 |
| Me in the middle and Radine on the left--at some conference, not sure where. |
And when I say older, I mean older.
Used to be, hubby and I went to every Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime and a few of the smaller cons that no longer exist like Love is Murder and Mayhem in the Midlands. We had a great time. We loved visiting the different cities all over the United States--but most of all what we loved the most was all the people we met and became friends with. When we saw them again, it was like connecting with family.
What reminded me of what I'm missing was reading Radine Nehring's post yesterday. Radine and her husband John were two of the people we met and enjoyed spending time with at several cons.
Hubby can no longer do that kind of traveling, and though I did go to a few by myself, I'm not comfortable doing that anymore either. Though I used to love to fly, I don't anymore for many reasons.
Oh, I'm certainly not completely homebound, but I only attend events I can get to by car--and when my daughter is willing to drive me there. Which means mostly I'm attending events in California. One big exception is the Public Safety Writers Association in Las Vegas--and she loves to go to that one with me, and hubby likes to go there too. Both help with selling books at the conference itself.
This year so far I've been to two fairly close book fairs and I'm signed up for a couple of others in the future. I'm participating in a one day writer's conference on the coast--and daughter will be in charge of the book sales.
I'm going to be the speaker this Saturday for the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime, so I am still getting out there. And yes, I have lots of writers friends at all these events.
What I really miss though, is walking into a big conference hotel and immediately seeing familiar faces--faces of friends (writers and readers) that I've met at other conferences. The feeling is much like a family reunion. What I still do have though, is lots of great memories of those wonderful times and the most friendly and interesting people.
Is there anything any of the rest of you can't or don't do anymore that you used to? Not necessarily because of getting old like me, perhaps it's the cost, or not having the time, or maybe something you've decided is not the best use of your time.
Marilyn
 |
| Me and Lorna Collins at Epic in San Antonio |
