Jack

Jack Williamson died today. I'm not going to pretend I knew Jack as well as others, and I don't have the hubris to claim we were close friends, but I ran into him several times over the years--including the Writers of the Future workshop in '98--and he always bent over backwards for me. He was a great guy, humble as all get-out. I had the honor of interviewing him back at the '97 Worldcon, and I'll never forget him pulling out a stack of trading cards with the covers of all the publications he'd appeared in. He wasn't traveling as much in recent years and our paths weren't likely to cross soon, so when Voices of Visions came out with his interview he graciously autographed a copy and mailed it to me. There's a reason his interview closes out the book, fer cryin' out loud. He was inspirational to me and many others. We exchanged occasional emails over the years, and he had a wonderfully dry wit about him. I almost fell out of my chair laughing the time he told me he knew L. Ron Hubbard "before he was a guru." He headed west in a covered wagon and saw men walk on the moon. He was brilliant and magnificent. Not very profound words, I know. All I can say is that we are all diminished by his passing. The world is a less joyful place now. Goodbye Jack, you will be missed.


Jack Williamson 1908-2006

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