All year, I have been looking forward to the Woodworking in America Midwest event taking place this week in Cincinnati. But, I was thrown off the track by a few things… Tropical Storm Debby, Hurricane Isaac, the Republican National Convention, and most recently when Hurricane Sandy decided to make a late season rush at the northeast. Since I’m a transplanted guy from Jersey, I had a lot of folks up in the that mid-Atlantic area I was concerned about – my parents, relatives, friends… the works.

While I was relieved to see that my peeps weathered the storm surprisingly well, that’s not the case for everyone. In fact, Sandy could end up being one of the most disastrous storms to hit the United States in its history.  Many places I can remember visiting up in that neck of the woods are completely torn up, flooded and many people are going to take a long time to recover. Thoughts and prayers go out to them.

I was also glad to see that many of the woodworkers from that area who were going to attend are OK as well, and their  travel plans – while threatened – are not cancelled.  That’s why I’ll be traveling up for this year’s Midwest edition of Woodworking in America.

The fun begins at the Keystone Bar and Grill on Thursday night 8 p.m. until midnight, when we get as many people together as possible to meet up before the big event begins. Last year’s meetup was one for the history books, and there’s no reason why this year shouldn’t be a HUGE deal!  Join us starting at 8 p.m. for a little nosh, a few drinks and some great conversation.

Starting Friday, you can look me – and Dyami Plotke –  up a the Modern Woodworkers Association booth in the marketplace. We’ll be bouncing between that booth and the Hand Tool Olympics booth run by Mike Siemsen.

And, remember, we get an EXTRA HOUR for free at the Woodworking in America Midwest event this year – yup, we turn the clocks back an hour early Sunday morning…
I’m definitely looking forward to catching up with everyone… now, I’ll have to pack my thermal underwear.  November weather in Cincinnati is too chilly for this thin-blooded Floridian!