Steve and I are back from New York. Will New York ever be the same? Time will tell.
BEA was large, New York likewise, though BEA was considerably cooler. We were ably taken care of by Corinda Carfora, Tony Daniels, and Jim Minz, who all made sure we were where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there; caught taxis (and eventually let them go; NYC has a very strict catch-and-release program); guided us down the PATH and over the MTA — all with considerable good humor.
The Friday night reception was a blast; we met lots of people in person for the first time, and renewed the acquaintance of a buncha folks who braved the really awful heat to come by to see us; and the signing on Saturday was lovely — just enough people to keep us busy, but not enough to make us frantic.
(Liaden Universe® Silver Anniversary article in PW)
Thursday night we were pleased to accept David Mattingly’s invitation to visit and tour his studio. We had a fine time talking with him and his wife, Kathleen; and the resident cats.
On the way to and from New York, Steve once again had All The Fun. We had decided to take the Scenic Route to Albany (where we would catch the train to New York) on Wednesday. It was a lovely drive for most of the way, until — about an hour out of Albany — the skies darkened like the Blackest Night had fallen, and rain sheeted out of the sky. It being the scenic route, there was no place to pull over and wait the thing out, so we crept along, hoping the road held together. . .and it got? Darker. Also extremely windy. Later, we found out that a funnel cloud had been overhead. This is the sort of thing you want to find out later.
Today, coming home, we decided to make time, which meant that Steve got to drive manymanymany miles in a furious downpour; in several sections the fog rising from the tires of the trucks and cars traveling in our cohort was so dense, you — well, I — couldn’t see where we were going.
However, we are now home, arriving to find that our housesitter had taken delivery of a box full of Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume One authors’ copies while we were gone. The cats pretended they didn’t know Who These Strange People Could Possibly Be for about a half-hour, then decided not to give us a reason to leave again.
. . .So that’s the last few days in a nutshell. What did y’all do that was fun?
I weeded, transplanted, and watered stuff in several gardens. I am so glad you have a pleasant staqy in NY and are home safely!
I went to A-Kon (anime convention in Dallas, TX) by road (50 miles) and Amtrak (the rest of the way), spending several days in a hotel full of gorgeous oriental art (though hard to see through 20,000+ attendees.)
We took a trip up the Washington coast for our anniversary. My husband dramatically dented his “to read” pile and I managed to finish a few of my own. Highlight of the trip? Coming face to face with a black bear–fortunately we were in the car and the bear was down the road or I might not have fond memories of the experience! We had just finished a walk through an area that I’d nervously realized could contain bears and saw it about a half mile or so from the parking lot. A yearling without a lot of adult heft who watched us about as curious as we watched back! Then off it went about its business. And I got pictures! The cat, of course, thinks the best part of the trip was when we arrived home 🙂
Martyrs of East Texas: In late July 1910, a shocking number of African Americans in Texas were slaughtered by white mobs in the Slocum area of Anderson County and the Percilla-Augusta region of neighboring Houston County. The number of dead surpassed the casualties of the Rosewood Massacre in Florida and rivaled those of the Tulsa Riots in Oklahoma, but the incident–one of the largest mass murders of blacks in American history–is now largely forgotten.