TomBell

I'm a semi-retired minerals exploration geologist/hydrogeologist.  My work has taken me to most of the countries in the Americas and about half of Africa.  I love the thrill of the chase but when the extent of mineralization has been defined and the engineers arrive, I'm outa there.  I visited Tokyo for a week in 1984 to attend a conference on tropical soils.  My wife's Japanese colleague took us to many places tourists never see and we ate and drank in places tourists rarely visit.  I have never been back, but someday....

I now own a WW II Japanese sword.  It was in a bucket full of fireplace tools at an estate sale with no price.  I bought it for $45.  Now I am becoming obsessed with its origin and history most of which I will never know.  Just like mineral exploration or fly fishing, most of the fun is in the chase.

My father served on the USS Laffey when it attacked the battleship Hiei in the first battle of Guadalcanal.  The Laffey went down first but the Hiei didn't last much longer.  I might like to acquire a naval sword to add to my single sword collection.