TUCSON: A SCHOONER OF SCHUETTEITE

To start off in this day of sheltering, the WORD OF THE DAY is
Alliteration: the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in a group of words, words such as a SCHOONER OF SCHUETTEITE. No, the mineral does not come in a beer glass; however, at the time of this writing I was getting cabin fever and wished that I had a cold schooner of IPA.

Many rockhounds have a nice, bright red crystal of cinnabar, a mercury sulfide [HgS], in their collection (see Posting November 30, 2012), with many coming from recently opened localities in China.  Cinnabar crystals are impressive if for nothing else than the brilliant color.  Other collectors shy away from cinnabar as they fear absorbing mercury into their body.  However, MinDat notes that mercury sulfide is relatively insoluble and generally safe to handle.  However, do not inhale dust associated with the crystals and always wash hands after handling the specimens (that warning goes with essentially all minerals).


Mercury minerals were quite valuable during the various “gold rushes” to the western U.S.  The minerals were heated to produce raw mercury which was then used to obtain fine-grained gold gathered from screening activities.  It seems when raw mercury was mixed with the “fines” the result was the formation of an alloy called amalgam.  This amalgam (gold plus mercury) was easy to separate from the other fines composed of heavy minerals such as iron minerals.  The end product was a “hunk” of gray amalgam that was then heated in some sort of a retort pot allowing the mercury to evaporate; however, due to the difficulty of locating raw mercury most miners tried to  catch the fumes in a condenser and cause the mercury to reprecipitate for another use.  In most placer mining the process was much less than perfect and the mercury escaped into the atmosphere and water and pollution was rampant.  Mercury seems to stick around “forever” and so the polluted water and soil remains.  The miners who “cooked” the mercury also had a variety of health problems including losing their teeth.


Cinnabar is/was the major mercury producing ore while China and Kyrgyzstan are/were the last two countries mining ore.  Most mercury today is produced as a byproduct of precious metal mining or recycled from previous mercury-containing products (many electrical switches).


Mercury has not been mined in the U.S. since 1992 with peak production in 1877.  Major mining districts included the Terlingua District in Texas, and several districts in California and Nevada.

Schuetteite is an interesting mineral that is often found with cinnabar and chalcedony in old mercury mining districts in the arid deserts and ranges of the western United States.  In the original description of schuetteite (Baily and others, 1959) noted that it was a common secondary alteration product found on: 1) dumps at old mercury mines; and 2) bricks from furnaces that refined mercury ore. In natural occurrences schuetteite, a mercury sulfate [Hg₃O₂(SO₄)] formed by direct oxidation of cinnabar, a mercury sulfate (HgS), by oxygen-bearing surface water with sunlight providing the energy.


Schuetteite is identified by its yellow to yellow-orange color, its occurrence as very thin encrustations on cinnabar, a measured hardness of ~3 (Mohs), and if need be, an x-ray comparison with synthetic schuetteite.  It can be confused with other mercury alteration products such as kleinite, a mercury oxychloride (see Posting November 24, 2019).  However, kleinite and the others contain chlorine that causes the yellow mineral to darken in sunlight.  Schuetteite does not contain chlorine and therefore retains the original yellow color.

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Thin, earthy, yellow, crusts of schuetteite surrounding tarnished cinnabar on an opalized matrix of rhyolite (or some other volcanic rock).  Bottom photomicrograph width ~1.6 cm.; top 1.3 cm.

My particular specimen obtained in Tucson  was  collected from dumps of the Silver Cloud Mine, Ivanhoe District, located near Midas, Nevada north of Battle Mountain.  It was one of numerous small mines operating in the area (1940-1944) and production was minor.  Most of these miners were looking for cinnabar in opalized Tertiary (Miocene) volcanics—rhyolite, andesite, and “tuffs.”  Concentration of cinnabar was deposition by circulating hydrothermal fluids (Thediggings.com).  In reality, it seems to look much like other pits dug in the desert volcanics that I observed while hunting for fossils.
  

REFERENCES CITED

Bailey, E.H., F.A. Hildebrand, C.L. Christ, and J.J. Fahey, 1959, Schuetteite, a new supergene mineral: American Mineralogist: Journal of Earth and Planetary Materials, v. 44, no. 9-10.


