Homeward Bound

The alarm went off around 9:00 AM, and Lyndon slapped it into submission. Very unwillingly, I rolled out of bed and started packing -- my reasoning being that if I did it before Lyndon was up, that would make one less body to get in my way.

As I finished and got dressed, Lyndon woke up, so I told him of my plan to go over to the convention center, take a few more photographs, then meet him back at the hotel at 11:30 AM to turn in our cards (since we were using the Express Checkout method) and check our bags into the coat room while we had lunch with Terry and the rest of the Con*Cept alumni. He waved sleepily, and I headed out into another overcast but extremely pleasant Toronto morning.

At the center I ran into Kristine Smith heading up the escalators -- she was on her way to do a signing in the dealer's room, then had seats for the Blue Jays-Yankees game that afternoon. Lucky wench. I bemoaned the financial inability to stay and American Airlines' decision to cancel the later flight, forcing us to leave the con at 1:00 PM -- I still have delirious memories of Chicon 2000 and staying until Tuesday. Next year, maybe.

We met Elizabeth and their mutual agent Joshua Bilmes as they left the art show, so the three of them chatted for a few moments before Elizabeth dashed off for her last panel. The dealer's room was still closed to everyone but dealers and signing authors, so I left Kris at the door and headed over to the food court to grab a sandwich and work on these entries. A fan noticed me banging away on my Palm portable keyboard, and we talked for a couple of minutes about the potential usefulness of a modular computer build into a belt or vest. By that time it was 11:00 PM, so I got into the dealer's room and took some nice pictures of Kris signing (she'd been wondering earlier if anyone was going to show up at all), and exchanged cards with Robert Parks, a t-shirt dealer and sole source of Jani Killian t-shirts, about the possibility of taking a leaf from Lois McMaster Bujold and doing a line of merchandise based on Kris's books, starting with a Gaetan's tote bag. "Oh, Lord, what are you starting here?" Kris moaned, but we told her to hush up and let us do the merchandising, heh heh.

Then it was back to the hotel to collect Lyndon, drop off our room keys and contact details for the receipt, check the bags in the cloak room, and meet Terry, Rene Walling and Rebecca Downey (aka the Con*Cept alumni) for lunch. On the way I ran into an emotional Sam Ling who was a bit teary about the end of the con, so we swept her along to go pick up the Con*Cept gang. On the way to the restaurant we ran into Thomas Seay, another WebRat, and grabbed him for a very pleasant lunch at Casey's where we discussed the future of Worldcon bids, how to placate irate program participants, and a hilarious candy-based contretemps (long story). Apparently Terry is convinced that Montreal could host a Worldcon, and now that the zoning rules are no longer in effect, I think he and Rene have plans to arrange another Canadian worldcon sometime in the next decade. I honestly don't know if Montreal could do it, but I would absolutely love it if it's at all possible -- it would be great to go back for a visit.

Unfortunately, it was getting on time to leave, so we got our bags and headed out to the airport, only to find that our plane also contained Lee and George Martindale, Linda Donohue, Tim and Mary Miller, and Larry Niven, as well as other people I recognized from the con. "You know, I think we have a quorum -- we could just continue the con on-board and hold a panel," I commented to Lee, who agreed enthusiastically.

And this is where I am now sitting, once again in the air and heading back to Plano, my cats, my stories, a certain Man from McKinney who is awaiting his buttons, and my own blessed bed. Thanks must be paid to the lovely and talented Jerry J. Davis <plug>buy his book TRAVELS</plug> for coming over every day and making sure that the cats hadn't killed each other and the apartment was still in one piece, and everyone who was nice enough to pose for me, chat with me, have a meal with me or just smile at me during the con.

It's been a good Labor Day weekend. And now, planning starts for Noreascon 4, the Texas Suite and the Southwestern Room Party!