I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I have another convention coming up, a very long weekend. On Tuesday, I’m flying to Reno, Nevada, for the American Mensa Annual Gathering in Sparks, Nevada. Assuming my flights are on time, I’m leaving JFK at 7:40pm and landing at 10:53pm (flying JetBlue, if anyone else is getting in about the same time and wants to share a car). I’m scheduled to fly back to New York Monday, July 11th, leaving Reno at 11:45pm (again, on JetBlue), but since the AG ends Sunday, I’ll be on my own Sunday night and Monday, if anyone has any interesting suggestions.
If you’re at the AG, and looking to connect with me, here’s a hint of where I’ll be (unlike a science fiction convention, I won’t be in the dealers’ room, since there isn’t one). Since I’m attending as a member of the AMC, a lot of my time will be taken up with meetings and business, but here are some of the public times/places you’ll be able to meet me:
American Mensa Committee Meeting, Thursday, starting at 9am, running until we’re done (scheduled to end at 5pm, but who knows?), in Cascade 3. No time to chat during the meeting, but you can see the AMC transacting the business that keeps Mensa operating.
Annual Business Meeting, Friday, starting at 9am, in Sierra 5. Again, not a social event, but the time when the members hear from and can give commentary to the leaders of Mensa.
Region 1 Meet-and-Greet, Friday at 4:30pm, in Redwood 6. For everyone who lives in Region 1 (that is, all of New England, most of New York, and the northern part of New Jersey).
Gala Dinner, Friday at 7pm, in Nugget 2. (Gotta get a separate ticket for this one.)
“Punctilious Punctuation: Telling Tales With (and of) Those Jots and Tittles, Including Why They’re Called Jots and Tittles, and the Horrifying Story of Why the Period Goes Inside the Quotation Marks” by Ian Randal Strock (hey, that’s me! Come hear me talk!), Saturday at 9am in Sierra 2.
Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, Saturday starting at 9pm in Nugget 2. (Come dance with me!)
Drag Brunch, Sunday at 10am in Nugget 2. (This one, too, is separately ticketed.)
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Other sessions that look interesting, if I’m not otherwise occupied with meetings or business:
“Hidden Gems of the United States Constitution” by Joseph Zodl, Wednesday at 3pm in Sierra 1.
“Two Degrees from Kevin Bacon: A Life Spent With Celebrities in NYC” by Matt Grob, Wednesday at 4:30pm in Sierra 3.
“Firehouse SIG Meet-and-Greet,” Thursday at 4:30pm in Redwood 6.
“Doctor Grammar Guy” by Richard Lederer, Friday at 1:30pm in Nugget 2.
“Mind Your Manners” by Thomas Willeford, Friday at 4:30pm in Sierra 5.
“Illuminating Mensa’s Past” by Simone van Egeren, Saturday at 1:30pm in Redwood 3.
“Real Steampunk” by Thomas Willeford, Saturday at 3pm in Sierra 5.
“The Future of Mensa” by Billie Lee and Rachel Kibler, Saturday at 3pm in Redwood 3.
“Life Members SIG Meet-and-Greet,” Saturday at 6pm in Redwood 6.
And of course, otherwise unscheduled meals will be in Hospitality.
Hope to see all you Mensans there!
Oh, and then there’s a quick three-day turn-around, before I leave for Shore Leave in Maryland.
I’ve just learned of the death of Jessica Young, on November 23. I knew it was coming for a long time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to accept. Last February, she emailed to tell me she had inoperable pancreatic cancer (the same thing that killed my grandmother two decades ago), and that she’d just been through a year of chemotherapy and high intensity radiation treatment. So I spent the last year sending her chatty emails every month or so, just to let her know I was thinking of her, and because I really was thinking of her.
I first met her at the Mensa Annual Gathering in St. Louis in 1995, where she took me to the Gateway Arch. We ran into each other again a few years later, at the AG in Philadelphia in 2000, which cemented our friendship. After that, we saw each other intermittently, at Annual Gatherings. With the coming of smart phones, we communicated more often, sharing fireworks photos when we weren’t at Independence Day celebrations together. We saw each other only rarely, but every time, it was just picking up where we’d left off the last time, one long friendship.
Only once did we see each other outside of Mensa: In February 2016, her chorus sang at Carnegie Hall, and she was in New York for nearly a week. I got to see her most of the days she was in town, showing her around my home town, enjoying her concert, seeing a Broadway show, just hanging out, as good friends do.
Ian Randal Strock 