So, in this time of “sheltering in place” a little learning is a wonderful thing.  But, my mind tends to wander and all of a sudden a tune from the past pops up. 
  
Apologies to Hank Williams Jr.

Don’t ask me,

Mike why do you write?

Why do you Blog?

Why must you fuss about rocks that are bright?

If I’m down in a honky-tonk

And some dufus is given me friction

I’ll say leave me alone

I’m blogging all night long

It’s a rockhound tradition.

OK, that was pretty sad! Sorry.

TUCSON: A MASS OF MILLERITE. NICKEL SULFIDE

Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.   Roy T. Bennett

This is an interesting time that we are now experiencing, one that is pretty frightening to those that are “most venerable” (over 70) but also for many children and for those who have lost their source of income.  I am a fairly social person so separation from my friends, especially the morning coffee group, has been difficult!  Well not really difficult as that term is reserved for those suffering medical difficulties, for those who are hungry and without shelter, and for our medical workers who are doing a terrific job under not very good conditions.


So, I am pretty much sheltered in place and making the best of it.  I have been madly borrowing e books from our Colorado Springs library and digesting about one per day.  Of course, I have started on a regime of “easy reads”—mostly pulp westerns, especially those authored by Louis L`amour.  As a geologist I love reading, and dreaming about, his vivid descriptions of western landscapes, rocks, and minerals (but not always accurate).  At least once per day I pick up Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower and read a few pages.  I am learning much from this tome but in today’s world I want something light where the winner always kisses the horse, wins the lady, and rides off into the sunset.

Besides reading, I am trying to offer a few more Postings on the Blog; however, this has been a biggly problem.  For the last two weeks my battle has focused on a computer that has been “acting up.”  After hours and hours of uninstalling and reinstalling software and fooling around it finally crashed and burned and I abandoned it when the cursor disappeared.  So it was off to the computer store with the credit card and a plead to the tech people to transfer over as much as possible (although I have all photos and docs saved on external drives).  It took them several hours for the transfer as the old one suffered numerous “freeze ups.”  Then the real fun started as my attempt to restart the digital camera and new software tested my patience.  In addition, due to the pandemic the internet seems “overloaded” and my signal is quite weak so the massive Office suite of software will not load.  However, these malfunctions are minor compared to the medical and economic difficulties around the world.  So, I yell at the computer, but try and remain “happy” and satisfied.  My family and I are well, and I urge readers to take precautions and stay well.


The Tucson shows have been over for seven weeks or so and most local shows and meeting have been cancelled/postponed (The Colorado Mineral and Fossil Spring Show in Denver to May 15-17).  But, I have several miscellaneous specimens dragged home from Tucson so there is much to examine and study. 


A long time ago, at least in Blog time (June 2014), I posted, as part of three articles on nickel, on a really interesting nickel sulfide [NiS] called millerite.  Now millerite is not a rare mineral; however, the collecting localities I described were from Paleozoic carbonates in the Midcontinent Region of the U.S., essentially from Michigan through Kentucky.  And, the millerite crystals are found encased in concretions/geodes (such as the famous Keokuk Geodes).


I am still not certain that a definite answer exists as to the source of the sulfides but Wenz and others (2012) believed the ores of the Mississippi Valley-type Deposits (such as the Viburnum Trend, the New Lead Belt in the Missouri Ozarks) are the result of the introduction of sulfides into lead- and zinc-rich ore fluids that in turn were derived from the 1460 Ma Precambrian basement rocks.  The sulfides may have been derived from local organic- and sulfur-rich carbonate rocks.  Galena (lead) and sphalerite (zinc) are non-complex sulfides and are the stable forms in a low temperature environment (the depositional environment of the Mississippi Valley-type Deposits).  Marcasite and pyrite, common simple sulfides found in the carbonate rocks of the Midwest, may be the result of precipitation from marine waters (I think).

Another thought seems to center around fluid movement from the deep basins present in the Midwest to the rims of the basins during later orogenic events.  In this model the source of the metals is leaching from sedimentary and other rocks (Precambrian basement?) at higher temperatures in the deep basins, and then migrating to shallower levels where they can combine with free sulfide ions, probably resulting from the action of sulfide-reducing bacteria in the shallow rocks (model from Stefano, 2014, discussion on www.Mindat.com). 

