Troupers and Fashion Plates

(photo courtesy of Leslie Howle)

Friday, I went to the PSFS meeting to see their guest speaker and my pal, Connie Willis.  A friend took my photo with her but unfortunately is having trouble uploading it, so I'm posting the above photo instead.  It was taken at Denvention and shows me with David Hartwell (center) and L. E. "Lee" Modesitt (right).  Taken singly, we're all remarkably dressed.  But in aggregate, we form a fashion movement.

Connie's talk was of course well received.  Ironically, the part that everybody loved most was when she asked for recommendations of horror movies and listened politely and wrote down titles while everybody described their favorites.  I'm going to do that in lieu of a speech someday -- just interview the audience for an hour.  I betcha they'll be talking about what a great speaker I was for years after.

Connie flew in for the speech from Colorado and was sidelined for hours on the runway in (I think) Cincinnati.  So she spent all day in an airplane.  Then, after her appearance, she was going to go back to her hotel, and catch a plane home in the morning.  Imagine what you and I would be like under the circumstances!  But Connie was charming, gracious, bright, even bubbly, and the pleasantest imaginable person to be with for the duration.  It was only in a whispered aside in private that she revealed that the experience with modern aviation had been hellish for her. 

I'd say that Connie was the Iron Woman of science fiction, only that carries negative connotations.  The mot juste for Connie is trouper.

Connie is a real trouper.  Higher praise than which there is not.

And as always . . .

I've updated the Poem du Jour.   This time with an extremely rude poem.  Decent folks will want to avoid it.

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