Page 12 - Demo

12|December 2021
Slippery rock Gazette
Registration Open for TISE 2022
The Stone Detective
... Meets Santa Claus!
Iwoke up fairly early and decided to head over to my favorite greasy spoon, a little earlier than usual. I grabbed my fedoraandtrenchcoatandnoticed it was a bit cold as I headed out the door. Now, cold in Florida means it has dropped below 60 degrees F. Shivering, I ran back inside to put the liner in my coat. I was now bundled up and ready for a hot cup of joe and to flirt with Flo.
I walked into the diner and noted three gentlemen sitting at the counter dressed in Santa suits. After all, it is December, even if it is Florida. I sat down next to them, nodded said, “Merry Christmas!” Perhaps I should have wished them a hearty “Happy Holidays!” as I really don’t want to offend any- one, and you never can tell. And it’s a good thing I’m not afraid of Santa – I wouldn’t want to be called Claus-trophobic (LOL)!
However, they all raised their cups of coffee and said, “HO! HO! HO!” pretty much in unison. I laughed, and started talking with Flo as she poured my cup of joe. Little did I know that I would be involved in a case with Santa later that day. I only briefly believed in Santa Claus, as a kid, but that’s another story. I guess you could call me a rebel without a claus!
I finished my breakfast, said goodbye to Flo and the Santa Claus posse, and headed out the door. Just as I sat down in the old Woody, my phone rang. The jovial voice on the other end was kind-of chuckling as he was
the corner was this large Christmas tree. Stacked next to it there must have been over a hundred gifts wrapped in red paper. I suspected right away that the dye from the wrapping paper transferred to the marble, and caused the stains. I told him my diagnosis and gave him some instruc- tions to remove the stains. As I was winding up my conclusions, I looked through a large glass door in one side wall. I could see stables, which was where I assumed he kept his horses. So, I asked him what kind of horses he had. He again laughed and said, “Horses, hah! Those are for my reindeer.” He said it with a perfectly straight face. I thought I was dreaming for a minute, and thought about that famous article that starts, “YES, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” Then he went on to explain that he plays a Santa Claus every year – to the max, he said. Another case solved, just in time for Christmas. Maybe someone will take into account that I’ve been a good boy – er– detective?
Just so you don’t offend any- one and get a lump of coal, use these phrases, as needed:
Spanish: Felices Fiestas! French: Joyeuses Fêtes!
Dutch: Prettige Feestdagen! Italian: Buone Feste!
Fijian: Vanuinui vinaka Me Nomuni! Hawaiian: Hau’oli Lanui! (Pronounced how-oh-lay la-new-ee – always fun to try out at holiday parties!)
Irish: Laethanta saoire sona! Yiddish: A Freylekhn Yontev! German: Frohe Feiertage! Portuguese: Boas Festas! Indonesian: Selamat Hari Raya! Japanese: Tanoshii kurisumasu wo! Maori: Meri Kirihimete! Korean: ;
Turkish: Mutlu Bayramlar! Mandarin: Jie Ri Yu Kuai! Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai!
South African: Ii holide exim- nandi! Southern USA: Happy Holidays, Ya’ll! Australian: Happy Holidays, Mate!
HAPPY Holidays from the Stone Detective. See ya’all next year!
Send your comments to fhueston@stoneforensics.com.
T
International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo/ Marmomac | TileExpo opens registration for its next event, February, 1-3, 2022, featuring industry education January 31 to February 3, 2022.
Whether traveling to Las Vegas for in-person networking and product sourcing or connect- ing to the event virtually at the hybrid TISE Live Virtual Event | Vegas Edition 2022, sponsored by Mannington with Microban®, the industry will discover more exhibitors, the return of highly anticipated exhibitors, new edu- cation formats and program- ming, new show features, and much more. The full experience is being planned now for floor- ing, stone, and tile professionals to experience at TISE 2022.
The industry has two options while registering for TISE 2022, with separate registration sites for either in-person registra- tion or virtual hybrid registration at www.intlsurfaceevent.com/ register. Las Vegas In-person attendees as well as virtual par- ticipants who register before December 10 will secure the low- est registration prices and have access to exclusive content lead- ing into the event, including but not limited to, the TISE Talks: Behind the Industry Podcast Series and special discounts and show specials from exhibitors.
The Las Vegas in-person event is occurring February 1-3, 2022, with education opportunities held January 31 through February 3. The TISE Live Virtual Event | Vegas Edition going live concur- rently to the in-person event.
The first option is to attend in-person, registering at The International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo/ Marmomac | TileExpo. Attendees will register through the standard registration system and have the option of purchasing an exhibit pass, add-on education passes, additional events, certifications, and training all happening in Las Vegas. As a bonus, all in-person attendees include free access to the virtual/hybrid event.
The second registration option is to register for the TISE Live Virtual Event | Vegas Edition, sponsored by Mannington with
®
Microban . Attendees will regis-
ter through the virtual registration system and the pass includes full access to the TISE Live Virtual Event content including open- ing ceremonies, product inter- views from the show floor, show updates from Las Vegas, virtual booths and product highlights, education and live demonstra- tions, interactive workshops, and more!
In-person attendees who have staff remaining back at the office should consider registering their colleagues and team members for the virtual experience to enhance their learning and product knowl- edge and to include them in the annual TISE industry experience.
Industry professionals who align with the individual show brands under The International Surface Event umbrella will dis- cover additional benefits at the upcoming event as several new event updates are being imple- mented. With a focus on the indi- vidual event brands, finding and sourcing products and seeking the targeted education is now easier than ever. SURFACES is now across Halls D, E, and F. TileExpo is presented in Halls C and D and StonExpo/Marmomac will be presented in Halls A and B. Review the new TISE 2022 floor plan to view these shifts and get familiar with the new show layout. In addition, the previ- ous CONVERGE education pro- gram is now reconfigured to be the TISE Education Program with specified interest tracks following show-specific branding themes of surfaces, stone, and tile. Each track will go deeper into the inter- ests of those segments of the industry including technical, mar- keting, business, trends and more!
The International Surface Event (TISE): SURFACES | StonExpo/ Marmomac | TileExpo has served nearly 30 years as an indus- try marketplace for floorcover- ing, stone, and tile businesses to cometogether,seekproductsand services, build relationships, and develop their businesses.
For more information, please visit www.intlsurfaceevent.com.
Frederick M. Hueston,PhD
talking. Yup, he sounded just like a jolly Burl Ives version of Santa Claus.
He told me he had a mar-
ble floor in his office barn
and had an issue with some staining. What the heck is
an office barn? I thought. He asked if I could come out and take a look. Since it was only a few miles away, I agreed.
I arrived at the house – or should I say, farm. The place was huge. It had a long driveway that led to this ornate Victorian-style man- sion that looked like a ginger- bread house. The mailbox at the entrance sat on a candy cane post, and the whole place was decorated like Dollywood for Christmas.
I drove past the house to a barn- like structure. Just as I pulled up, a large man with a long, bright white beard came out of the door. Yes, you guessed it – he looked like the apple-cheeked Santa from a vintage Coke ad. The only thing missing was a red suit and a floppy hat with a bobble on it.
He greeted me with a hand- shake and a hearty chuckle, and motioned me to come inside. He led me to a large office area with a white marble floor. I noticed right away there were some rectangular red stains all over the marble. He pointed to the stains and told me that he and his elves (yes, he did say elves) were wrapping pres- ents on the floor, and when they were done, the stains were there.
I looked around, and in
he industry can now begin making plans for
Las Vegas 2022 as The