If You’re Ever Down in Dallas…

When I walked into the Dallas Pen Collectors’ Club meeting on Wednesday night, I felt like I was home. This warm and devoted group of collectors had invited me to make a presentation at one of their regular meetings, which are held every other month at a hotel in Richardson. After a few months of emailing and calendar exchanging, the ever-patient Mike Walker (pictured) and I determined that April would work for both the club and me. They had no special request in terms of topic, but since the group is interested in both new and vintage pens—with lots of crossover—I decided to talk about trends in contemporary pens. I then focused on “Twenty Under Two Hundred,” more precisely: 20 brands that offer good fountain pens under $200. It was a great evening, and I particularly enjoyed seeing familiar faces and meeting some new people. The pre-meeting dinner was a lot of fun. Mike Walker, Larry Bedinghaus (whom I’ve known for years), Twila Teasley (a delightful woman I hope to see again…she loves desk sets!) and I shared burgers and salads and great conversation. Their hospitality quelled the pre-presentation jitters that will probably plague me for the rest of my life. The formal part of the presentation closed with some pen raffles courtesy of Randy Spicer at Pelikan. Pelikan offers some wonderful examples of well-made, great looking pens in the under $200 category; their more expensive pens are amazing, too, as my growing collection will attest. The group then milled about—asking questions, talking and examining the many pens I had brought for the show-and-tell segment of my act. My thanks to the manufacturers, who allowed me to use their pens for this purpose, including Dallas’s own Retro 51. There’s nothing quite like Texas hospitality. Y’all should experience it, too: visit the Dallas Pen Show this fall, September 24 and 25, http://www.dallaspenshow.com/.