Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 07:24:46 -0500
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
From: Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: re: likes/dislikes in reading material
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

At 06:35 PM 03/26/2002 -0500, Erica VD Ginter wrote:
>Cathy, you reminded me of another of my Encounters with Greatness. (BTW, I
>had meant to start a thread on that topic, but I don't think I made that
>clear--please, everyone post your Close Encounters of the SF [or other]
>Greatness Kind!)
>
>Around 1979, Frederik Pohl spoke at Princeton University, where my
>ex-husband was a grad student. I asked him if he thought he would have
>written "Gateway" differently had he written it 20 years before (it was
>fairly new at the time). I said it seemed to me that a 1960-vintage
>"Gateway" would have been a travelogue, without the depth of
>characterization and protagonist's internal conflict, because SF had changed
>so much since 1960. He agreed, saying, "You're very perceptive!" Gave me a
>wonderful bit of egoboo at I time when my self-esteem was lower than a
>sandworm's belly. A few years ago I recounted the incident to him (of
>course, he didn't remember) and thanked him for the praise, thus repaying
>the egoboo!

I met Isaac Asimov at the 50th Worldcon. He was at a reception and talking
to a batch of people when I walked up.  At that time I was the youngest,
prettiest girl in the vicinity and he immediately gave me his undivided
attention.  My friend Samara was with me, but she had been too shy to walk
up and introduce herself.  Now, Sam isn't particularly pretty, but she's
got sex-appeal oozing out of her pores.  I motioned her over, and I might
as well have fallen through the floor.  Suddenly Sam had is undivided
attention.  ;D

Candy