Thy Life's a Miracle
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Selected Fannish Writings of Randy Byers Colophon and Acknowledgments “Thy Life’s a Miracle: Selected Fannish Writings of Randy Byers” Front cover art by Ulrika O’Brien (color and turtle), Jae Leslie (calligraphy), and carl juarez (digital composition) Back cover typography: John D. Berry Introduction: Andy Hooper Edited by: Luke McGuff ([email protected]) Some print copies to be distributed to friends and family and auctioned to benefit TAFF Support TAFF: https://taff.org.uk/ Support glioblastoma research: https://www.uwmedicine.org/locations/alvord-brain-tumor-center Thank you to: Ulrika O’Brien, Jae Leslie, carl juarez, and John D. Berry for the front and back covers. Andy Hooper provided the introduction, many suggestions for material, and much support. Ulrika, carl, Andy, and John provided production advice and assistance. Claire Brialey provided a seed TOC that she had discussed with Randy, many items that had been published in Banana Wings, and some excellent copyediting. Jerry Kaufman dug through his archives and provided many physical zines. Geri Sullivan and Lonnie Byers provided pieces that had not been published elsewhere and which are the highlights of this effort. Denys Howard was Randy’s dear friend and long-time housemate. Ron Drummond provided much support and feedback. Julie McGuff was of inestimable help to me in this and all endeavors. I would also like to thank all the faneds who gave permission to republish material from their fanzines: Andy Hooper and carl juarez (Apparatchik and Chunga); Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer (Banana Wings); Jerry Kaufman and Suzanne Tompkins (Littlebrook); Alison Fairchild (Shebang); Randy Byers (Way, Wassamatta U., and Conversions); Rich Coad (Sense of Wonder Stories); Christina Lake and Doug Bell (Head!); Nic Farey (Beam). My apologies to all the many people who suggested work that I didn’t include. Sometimes it was mood of the moment as much as anything else. I’d also like to thank in advance the people who provide printing and distribution support. All errors and infelicities are my responsibility. It was a joy to read all this material, both the things I had read before and the things I met for the first time. And of course, the last acknowledgment, Randy Byers himself, who wrote so much and so beautifully. Thank you, Randy. Ciao for now. Luke McGuff ([email protected]) March, 2019 Thy Life’s a Miracle Selected Fannish Writings of Randy Byers Big Name Fringe Fan: Appreciating Randy Byers 5 Recuperation 10 Inventing Lee Hoffman, or How I Became a Trufan 13 Worldcon Snapshots 15 Founding Member: ffwa 18 The President’s Address 21 ffwap! 23 A Dream of Vlet, or How I Became an Amateur 25 Fandom is a Forge: the Guest of Honor Speech for Corflu 34 29 March On 31 Thank You Christopher 33 Ding Dong, the Bells are Gonna Chime! 38 Venice 44 Cliffhangers 46 Turtle Energy 51 An Uneventful Day 68 Fallen 72 Memories of the Gay ’80s 76 Norton and Re-Norton 78 The Early Days of a Better Genre 81 Punking the Diva 86 When Life Hands You Lemurs, Make Lemuria 89 The Ring and I 92 Under the Rainbow, or A Pot of Gold 96 From Troy to Toronto: Return of the Living Dead 104 Twin Peaks in the East 107 Potlatch Snapshots 111 Hugoing, Going, Gone 113 Twenty-Five Things About Corflu Silver 117 Less Innocent Abroad 122 The Floating Worldcon 125 Keep Me Lifted 134 Big Name Fringe Fan: Appreciating Randy Byers By Andy Hooper Randy Byers and I encouraged each other to the brain find a pace the suits both, and it write. There were a lot of other facets to our becomes something like music, something like friendship, but I think that was the most building a beer can tower to the moon. Magical enduring thing which we had in common. We thinking, I admit it. But when it works, it’s bliss. both wanted to write, and wanted the other to So when I declare that this introduction is not read and enjoy what we wrote. We succeeded in easy writing, that this is something which I have entertaining each other that way for nearly 30 struggled even to begin for months, I do not say years, so it is Randy’s writing that remains most it to glorify my craft or impress you with the significant to me now that he is gone. depth of my clever research and invention. This Writing can sometimes be deceptively easy. is hard because I am writing about a friend who Writing anything of value is rather difficult, but is gone, after a long, hard fight to live, a fight the simple act of putting facts or thoughts or that feels like it left the world exhausted. damnable lies