Dinner with James Patrick Kelly

I need to tell you about the Unitarian church in town, but we had Jim Kelly over for dinner last night.  Dining with a guy whose fiction you’ve not only read but admired (because he understands the importance of dialog and characterization and is good at both) was a trip.  

I wasn’t at all nervous until earlier in the day when Amanda chatted with CarolAnn, who said, “Your husband invited a guest whom you’ve never met?  I’d kill John if he did that.”  Minor twinge of nerves after that, but when Jim arrived he was gracious (gave us a book plus a couple of his CDs) and good at making conversation, so much so that I felt like I was talking mostly about myself then about him.  Here’s hoping I didn’t bore the life out of him.

Jim had plenty of stories about his time at the Clarion Workshop and writing for the Sci Fi Channel’s site, but I found something he said while recounting a teaching experience particularly telling.  He would, from time to time, visit with middle schoolers, and he said that his eyes would scan the crowd for the geeks because they were his “tribe.”  I immediately thought of the feeling of community that I’ve gotten the few times that I’ve attended roleplaying conventions, that these others may not look like me but they’re my people.  We SF geeks may come cut from varied and sometimes garish cloth but we’re all sown into the same quilt.

He stayed about three hours and I hope had a good time (I’m afraid that Misty gave him an allergy attack, though.  She was loving up to him and later I noticed that his right eye looked red and puffy).    Hopefully we’ll get to hang with him again.