I
have been more or less fascinated with minerals ever since my eighth grade class
(age 14) was challenged by our teacher to assemble a mineral collection. Who knows,
if that had never happened I may never have discovered the wonder of minerals.
This fascination culminated in my ending up as a mineralogist at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History. I retired in 1991 (15 years ago!) and moved
from the city to the country when I now divide much of my time between gardening
and writing and editing mineralogical materials. Much of my personal history and
professional involvements and activities can be accessed on my web site www.jwkustos.com
if anyone is interested.
I
have known Jordi for quite a few years and early on I developed great respect
and admiration for his style of dealing in minerals. He not only takes great care
in presenting a very professional looking display, but he is extremely conscientious
about being correct in the information that he provides with his minerals. He
is fortunate in having access to very good analytical facilities so that when
any question arises about the proper identification of new material, he is able
to obtain good structural and chemical data when necessary. I do not remember
when I first began to receive Jordi’s internet sales materials, but I do
know that I looked them over very carefully.
People
who know me also know that I am an incurable critic, especially when it comes
to the literature of mineralogy. Some may even consider me a pain in the a__,
but I care intensely about the literature and, perhaps even more than that, I
enjoy editing and writing. So, when I saw Jordi’s web site, how could I
resist volunteering to offer suggestions that I felt would help his customers
better understand his English text, since he is not entirely fluent in English?
He does remarkably well, but from time to time the English in the web site is
a little awkward and maybe even a little confusing. Jordi jumped at the offer
and so I have been for a couple of years now happily playing editor for him. It
has grown into a relationship that I cherish and my respect for Jordi continues
to increase.
John S. White
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