on paper is frequently the easiest Since Randy Byers died on November 20th, way to deal with what we know, what we have 2017, his friends and family have gathered in a seen, and what we feel. It takes a certain amount succession of small events to celebrate his life: of repetition to develop fluency, just as it does Toasts were drunk in his honor at a New Year’s to walk, or speak or throw a ball. But if one Eve celebration. Members of his family pursues the practice on a daily basis, it can scattered his ashes near a beloved spot on the become almost alarmingly easy. The fingers and 6 Thy Life’s a Miracle Olympic peninsula in the company of two close Howard and Suzanne Tompkins. I already knew friends from fandom, Ron Drummond and Jerry Kaufman and Vonda McIntyre from Geri Sullivan. And later we gathered at previous appearances in Madison. Brouwer’s, his favorite Belgian-style pub, to Fortunately, I had several hours of the kind of hear Geri’s stories about the trip to the music they seemed to like dancing to – Talking peninsula, and learn more about his family, and Heads, the Cure, the B-52s, and slightly grittier even a little more about Randy’s last days. souls like Joan Jett and Elvis Costello. I felt We’ve been missing him, remembering and intensely flattered and happy at this, and made commiserating as much as we can – but it’s hard acquaintances that I knew would be friends for to stay very long without breaking down, or many years to come. Of course, I didn’t know dwelling on many other people lost in the past that Seattle fans danced – that they gathered few months and years. Science fiction fandom is regularly to listen to bands and pogo through an aging subculture, and we seem to spend a lot the night, just as often as my peers in Madison of time saying goodbye to each other these days. gathered to talk about the short fiction of James So, grief we’ve got. But as Randy’s friends, we Tiptree Junior or play Dungeons and Dragons. were also his readers, his collaborators, and Not only were Randy and his friends the coolest often his subjects. Within the circle of his peers people I’d ever met in fandom, they opened up and correspondents, Randy was an important the very possibility that fandom could contain and well-loved writer. His contributions people who were that cool. From that night, it spanned more than 30 years, and included work was probably inevitable that I would eventually that ranged from the driest humor to gosh-wow move to Seattle and find something that Randy admiration for things he appreciated and and I could do together. enjoyed. I trusted both his eye and his voice. Seattle was an adopted home for both of us. Fandom does not usually offer much monetary Perhaps he did not know all the streets of the compensation or mainstream fame for work city the way the legendary Elmer Perdue submitted to fanzines or composed for a blog supposedly knew every street in Los Angeles, like Randy’s “Dry Ice Factory.” But it does but he made a fair attempt at walking each one. grant a writer a remarkable degree of freedom He was keenly aware of the natural Seattle to compose and share what they like. Randy underlying the man-made city, and delighted in treasured that freedom, and made full use of it, sharing the places where the wilder side showed as this collection demonstrates. through. The lowest moment for me came last I met Randy in 1984, at a science fiction October when Randy decided it made sense to convention in Madison, Wisconsin, where I go back to Oregon to be with his family. began my experience in fandom. He was part of Thinking of him taking that last ride down a contingent of fans who came to Madison Interstate 5 to Portland, and knowing he would from Seattle and its environs to celebrate West never see Seattle again, is a sure way to make Coast writers Lizzie Lynn and Jessica Amanda myself crumple. Salmonson, Guests of Honor at the convention. Reflecting on other, happier experiences is my It was a big weekend. I had a new girlfriend only dependable antidote. Last year, while named Carrie, and made my debut as the DJ at pawing through a random pile of old fanzines I the convention dance on Friday night. To my found a copy of issue 13 of BELLEREPHON’s delight, not only did Lizzy and Jessica attend RAGE, written just after Easter, 1979 by and make their way to the floor, but so did this Randy’s longtime housemate Denys Howard. In slim apparition with a checkerboard of blonde it, Denys described his first meeting with Randy and brunette hair decorating the closely- just before the beginning of Norwescon 2: cropped sides of his head.