I allowed the alarm clock to sleep in. It hummed in the darkness still hours away from its scheduled cry. I removed the blankets and sat up. A chill touched me as a green LED light blinked 5:30. It really was too early to be up, but my car waited only half-packed. Today mattered. It wasn’t a moving day, but it still felt like a big move up. In a few hours I would serve as Guest of Honor at a science fiction comic con for the first time. With that in mind, who needed sleep?
I stumbled to the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast. My eyes shocked at the sharp refrigerator light. My body disagreed with my brain about whether I should be up and my head felt a little hollow. Coffee couldn’t fix that. Instead, I relied on blackberries, raspberries, and a handful of nuts. The fructose helped. The splash of water did too.
The prep for being Guest of honor begins months before this morning. It often starts with an email inquiry. In my case, it started with an IM. A colleague I chatted with at Mars Con said I’d make a good fit for something happening in Roanoke. It was a science fiction con, but also a fundraiser for Autism. They work heavily with the Blue Ridge Autism and Achievement Center. That got me. I told him he could pass along my info.
I expected just a table. I didn’t expect to be offered Guest of Honor, but you don’t say “no.”
When they called to offer, I thought about what I could contribute. I could talk about my work with WAMU, VOR, my fantasy novels, and, of course, my time working with the Jim Henson gang. They seemed thrilled. I was too.
First thing I did after the phone call was to contact some of my Muppety friends at Sesame Street.