Millerite is a fascinating mineral, at least to an old paleontologist like me.  The crystals are clusters, or individuals, of shiny metallic acicular crystals that are pale brass-yellow when fresh but tarnish to an iridescent “black.”  The clusters of millerite in concretions often appear, at least to me, to be a “cat’s whisker.”  However, the specimen I picked up in Tucson is completely different from the concretion specimens in that the millerite is a mass of hair-like acicular crystals---hundreds of them.  They have a measured hardness of 3.0-3.5 (Mohs), are metallic opaque, and have a greenish black streak.

Masses of millerite crystals. FOV ~2.1 cm.

The specimen I purchased has a locality listed as Biggsville Quarry, Carthage, Illinois; however, that might be the Biggsville Quarry Cessford Construction, or the nearby Cessford or Media quarries.  All are aggerate quarries of Paleozoic carbonates with minor amounts of the sulfides chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite and millerite.

  

REFERENCES CITED 

Wenz, Z.J., M.S. Appold, K.L. Shelton and S. Tesfaye, 2012, Geochemistry of Mississippi Valley–type Mineralizing Fluids of the Ozark Plateau: A Regional Synthesis: American Journal of Science, v.312, no. 1, 22-80.

STAY SAFE, BE WELL

 Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind.  Be led by the dreams in your heart.         Roy T. Bennett

TUCSON MINERAL CITY AND BERZELIANITE

Sometimes a beer advertisement just brings a smile to my face and makes me forget, for a moment or two, anything about a virus.  However, it can't help me with a crashed and burned computer, a digital camera that will not load on the new computer, and a network connection that is next to nothing and will not allow much formatting.  But, I am an optimist and am more concerned about the lack of equipment and materials for our health care workers. 

As stated in other recent posts the Shows of Tucson seem to be moving north along Oracle Road, the major north-south path leading north from downtown.  One of the new venues is The Mineral City Show centering around Oracle and Lester and anchored by a number of high-end dealers selling some very beautiful, and expensive, minerals (Collector’s Edge from Golden, Colorado, is an example).  It was also the home of Joe Dorris and Pinacle 5 minerals from Colorado Springs (one of 4 or 5 Shows for Joe), and for Leonard Himes from Colorado Springs. The dealers (I count around 40) are spread out along a couple of streets and locating specific dealers is a confusing proposition, as is parking.  I presume that logistics will be better next year.

Semi permanent, or so it seems,Tucson show home of the Arkenstone Fine Minerals operated by Rob Lavinsky.

Calcite, fluorite and chalcopyrite collected Hardin County, Illinois priced at $450..

Fluorite collected August 26, 1019. Large right specimen priced at $12,500 but take home the left crystal for $10,000.

Nice ferberite (iron tungstate) crystals from the Rock Currier Collection.

 Essentially the dealers next door at La Fuenete de Piedras seem part of The Mineral Show but with their own name!  This venue is essentially one large building anchored by The Arkenstone but also containing Jeff Scovil Photography and the Rock H. Currier Collection.  Mr. Currier (and Rock was his real name) left, upon his death, an absolutely amazing collection to MinDat.org to disperse and use the resources to support the web site.  I enjoy looking at some of the Currier minerals as they are “top shelf” and many are of museum quality; however, I certainly cannot afford a purchase.  But perhaps, hopefully, many will end up in museum displays that are open for the public.

Matrix India may have the largest building in the Show but I was unable to visit all of the widely scattered dealers.

Always room for some amethyst.

Maybe a froggie or two?

Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) was described by Wilson (1994; an amazing piece of work) as one of the greatest mineral chemists whoever lived.  That is quite a statement!  Berzelius was born in Väversunda Sörgård, Sweden, a product of three generations of clergy on each side of the family.  Now, I presume that father, grandfathers and great grandfathers all expected a great theological future for Jöns.  Surprise! His grades in theology were not so hot but he excelled in the natural sciences.  So, the entered the great University at Uppsala and confused the faculty.  Seems he was considered gifted but undisciplined (I was probably considered average and undisciplined). But, all was not lost since he was very good in inorganic chemistry and mineralogy, and as an addult became one of the greatest mineral chemists whoever lived. He received that accolade, since MinDat.org noted that Berzelius was the father of analytical chemistry, inventor of chemical symbol notation. and discoverer of selenium (Se), cerium (Ce), silicon (Si), thorium (Th), titanium (Ti), and zirconium (Zr), in addition to other elements that he gave to his students to work on.  Those discoveries certainly would qualify him as the greatest but my guess is that students don’t learn these facts in modern mineralogy courses!

Trofast (see suggested reading below) noted that: “Sweden has a long tradition of mining and assaying. As early as the mid–17th century, Sweden had a chemical laboratory devoted to the study of minerals and ores and the art of mineral analysis. The resulting research was often used to improve mining, iron, and steel production. During the first decades of the 19th century, Jacob Berzelius’ laboratory in Stockholm became the center of these activities. From 1803 to 1843, Berzelius (1779–1848) and his Swedish pupils J.A. Arfvedson, N.G. Sefström, and C.G. Mosander discovered and characterized no less than 10 new elements. Many of these discoveries were made using a simple instrument—the blow pipe.

So, the great James Dwight Dana named the mineral berzelianite in Jöns’ honor.  OK, who has heard of berzelianite?  Not this ole softrocker.  Maybe Yooper Pete up at the USGS?  I saw a specimen of berzelianite in Tucson that was once in the collection of V.J. Hoffmann and decided it was coming home with me, mainly due to its composition, a copper selenide [Cu₂Se].  Seems like that may be the only selenide mineral (selenium as the negative anion) in my collection.

Berzelianite is rare in the mineral record and was first described from the Skrikerum Mine located in south central Sweden; a mine “famous” for producing rare selenides.  Besides berzelianite, the Mine is the Type Locality of three other rare copper-silver selenides: crookesite, eucairite, and selenojalpaite.  The minerals are found in fracture-fillings hosted by vein calcite associated with hydrothermal alteration. Copper was first mined ~1779 and some exploration and mining, mostly for selenium, continued until the end of the 1800s.
                                          

Two photos (BAD--see comments. Better photos later) of berzelianite veins in calcite.  Better photos later.  There also my be other selenide minerals present.  Maximum width of lower specimen ~1.8 cm.

Berzelianite is a soft (~2.0-2.5 Mohs) metal with a metallic luster, a lead-gray to blue gray to black color (but shiny when fresh), an irregular fracture, and is opaque.   It occurs as microcrystals disseminated in a carbonate matrix (calcite at the Type Locality).  At times it almost appears as a “stain” within the matrix and is difficult to distinguish from other selenides.

REFERENCES CITED AND SUGGESTED READING

Wilson, W.E., 1994, The history of mineral collecting1530-1799: The Mineralogical Record, v. 25, no. 6.

Trofast, Jan, Berzelius’ discovery of selenium in:

“Undersökning af en ny Mineral-kropp, funnen i de orenare sorterna af det vid Fahlun tillverkade svaflet.” [Investigation of a new mineral body found in the impure varieties of the sulfur produced at Fahlun---according to Google translate]

Published Online: 2011-09-01 | English DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2011.33.5.16

Chemistry v 33, issue 5

CSMS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS: 2020 APPLICATION

CSMS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH GRANTS: 2020 APPLICATION

2020 COLORADO SPRINGS MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH GRANTS

Committee Chair:  Dr. Michael Nelson

Csrockguy at yahoo dot com

The primary goal of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society (CSMS)) Student Research Grant Program is to promote and support original research on Colorado geology by undergraduate students. The grant program does not seek to cover all of the researcher's expenses but instead should be viewed as a professional endorsement of the research endeavor. Requests for grants are judged on how well the proposed research will advance the science of geology and its related branches within the State of Colorado. Since the grant program budget is not anticipated to be large enough to fund every research proposal, the grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. The policy for applying for and awarding grants is outlined below.

