Farewell to a master
Dec. 10th, 2023 10:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat_sochoMike Kupari posted on X tonight that David Drake had died, which I suppose shouldn't have come as a surprise, but nonetheless it did. Guess we'll have to look for another guest of honor. My connection with Dave started when I was in high school, reading the collection of Galaxy I'd been gifted by the school librarians, and discovering "Under The Hammer" and "But Loyal To His Own". I wrote him some letters, to which he politely replied, and I kept an eye out as he began to become a Big Name in Baen's stable of authors. A few years later, I joined the Army, and as most of you know, managed to wangle an assignment to the 340th ASA Company of the 11th ACR. This was not, strictly speaking, the same company Drake had been in during Vietnam, but it carried the lineage of that MI detachment, and when we finally met years later at Arcana, he was pleased that we had that connection. With the exception of his Cthulhu mythos stories (which were arguably more horror than fantasy) I was never that interested in his fantasy novels, but I read and/or bought just about every SF story he ever wrote. As others can testify, he was a fine writer, a great guest at conventions, and a wonderful human being. Not an officer, but definitely a gentleman. See you at Fiddler's Green, sir.
As for me, well, the run down to Las Vegas for the pulmonary appointment Thursday afternoon was sufficiently exhausting that after picking up probably too much food at McD's and some fluids at Sonic, I crashed within an hour of checking in to the Strat and didn't wake up again until 0500 Friday, at which point I shaved, dressed, and hit the road to the VA, since I had an 0700 lymphedema appointment followed by an 0800 wound care appointment. Having done those, I ducked into the eye clinic to see the optician, who helpfully tightened my glasses after changing the left screw and recommending that I use two hands to put on and take off my glasses. Also managed to get in early to see the sleep clinic people about my CPAP, so after stopping by pharmacy to see about my glargine (I was out and had no refills) I was on the road to Maverik for gas and BBQ pork rib bundles along with more fluids. One brief stop at the NSB off Aliante Parkway and a talk with Carlos later, I was on the road.
Got home at 1700, unloaded the Kia, and decided I'd had enough fun for the day. I put the Senators in the hands of Robot Ted Williams (and beat the Red Sox 2 out of 3) and went to bed, not rising until 0900 Saturday. It was cold as fuck (I think the high Saturday was 35) so I donned my busman's jacket again and went out for pizza and post office stuff. The VA sent me more Tubigrip and antifungal powder, and the rest of the mail was junk.
I am dithering whether to go to Raley's tomorrow or Tuesday. There's a lot of stuff I need that's on sale, and at this point I could use the 5% senior discount, assuming I remember to mention it. At least it won't be freezing out this week.
As for me, well, the run down to Las Vegas for the pulmonary appointment Thursday afternoon was sufficiently exhausting that after picking up probably too much food at McD's and some fluids at Sonic, I crashed within an hour of checking in to the Strat and didn't wake up again until 0500 Friday, at which point I shaved, dressed, and hit the road to the VA, since I had an 0700 lymphedema appointment followed by an 0800 wound care appointment. Having done those, I ducked into the eye clinic to see the optician, who helpfully tightened my glasses after changing the left screw and recommending that I use two hands to put on and take off my glasses. Also managed to get in early to see the sleep clinic people about my CPAP, so after stopping by pharmacy to see about my glargine (I was out and had no refills) I was on the road to Maverik for gas and BBQ pork rib bundles along with more fluids. One brief stop at the NSB off Aliante Parkway and a talk with Carlos later, I was on the road.
Got home at 1700, unloaded the Kia, and decided I'd had enough fun for the day. I put the Senators in the hands of Robot Ted Williams (and beat the Red Sox 2 out of 3) and went to bed, not rising until 0900 Saturday. It was cold as fuck (I think the high Saturday was 35) so I donned my busman's jacket again and went out for pizza and post office stuff. The VA sent me more Tubigrip and antifungal powder, and the rest of the mail was junk.
I am dithering whether to go to Raley's tomorrow or Tuesday. There's a lot of stuff I need that's on sale, and at this point I could use the 5% senior discount, assuming I remember to mention it. At least it won't be freezing out this week.
