A long time ago
in a galaxy far far away I lived next door to a woman named Martha Beck, who billed herself as a “professional SF fan”.
She was, by all appearances, a typical suburban hausfrau.
Except, mostly, for her houseguests.
She would have tons of them, and they were pretty odd folks. I got to meet many of them, though my folks felt my time there might have often overstayed my welcome.
Martha loved Science Fiction and spent a lot of time at science fiction conventions. So she would have fans and friends and occasionally authors hanging out at her house. I met Wilson Tucker there, I met Mike Resnick there, I met several “Lesser” authors over gluten free bread (She had allergies) in her kitchen.
At conventions, she would introduce me to people she knew. Like Robert and Ginny Heinlein. Martha introduced me as “The neighbor kid who tuckpointed her fireplace”
I was, at the time, a Clarke fan, and remain so, Heinlein’s writing holds little interest for me still- but he was interested in masonry, and we spoke for a few minutes about the way a brick feels when you weld it to another brick, the tap and strike, the fact that when your hand leaves it you endow it with a permanence not allowed other building methods. I would never be a good bricklayer, but I understood, and it made me respect him, as I respect all layers of stone. He and his wife wandered off to other fans and Martha and I wandered off to other authors.
Heinlein’s friendship with Martha was in part responsible for his placement of her famous sisterinlaw Helen in a couple of his novels.
“Famous” people aren’t any different from the rest of us, they just do things that the rest of us like to watch/read/etc. SF used to be full of fairly attainable folks because they didn’t make NBA star money, and they liked hanging around with fans who appreciated their work. SF cons were cool places to hang out, as a result, if you could get past the trekkies and trolls and other dipsticks. Having been out of the loop for many years now, I don’t know if this has changed, but I suspect not.
HT Roberta, whose post remided me of my momentary brush with RAH this morning,
We have a new friend in Spokane who’s very into scifi and fantasy like us. He started talking about Monster Hunter International and we said, “oh, we know Larry.” “You do? How???” Simple, because we knew him before he got published, and he’s still the same guy now. Most people who get famous through their own effort don’t just toss everyone out of their lives the first time a check comes in.
Sometimes people forget that, with the exception of inherited notoriety ala Hilton, every single famous person started out as a real not-famous person like everyone else. And stays a real person, just with news coverage.
I got the chance to hang out with John Ringo a few years ago. He was very friendly and loved to tell stories. He even walked me to a restaurant (I was still on crutches from blown achilles surgery)and bought dinner for a large group of fans after the book signing.
Great guy.
…you…got…to…MEET…Heinlein???
*JEALOUS*
Hell, the only “really” famous person I ever got to meet was JFK, and even that was in passing. Would have loved to been able to listen to RAH chatting about anything. (The same would have been true about Louis L’Amour, or John D. McDonald)
Must be true about interesting people meeting interesting people. My hat is off to you Og!
Not like i had lunch with the guy. I met dozens of authors like that, for two or three minutes at a time.
…but…but STILL….
Had a fairly long conversation with Bradbury at a book signing out in California. I rememeber he was wearing plaid golfing shorts at the time. Nobody was around so we had coffe and talked about his editing of a new Lovecraft/Boucher horror set.
Back in my old Science Fiction Convention Days, if you wanted to get to talk to the “Big Dudes and Dudettes”, you’d either head to the Con Suite and get them their drinks, or head down to the Hotel Bar and buy them a round. I have gotten pleasantly buzzed with Gordon Dickson, Joe Haldeman, and others. But I also remember a “Spirited Discussion” with Harlan Ellison at a Kent State Con back in ’76 while we were both Sober. But my best memory was when our little High School Science Fiction Club was able to head to the Youngstown, Ohio area and spend a day with Edmond Hamilton and his wife Leigh Brackett (PBUT!). For you young folk out there, take a look at the Screen Play credit on the First Star Wars Movie. Their home was a simple ’50s Cape Cod, one bedroom down stairs, looked like a typical American Home. But the 2 bedroom upstairs was their offices and their Library.
Have you ever seen a nearly complete collection of EVERY Science Fiction Book/Magazine/Pulp that was ever published from the 1930’s through the 1970’s, most of them First Editions and AutoGraphed? I have. I hope that the collection was not sold off at a yard sale when they left passed away.
But my personal highlight from that visit was the framed letter to Ms. Brackett. It read, ( if my memory serves me well) ” Dear Leigh. Thanks for writing one of the Best Scripts I ever had. Hope you and I can collaborate again soon. Sincerely, JOHN WAYNE”. Wish I could remember the particular movie, but I don’t have a Movie Reference Guide anymore.
Moral of the whole story? One doesn’t need to spend Hundreds of Dollars on Costumes to go to Cons and have a good time. Just show up, and buy the first round. As a matter of fact, it’s been awhile since I’ve been to one. Wonder if there’s a small regional Con in my area….
It was Rio Bravo, the movie so good they had to make it three times