialty collectors can just about guess who displayed what.

After a busy day of selling, trading, ant buying, most of us went to Caniglias' Venice Inn for dinner Saturday night. And, although acorns were not served, even the Squirrel attended. (That's a certain Charlie's new sobriquet. Some nicknames are just meant to be). We laughed so hard and had such a good time that we could hardly eat. But we managed, and I had one of the best steaks I've ever eaten. They just don't make them like that in San Diego (although we have the best Mexican food anywhere in the world).

Afterwards, some of us congregated in somebody's motel room (I never did find out exactly whose room it was) and watched the news, hoping to see our show on TV. It never did come on, but we were having too much fun to really notice. Someone kept talking about dachshunds being dressed up in rat suits in the movie that was playing, which should give you some idea of how much fun we were having. Earlier, someone else had put an NIA decal an the sliding glass door, so that made it all official (I think). The TV debuts of both Paul Ickes and Dan Wagner actually occurred the following night and the following week. We saw Dan's debut, and he did a splendid job. I hear that Paul did, also.

Sunday was April Fool's Day (that same certain Charlie's national holiday), and even though he KNEW what day it was, and was prepared for anything, they still "got" him. Someone replaced the cobalt blue CD 130.1 Cal. Elec. Works on his sales table with an H. K. Porter when he wasn't looking. Shortly afterwards, Cecil Boos asked to see the CEW so that he could check its condition. (Cecil, you were so cool!) Charlie very seriously began searching for it on his table, and STILL didn't catch on even after he spotted the Porter in its place. Right about this time Paul Haupt walks up with the CEW, and it had a "new" price sticker an it of $300. Cecil quickly gets out his wallet as if to buy this great bargain... and at that point Charlie finally knew he'd been "had". We all teased him, saying that for a few minutes, at least, he had an honest price on his CEW! (Just kidding, Chuck).

We saw so many people in Omaha, some of whom we usually only see at nationals. Here's a list of delegates by state: COLORADO: Bob Alexander, Linda and Mike Sabatos, Sandra and Mel Shootman, Mike Swanson, Mike Green, Russ Hughes, and Roberta and Dennis McHenry, formerly of Iowa. ILLINOIS: Ron Ballard, Jack Bateman, Dick Schroeder, Elvira and Frank Fyalka, and Mike Sovereign. IOWA: First and foremost, Carol and Paul Ickes, show hosts, Joanne, John, and David Biesemier, Pat and Larry Whitlock (hosts of the 1982 Cedar Rapids National), Nick Kleyweg, Cecil Boos (who left his oink-oinks and moo-moos long enough to join us, as they are described by Bay Klingensmith), Warren Olson (NIA #1) and his wife, Linda and Bill Connell, Eldon Myers, June and Don Shinner, Donna and Clyde Jones, George Lyons, Ladislava Prazan, Floyd Keeton, and Monica and Fred Sillik. CONNECTICUT: John de Sousa. KANSAS: Mary and Al Leslie, and Glen Wenzl. MICHIGAN: Princine Petinga, Mike Bruner, Steve KelIa, and Rod Krupka (who took a large insulator back to Michigan to a buyer for us ... we thank you, Rod). MISSOURI: Roger Schlotzhauer, Chris Hedges, Charlie Allmon, and Jeanne and Dennis Weber. NEBRASKA: Janiece and Kenn Stobbe, show hosts, Elizabeth and Dan Wagner, Russ Myers, Clyde Bonnie, Pete and Tony Mortensen, Theresa and Richard Jehlik, Marjorie and Frank Kratzer, Joe Sprouse, Jack Edsoll, and Bill Cooper. OHIO: Lillian and Pete Bishop, Ray Klingensmith, Scott Given, John McDougald, and Paul Houpt. (Paul, do you use Vigaro on those moustaches to keep them growing so well?) OREGON: Chuck Irwin. And his pal from WASHINGTON, Jim Cunningham. SOUTH DAKOTA: Al Perry and his family. TEXAS: Marilyn and Bill Albers (our NIA Prexy and Treasurer, respectively). GEORGIA: Theresa and James Hardison. And lastly, Yerstroolie and spouse, Wes, from CALIFORNIA. Did I forget to mention anyone, or did I misspell your name? If so, please forgive a faulty memory and myopic eyes.

Most of the above were dealers at the show, but a few were walk-ins. There were 15 states represented that I know of... and my trusty calculator tells me that's a whopping 30% of the 50 states. I'd say that was pretty nifty. Here's some more statistics for you... there were 75 tables sold, plus 10 spaces without tables. And, there were 57 insulator tables. Those of you who couldn't make it to Omaha ... eat your hearts out!

As you can see, the time came all too soon for us to pack up and go home. They say time flies when you are having fun, and whoever made up that little homily must have written it while at an insulator show, because it surely fits. We dragged it out For as long as we could and packed slowly, but still the moment came when we had to walk out the door for the last time. The only consolation was that perhaps we can do it all again next year. I know that I want to be there ... how about you?