MidAmeriCon Reminiscence (Sheridan)

I don’t recall the problems with hotels and food in Fred Pohl's MidAmeriCon Reminiscence, and I’m delighted to have been an exception to “Bob Heinlein was the GoH, though most attendees didn't see much of him. The con committee considered him both fragile and a national resource, and they kept him protected from the unruly mob of the rest of us.” (Patterson’s biography says something similar.)

Heinleins and Blood Donors

The Heinleins had widely publicized (including a full page ad on page ten of the program) that blood donors would get to meet them, in either a social reception or an autograph session. (I chose, not without effort, the reception over autographs.) Mr Heinlein began the reception by pointing out that this was not the autograph reception. Later he asked to recognize those under 18, who were not legally allowed to donate blood, but were invited to the reception if they provided evidence of being denied. I (an attention-grabbing adolescent) asked how those of us who were underage but had managed to donate anyway should be classified. Mr Heinlein graciously launched an anecdote about underage volunteers in World War I.