Hello Stan Schultz

[DustyD]

Hi, Stan.
First off,

Thanks for all you have done to help us understand and appreciate tarantulas. You have helped open the eyes of many people to the “ amazingness” that are tarantulas.

Secondly, what have you been up to and how have you been? I think a lot of people care and are interested in what you do.

 

[Stan Schultz]

Hi, Stan.
First off,

Thanks for all you have done to help us understand and appreciate tarantulas. You have helped open the eyes of many people to the “ amazingness” that are tarantulas.

Well, WOW! I am flattered! But I am also very grateful for the opportunity to introduce anyone with an ounce of interest or curiosity to these creatures. Few people in this world ever have a chance to do something as unique as that.

But, my most telling accomplishment is the number of people who I have helped get over the "Spiders are icky!" mindset.

And, thanks so much for your compliments.

Secondly, what have you been up to and how have you been? I think a lot of people care and are interested in what you do.

Oh, this could turn into a long story. I'll try to keep it as concise as possible. First off, who am I, really? I am a senior (80 years old in August), a retiree, an RVer (I live in a motorhome full time, see the attachments). I am a dual citizen (USA and Canada), and a snowbird , spending my Summers in Alberta, Canada, and my winters in the western end of the sunbelt of the USA (i.e., tarantula country).

This past weekend (May 27 and 28, 2023) I exhibited a few tarantulas in The Alberta Reptile and Amphibian Society's (TARAS) Calgary Reptile Expo (CRE, see attachments). I do this a lot, allowing the general public to get their photo taken holding a live tarantula. Consider a gymnasium large enough to hold three full sized basketball courts. This weekend it held more than 62 vendor/exhibitor tables and booths, showing and selling a very large array of creepy-crawlies. I had a table in a back corner of the gymnasium. I had two helpers. We had a rather simple "cattle chute" barrier system to organize the traffic so everybody who could endure the wait would have a chance for a one-on-one encounter with a "huge, long legged, fuzzy spider."

I have not yet been given the attendance statistics for the Expo, but a fair estimate might be 6,00 and 8,000 people over the two days. And our meager display may have had between 600 and 800 individuals standing in line so they could be introduced our pets and the hobby. At times, the waiting line just for our display alone stretched the full length of the gymnasium. Some people said they had to wait in line as much as 45 minutes so they could get their photos taken!

Nobody got bit. Nobody fainted. No animals were injured or died because of the Expo. Nobody had to post bail bond, and we didn't have to bury any dead bodies. There was no charge for this service., and everybody was greeted with a smile. However, my voice is hoarse from shouting over the background din. My back hurts from turning, twisting, lifting, and sitting on a rather uncomfortable auditorium chair. It's going to take me at least another two days to recover. But I'm already looking forward to the next CRE in October!

About the Tarantula Keeper's Guide, ver. 4 (TKG4): As far as I know, I did not contract COVID-19. But the pandemic stood my world on it's end because I was unable to make my seasonal migrations back and forth between the USA and Canada. In fact, for 18 months I was marooned in my own native country (USA) because of the uncertainties of making long distance road trips. And as the pandemic drew to a close, I was "voluntold" (as opposed to "volunteered") that I had to act as the executor for the rather complicated estate of a deceased family member. As a result, the TKG4 project had to be "shoved to the back burner" for the duration. And it appears that I will not be able to resurrect the project for at least another year. Thereafter it will require another two or three years for the new edition to reach the market. Sorry 'bout that.

Attachments:

1) My motorhome and the campsite in a small RV campground near Zapata, Texas last Winter.
2) The Taras/CRE poster.
3) CRE pandemonium! I'm the one with the funny grin, in a red Hawaiian shirt at the left. The fellow next to me with the blue T-shirt is Tim, one of my volunteer helpers. Lost in the crowd to the right of the photo is a big fellow with a baseball cap and sunglasses, and holding a cell phone to his ear. That's my grandson, Rob, the third volunteer for this melee. I want to publicly thank both Tim and Rob for sacrificing their weekend for the sake of riding herd on our tarantulas and a nearly overwhelming and enthusiastic throng of potential and actual fanciers. Job well done guys!
4) Another photo of the brawl. By Sunday afternoon we were all wondering if there would ever be an end to the line of spectators!

Cheers,

 

[Stan Schultz]

Oops! That should read "... 6,000 to 8,000 people..."

Sorry.

Stan

 

[DustyD]

Super! Thanks for the enjoyable update.