Heinlein Readers......are there a lot of us here, or what?

[cjparker]

Yeah, savingdogs, he was vulgar in person. I and another bookseller/fan were standing near his booth, all but genuflecting at being in his presence. We began a brief conversation with him, during which he managed to drop several f-bombs and a few other choice words just casually and without thought. He was wearing a pair of white double knit shorts that had several stains on them. His shirt was not fresh and he had a 3-day growth of beard and dirty hair. Ick. I had previously had a mental image of him as this brilliant, suave freethinker. So much for mental images.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I read all his stuff while still a kid. Haven't thought of him in years, though.

off topic:
hey buster! thanks for the new book recommendation!

 

[savingdogs]

Yeah, savingdogs, he was vulgar in person. I and another bookseller/fan were standing near his booth, all but genuflecting at being in his presence. We began a brief conversation with him, during which he managed to drop several f-bombs and a few other choice words just casually and without thought. He was wearing a pair of white double knit shorts that had several stains on them. His shirt was not fresh and he had a 3-day growth of beard and dirty hair. Ick. I had previously had a mental image of him as this brilliant, suave freethinker. So much for mental images.

That is too bad. I met Pierce Brosnan once when I was working for a dentist and he had a toothache and I was NOT impressed. Kind of the same story, only instead of being greasy and swarthy, Pierce was nasty and bitter. I never liked him in movies again.

I always pictured that Lazarus Long was Heinlein.

 

[abifae]

I'd met him growing up. On a navy base. He seemed like all the other guys.

Then again, cussing and being a bit slovenly WOULD fit...

*laughing*

I adore his books. I grew up on them all

And I am totally the "this side of the house is white" person.

 

[savingdogs]

My husband is not a member of this forum but is a Heinlein fan and wanted me to pass this on:

He has a friend who met Heinlein too and was favorably impressed. Perhaps he just had a bad day that day, cj. I met Sue Grafton at a book signing and she was a delight.

Hubby suggests a free thinker like that might not have cared much for outward appearances.

He was surprised no one has brought up the book The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, which we used to have a copy of.

 

[abifae]

All I remember about him was he talked to me like I was a real person
I was young and autistic so that was rare and wonderful.


And he was like everyone only MORE so. If that makes any sense?

 

[savingdogs]

Here are some of his interesting quotes:
The supreme irony of life is that no one gets out of it alive.

Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.
-Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

Learning isnt a means to an end; its an end in and of itself.
-still searchin

brainpower is the scarcest commodity and the only one of real value.
-that also sounds like Lazarus

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

Courage is the complement of fear. A man who is fearless cannot be courageous. (He is also a fool.)
-Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
-Jubal Harshaw, Stranger in a Strange Land

 

[AnnaRaven]

Yeah, savingdogs, he was vulgar in person. I and another bookseller/fan were standing near his booth, all but genuflecting at being in his presence. We began a brief conversation with him, during which he managed to drop several f-bombs and a few other choice words just casually and without thought. He was wearing a pair of white double knit shorts that had several stains on them. His shirt was not fresh and he had a 3-day growth of beard and dirty hair. Ick. I had previously had a mental image of him as this brilliant, suave freethinker. So much for mental images.

Was that during the time he [later found out] had the brain tumor? It's my understanding that many folks believe that affected his thinking and emotional/psychological state and writing a fair bit.

Googles:
At the end of 1977, exhausted by the ongoing effort of the blood drives, Robert and Ginny took a vacation to the South Pacific. Early in 1978, they were walking on a beach at Moorea, Tahiti, when he had a Transient Ischemic Attack, a brief blockage of blood to his brain that can be a precursor to a cerebral stroke. A CAT scan ruled out a brain tumor, but the flow of blood to his brain continued to decrease. Only two months into a six month regime of medication he was "dull-normal, slipping toward 'human vegetable,'" sleeping 16 hours a day and barely functional the rest of the time. A heart catheterization for angiogram revealed that his left internal carotid artery was completely blocked, too high for surgery. A carotid bypass operation restored oxygen flow to his brain. [from the heinleinsociety webpage]

Oh, and, of course, I'm not much of a fan at all...

 

[FarmerChick]

Yeah, savingdogs, he was vulgar in person. I and another bookseller/fan were standing near his booth, all but genuflecting at being in his presence. We began a brief conversation with him, during which he managed to drop several f-bombs and a few other choice words just casually and without thought. He was wearing a pair of white double knit shorts that had several stains on them. His shirt was not fresh and he had a 3-day growth of beard and dirty hair. Ick. I had previously had a mental image of him as this brilliant, suave freethinker. So much for mental images.

dropped several F-bombs
Sounds like Chef Ramsey!

 

[Buster]

I read all his stuff while still a kid. Haven't thought of him in years, though.

off topic:
hey buster! thanks for the new book recommendation!

OT:
You are most welcome, OFG.