The MBSI Annual Meeting in Seattle is over, and for those of you who
didn't go, you missed a good time.  The weather was spectacular -- it
didn't rain at all and wasn't even foggy.  Our hotel was across Puget
Sound from Seattle in Silverdale, WA, on a bay, and the moon cooperated
to make it Moonlight Bay every evening.

Most of the evenings ended with a bayside Cabaret performance by Philippe
and Eve Crasse and their lovely Le Ludion crank organs.  They also
brought their friend, a cabaret singer, so the performances in the
evenings were really special.  Although the MBSI meetings are very busy
with workshops and open house tours, the social aspect of sharing with
old and new friends are what make these yearly events really special.

There were several very diverse open houses with collections of clocks,
phonographs, extraordinary music boxes and cars, slot machines,
nickelodeons, Wedgewood, Hummel -- the thing about open houses that one
soon learns is that nearly no one collects only one thing.  The workshops
were diverse also, with one on purchasing at auction by George Glastris
of Christie's in London, another on clocks, one on leak detection in
pneumatics.  (I'm in trouble -- I can't remember what the other one was.)
And then there were the informal open houses on Sunday.

Our MMD archivist, Bob Fitterman, now knows more than he ever intended to
learn about miniature music boxes, I'm sure.  It was a pleasure to meet
him and introduce him to many of the MBSI  members that he only knew by a
name.  And of course, Nancy Fratti, Mike Ames, and the Roenigks were
present.  I was surprised that more of the West Coast MMD folks weren't
there.  Too bad -- you missed another good one.

When I get back to somewhere -- I think I'm headed for Indiana -- I'll
send a more complete report.  For those of you who didn't attend, you
missed a fine meeting in a beautiful area.

Beatrice Robertson