Eligibility
Undergraduate students who are undertaking original research projects on Colorado geology are eligible to apply for CSMS research grants.  CSMS research grant applicants need not be members of the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society. Undergraduate students must be currently enrolled in degree-granting institutions and their research must be part of a degree program (an academic course granting credit and a grade). Institutions may not request that overhead costs be added to budgets. The Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society strongly encourages women, minorities, and people with disabilities to participate fully in this research grant program. The research proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the feasibility and scientific merit of the project, the abilities of the researcher, and the reasonableness of the budget. Students are eligible for only one CSMS Student Research Grant per degree pursued.

Research Grant Guidelines
Individual grants will be awarded based on merit and number of grant applications received. One confidential letter of recommendation from the student’s research advisor is required for each grant applicant. This letter should be sent directly to the Committee Chair via Email (csrockguy at yahoo dot com) to preserve confidentiality.

Due to different schedules at different institutions, research should be scheduled to begin within 4 months of the grant award (anticipated by early May). For 2020, CSMS anticipates that research will begin during summer 2020.

Rules for the Use of CSMS Research Grant Funds
Grants are to be used for expenses directly associated with the research proposed. For example, research funds may be used for field expenses (travel, some meals, lodging), materials and supplies (sample bags, base maps, air photos, film and developing costs, etc.). Travel to professional meetings will not be funded.  CSMS will not fund research by undergraduate students that relates directly to a thesis or dissertation by a graduate student.

Funds requested for equipment, computer time and software, thin-sections, chemical and isotopic analyses, and the purchase of services must be fully justified. Research grants may not be used for salaries or tuition. Upon completion of the research, equipment and materials purchased with a CSMS research grant become the property of the department in which the student is enrolled and are expected to be available to help additional students with their research.

Responsibilities of Recipients
Grant recipients are encouraged to present their results at professional meetings as well as to publish them. In both cases, support by the CSMS should be acknowledged. Recipients who cannot undertake or complete their project must return any unused funds along with a written explanation of expenses incurred. Grants may be subject to tax by the IRS and the grant recipient is responsible for determining this point. Within one year of receiving their grant, all CSMS research grant recipients are expected to 1) submit a written article documenting results of their research; however, a more formal report such as a senior thesis may be submitted (and is encouraged). The committee chair will abstract the report and submit such for publication in the CSMS Pick & Pack.  At any rate, recipients should keep in contact with the Committee Chair and provide periodic progress reports.

Applications
A research grant application follows. The Research Grant Committee of the CSMS will review each application. The decisions of this committee are final.

COLORADO SPRINGS MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY

Student Research Grant Program Application

Please follow the format below and submit a signed application postmarked (email attachment) by the 2020 deadline:  APRIL 20 (or earlier if possible).  Please note the two critical areas that often distinguish the application!

1.    Name of Applicant: 

Temporary Address:

Permanent Address:

          E-mail: 

Telephone numbers and hours that are best to reach you: 

2.      College/University enrolled:

          Expected degree completion date: 

          Project supervisor and address:

                   Email:

3.      Project title: 

4.      Statement of problem.  Please include in your statement how this work will further our understanding of Colorado Geology.  CRITICAL AREA

5.      Concisely state how you plan to accomplish your investigation. CRITICAL AREA

6.      Give a brief bibliography of the most important papers related to your proposed research (no more than five). 

7.      Duration of investigation (dates): 

8.      Budget: 

9.      Budget justification: 

10.    Other support for this project, both applied for and received.  For support applied for, include dates you expect to know outcome: 

12.    Sign (electronic signature is valid) and date the submittal:

                   

Signature  

Date

Please send completed application, via Email attachment to: csrockguy at yahoo dot com

TUCSON: PUEBLO--CAMPYLITE AND WULFENITE AND HAPPY DAYS

West across the Interstate from the 22^nd Street Show is the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show/Ramada by Wyndham.  This is a very large Show scattered among motel rooms, large tents, small tents and many other structures. By my count there are approximately 275 vendors ranging from metaphysical, beads, fossils, wholesale jewelry, retail jewelry, giant quartz crystals, opals, rocks and minerals, etc. etc. This was one of the last Shows I visited, and the displays seemed to be like the movie Groundhog Day, seen it all before!  But, I did have a good time wandering around and was able to locate a few crystals, and visit with a few nice dealers.

