Okay, most people wouldn't call it a "Con," but there is a another convention, of sorts, going on in Utah this weekend, and it won't draw over 100,000 people and most attending won't dress up or pay good money to have their pictures taken with celebrities or attend panels featuring their favorite stars.
No, these people will assemble ninety miles due west of Salt Lake City, away from the "other con" taking place.
And in many ways, the smaller group is more important as far as things that really matter. On Saturday, September 6, 2014 there's an air show in Wendover, Utah and if anything should have tens of thousands of people in attendance, it's this one, not the other one.
The last time my wife and I attended the Wendover Air Show was in 2012. Things have changed since the last time we visited Wendover. I spoke with my friend who runs the event and he said that since the military no longer participates in this type of air show, it's tougher to entice visitors to come. Plus, the expense of bringing in the older planes--the ships filled with so much important history--is every growing, to the point, it's becoming more and more difficult to put on these shows. The future doesn't look great when it comes to--both this particular show, and shows in general.
If you're not familiar with the history of this particular airfield, there's much to learn. The team that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan trained there. You can learn more from this website: HERE. Will the buildings, the airstrip and everything else will eventually disappear like so much of our history's importance? I hope not, but I fear it will.
Ninety minutes east of the planes and the cars and the patriots, over a tenth of a million people will be crammed into a convention hall having a great time. I wonder how many of them know that without the work people did decades ago on a small spot of ground in the western Utah desert, the largest convention gathering in our state might never have taken place.
Me? Unfortunately I can't attend this year's air show--I'm on a panel on Saturday...
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