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I think I need to build a boat. The rain just keeps on pouring down,
the creeks and rivers are rising, and most days in July my yard looked
like a lake...
LibertyCon 31 was a big hit. Almost everything about the event and the
venue was supurb. There were a few downers, mostly due to hotel
management imposing additional rules which weren't part of the hotel
chain's normal requirements. It was as if the local hotel management
were going out of their way to let us know that while they wanted our
money, our actual presence was somewhat less than welcome. However,
that attitude didn't carry over onto the hotel's staff--THEY went out
of their way to make everyone feel welcome. It's really a shame that
the management didn't want us there because the convention center
facilities were absolutely wonderful. All the con-goers loved the
convention center itself. But all is not lost. The Con Committie
announced that LibertyCon has signed a five-year contract with The Read
House hotel. Read House is one of the oldest, fanciest, hotels in the
entire state of Tennessee, having originally been built before the US
Civil War. It burned down during the war years, but was rebuilt even
bigger and better shortly afterward. I've seen a few photos of the
hotel and it's easy to believe that it has hosted the upper crust of
society for 15 decades or so. The place is georgous! Everyone is
looking forward to 2019's LibertyCon. In fact, every available con
membership sold in less than six hours the day they went online. 750
memberships, sold out, in five and a fraction hours! Room reservations
will be available sometime in September, and I expect a regular "land
rush" on them as well.
At LibertyCon, I met a pair of new writers and helped them along a
bit
with a project they are working upon together. My first time personally
mentoring, in fact.Although I've been here at Aphelion for lo these
many years, I haven't
directly worked with individual writers in person before. It started
off innocently enough with the lady I knew introducing me to the lady I
han't yet met. They wanted my opinion on a bit of dialog, and advice on
some historical research. One thing led to another and we fell into a
bit of improv on the dialog, with me taking the part of one of the
characters. Just role-playing, really. I thought it would be more
difficult to do by acting than I've found it to be in text chats, but
evidently I can manage both. The younger lady was furiously scribbling
my ad libs for the scene we workd on. By the time we parted ways that
evening, I had developed two new students. One of them I had known
for several years, the other I met for the first time, and they are
going to be turning out a fantastic Historical/Paramormal novel you'll
want to add to your libraries just as soon as they finish--if that's a
genre you enjoy, of course.
Two weeks later, Lyn and I went over to East Tennessee for our family
reunion. That was also wonderful, yet bittersweet. Only my mom and one
of her brothers are left from their generation of the family--we lost
Aunt Gerry a few months ago, and her absence was felt by all. However,
the younger generations were well represented by grandchildren, great
grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Plans are already
underway for next year's reunion.
Now, this next bit is difficult for me to write. So I'll just dive
in and hope I get my point across. Unfortunately, our long drives to
and from Tennessee were marred by witnessing several
tragic traffic accidents. The worst of which was a five-car pile-up in
the Northbound lane as we were heading South in North Carolina.
Evidently, the roads between Greenville SC and Ashville NC are every
bit as dangerous as Atlanta's own 285 loop. Too many people driving too
close together at too high a speed has always been a recipe for
disaster. My heart goes out to each and every family affected by the
accidents we saw.
Stay safe, dear readers, wherever you are on this planet, take care of
yourselves. Lives are all too easy to bring to a sudden end. They're
altogether too short to begin with, so protect yours and your loved
one's as much as you possibly can. Every day, every moment, is a gift.
That's one reason why we call it "the present." Make the most of every
moment you have. Fate can snatch everything away from you without any
warning whatsoever.
All right, it's about time I shut up and let y'all get to reading the
seventh issue of Aphelion of 2018! Enjoy!
Dan
ON
THE COVER
Title: VLT image of the cometary globule CG4
Photo Credit: ESO
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