The parking was pretty crappy at the Show.  We paid our $10 (expensive) and were directed to the far away dirt/dust parking area.  A golf cart did come along and haul us, thru massive dust, over to the dealers, including the massive quartz crystal.  I felt sorry for the drivers, some of whom wore masks. Wonder if Mr. Rockhounding the Rockies has ever dug up a crystal like this at his claim near Lake George?

How would  an ole rockhound haul a quartz specimen like this home?

How about this carved couch.  Not very comfortable but it was marked sold.

Lots of magic minerals were on display at a number of dealers.  About the only magic mineral I have faith in is gold.

I did notice several vendors who displayed some nifty carvings.  However, not everything marked jase is really "jade."

Surprise, surprise! And there were beads!

 

One of my favorite dealers, with a nice friendly staff, is Korite International based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company mines the gemstone ammolite from the Cretaceous Bearpaw Formation exposed along the St. Mary River.  Ammolite is a biogenic gemstone and is composed of material (nacre) that is found in the shells of large coiled mollusks termed ammonites.  Nacre (also found as mother-of-pearl and pearls) is made of the carbonate mineral aragonite (CaCO3).  The microstructure of the aragonite reflects light and produces an opal-like iridescence. This type of display is very rare as most aragonite in ammonites is unstable and at other localities has been replaced by calcite or perhaps pyrite.

My first stop was at a small motel room as we were wandering through.  Just some small displays but the two young men selling were very nice and this was one of their first shows as a vendor.  They had come from North Carolina and had spent the previous month stopping at localities collecting this and that getting ready for shows this spring and summer along the east coast. They decided to sell at Pueblo since the space was abandoned by a previous seller and they received a “good deal” on the lease.  I was their first customer and they showed me a flat of wulfenite collected from the La Morita Mine, Ascención Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico.

I am pretty much a sucker for wulfenite, a colorful lead molybdate [PbMoO₄] appearing as thin tabular crystals.  The theme of the 2019 Tucson Show as wulfenite and last year I offered several Blog Postings on the mineral---no need to repeat mineral info here. The specimen from La Morita also has some nice yellow botryoidal crystal masses of  the lead chloroarsenate, mimetite [Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl].  According to MinDat, this small polymetallic (mostly lead, zinc, and silver) mine started producing these lustrous crystals wulfenite-mimetite crystals (both secondary minerals) in 2018 & 2019.

A really nice cluster of wulfenite crystals on a barite matrix with several "balls" of microscopic crystals of mimetite perched on the wulfenite in the upper left quadrant.  Width FOV ~2.1 cm.

Speaking of mimetite (which I am to myself), campylite is a variety of mimetite where the distorted crystals have a barrel-shaped bend (they are very distinct).  This variety of mimetite is rather rare and the best-known specimens come from the Dry Gill Mine, Caldbeck, Allerdale, Cumbria, England, UK.  From what I read the burnt-orange colored campylite crystals from Dry Gill are one of the “Classic Minerals of England...and one of the most famous mineral localities in the world” (Cooper and Stanley, 1991).  Little did I know this as I shelled out three bucks for the specimen---not bad for a “classic.”

Views of campylite crystals.  Width FOV upper~1.8 cm.

Cooper and Stanley (1991) further described the Mine as of little commercial interest with few minerals in the vein, and only a few hundred tons of colored lead ore had been removed before operations ceased in 1860.  Mineral specimens are increasingly hard to find with a few being obtained in the 1970s.  Campylite, [Pb₅(AsO₄)₃Cl] is a secondary mineral found in the oxidized zones of lead deposits, such as galena that is present at Dry Gill.  In addition, Cooper and Stanley (1991) noted that campylite is a “phosphatian mimetite.”  Since mimetite, lead arsenate, is in solid solution with the lead phosphate pyromorphite, I presume that phosphatian campylite is on that line leading to pyromorphite.

REFERENCES CITED

Cooper, M.P. and C.J. Stanley,1991, Famous mineral localities: Pyromorphite group minerals from the Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria, England: Mineralogical Record v.22, no. 2.

A Happy Day is a day when I hit the bed with a sense of satisfaction for the day well lived at a rock, mineral, and fossil show.   (apologies to Jagadish).

Thanks to Scott Adams and Dilbert.com.