Be like the bluebird

For the first time in my life, I feel like I have an icon who represents the kind of person I want to be. A hero.

A few days ago I went to see one of my favorite authors, Connie Willis, do a book reading at a local book store. For those of you that don’t know, Connie has won more Hugo and Nebula Awards than any other writer in her field. For those of you that still don’t know, the Hugo and Nebula Awards are given for outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy literature.

I got there about 45 minutes early, mostly hoping to get a good seat, but also because I like to be excessively early to things. My early arrival was totally unecessary – although she is an acclaimed writer, she hasn’t garnered any mob-type crowds (although I was prepared to go all elbows if that had been the case). All together there were probably 50 of us there to see her, and I was maybe one of the five who were under the age of thirty.

She was a brilliant speaker, the definition of eloquence. The anecdotes she told were humorous and honest and I soaked in every word of it. At times her stories were tinged with snobbish, offhand comments or tired, overdone comedic bits, but I can’t blame the woman: she was real.

The excerpt she read was from the book she’s currently writing about time travel to WWII. It was great to hear her read the words as they were intended to be read. Plus, the excerpt was awesome and only made me want to hear more; she is truly a great storyteller.

After the reading, I stood in a surprisingly short line to get a book signed. I wish I had said something cute and clever, but words escaped me in the moment and I said something lame about enjoying her reading. What a dope. It doesn’t matter though, because for those ten seconds, I got to pretend like we knew each other, and that was all I wanted, really.