CA Universal Health Care

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/HCA_CA/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5066

Please go send an email to the Governator urging him to sign the bill. :-)

Harlan and me (a worldcon IV report)

I had a very unexpected and kinda nifty Harlan Ellison track in my Worldcon experience this year.

To start with, yes it was entirely inappropriate (shock value monkey tho he is) for Harlan to grab Connie Willis at the Hugo ceremony. That was not cool. I don't condone it. The man can be an idiot.

I first encountered HE's work when I was in junior high. SF for me started with a few kid's books in grade school (only a very few were to be had!), then I found Asimov in particular by late grade school, and also Heinlein and Clark in early junior high, etc. Great stuff.

Around late junior high, I discovered a bunch of short stories that rocked my world, and gave zing to my ideas about writing (yes I was writing even then). They were by Harlan Ellison. 'I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream'. 'Pretty Maggie Money Eyes' *Deathbird Stories* and so on and on! (yes I first found him for writing 'City on the Edge of Forever'; *Star Trek* was pretty much the source of everything for me, after all it came on when I was six.)

I'm not exactly sure what convention it was at that I first saw Harlan. Somewhere in Seattle, certainly. A Puget Sound Star Trekker's (PSST) con? An early Norwescon? (I could probably look at my photos and figure it out.)

But I do remember waiting outside the speaker's hall after first seeing him, heart pounding, waiting for an autograph, trying to think of something wise to say. A typical story I know, but still, it's mine. I heard him read works in progress (including the hysterical sex aliens...), rant at the Glass Teat, etc etc. Words!

August 2006. It had been a LONG time since I'd last seen HE at a con. So it was a wonderful surprise when I got the schedule and saw he was gonna be at LAcon, and do a talk. I confess I was initially a bit disappointed by the "lecture"... because it was all stories, answering questions; I'd wanted to hear what was on his mind now, what he was thinking about (criticizing). However, some of the stories were great. I actually felt honored when at the end of the talk he spoke about never being a victim, about choosing action, about writing... Powerful stuff. He said this was likely his last con.

I have some sense of the circle of time, from my early cons (including LAcon2; I wore Reynolds Rat on my backpack, and no one seemed to know who he was....) to now. Harlan spoke of seeing the early greats (like Isaac Asimov) age, and he and his contemporaries moving into the 'most active writers' slots... and now I see him aging (and so of course myself). Not entirely comfortable stuff, but immensely real and human and vital. I still love the way words roll off of his tongue.

I wish him lots of peace and a continued flow of words from his house on the hill.

I loved that, hours after his talk, Harlan still sat behind a long table and signed books and talked with fans. Mr. Prickly. Uh huh.

I loved that he received as well as gave an award (yes again he was an ahole in the process) at the Hugos... and actually seemed touched by it. All told, this was a much happier, more relaxed man than the one I first saw 25 years ago. I am happy for him.

Nostalgia, inspiration, thinking... and a love of words. Thank you for being there, Harlan.

PS Yes I know he was an ahole on stage.