Intergalactic House of Paisley

So now it's been 31 years since Dragonet and I stood in front of a rural preacher and promised to love and cherish (but not obey) at her parents' home outside Wellsville, Kansas. And here we are.

For dinner we checked out the new Genghis Grill in the Power and Light District downtown. Good variety of meats, seasonings, veggies and sauces. The twist is that when you give your bowl o' goodness to the cook (with the sauce(s) in a separate bowl), they ask which of the available starch options you want. And they have Boulevard Wheat on tap for $3. Afterward, we wandered over to the renovated Hotel President (now a Hilton property), and marveled at how nice it looks, as opposed to how run down it was in 1980 when ConQuesT 1980 was held there.

How rundown was it? Well, the a/c didn't work, we got the elevator operator to stick around by getting him drunk, and the place closed down right after the con for 25 years (not counting its brief use in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,). On the other hand, I do remember sitting on the fire escape with Dave Wilson making pointed comments to the guys scuttling in and out of the "Magic Touch Massage Parlor" ("Does your mother know you're going in there?" "Stay away from Lurlene, she just got back from the clinic!").

{Edit: Oh, wait, I almost forgot! The Sunday banquet was prepared by the hotel staff, who then walked out, so the concom had to serve the plates. When Pati Taylor went back three weeks later to settle the bill, the plates were still sitting on the tables in the function room, auditioning for Ms. Havisham's wedding}.

Ah, but my favorite memory of that last year there was Saturday morning, when I joined a group at Kate Graf's dealer's table who were talking about "The Empire Strikes Back," which had opened the night before. Someone mentioned the big surprise ending, and without thinking (mainly because I was still enjoying the previous night's imbibing), I said "What, that Darth Vader is Luke's father?"* Everyone looked at me aghast, and someone asked "Did you see it too?" I replied "No, I know bad serial plotting when I hear it. And in the next movie, Leia will be revealed as Luke's mother!" Had I taken a moment to reflect on the apparent ages, I would have gotten that one right, too.



*The first person who says "spoiler!" gets a smack in the head the next time I see them, followed by the comment "Too soon?"

Anyway, happy anniversary, honey. Next year in Australia!

30 years ago on this day, a great, multi-talented entertainer, who transformed the world with his work, passed away. His death was completely overshadowed by a washed-up junkie crapping out (not a metaphor) on his toilet three days earlier. I refer, of course, to the one-and-only Groucho Marx.

29 years ago today, I awoke in my newly-leased apartment in Lawrence and put on my best (and only) suit. It was corduroy, and a tad small. I drove to Wellsville, KS, to my soon-to-be in-laws resided, to take the hand of Paula Helm in marriage (the rest was on a rent-to-own basis, and I'd already put down the deposit {not a metaphor, either]). It was a small ceremony, pretty much just immediate family. We drove back to Lawrence where some of our friends had prepped the new place for the party with our friends. I think I kicked the last few people out about 3a.

Without Paula, I would not be here today. All that I am and have become (ok, not the paisley, that was already there) is because she started a science fiction club at KU and I overcame my intense shyness (hard to believe, but true) and showed up at the first meeting.

Thank you so much, my darling. I love you always. I look forward to many more.