06-12-2006, 10:28 PM
Yes, my trip does sound better. However, the Barbarian Fest was rather a dissapointment, I must say. It included not a single barbarian, and only one mention of the 100 (my estimate) people visiting the town of 1,038 just to talk about the town's non-favorite son. The BF included the US Military, a couple of volunteer firemen, a bunch of classic cars, a bunch of classic tractors and some people riding longhorn steers.
The last was by far the highlight.
The balance was essentially a street fair like you'd find anywhere, complete with cheesy knick-knacks, local goods and fried food. And a stage where a few acts played. Oh, and the Texas Tornados, a group of ladies in red shirts and jeans who did country line dancing performances to about 10 songs.
With all that activity, I went to a lecture. Well, really a Q&A session with Roy Thomas, the writer of the early Conan comics. He was fun to listen to.
The whole event ended with a real Texas BBQ at Caddo Peak Ranch, which is a cattle ranch. On the ranch lands is West Caddo Peak, which REH mentioned as a favorite place to visit. Many of us climbed up. Took maybe 10 minutes of climbing to reach the top. From there, you could see quite a fur piece.
All in all, I had an enjoyable time in Texas. I met some nice folks and we all shared a passion about a particular writer, so there was always something to talk about.
The only odd thing, and this is what will keep me from going back, is that it was essentially a gathering of the 39 members (or as many as attended) of the REH united press association. They were in the in-crowd, and the structure of the event essentially revolved around the strongest personalities in that group, with everyone else looking in from the outside.
Since I am naturally disinclined to be a joiner in almost every situation except the BOD, I found this a bit off-putting. I understand the lack of preparation for how to deal with a larger-than-usual turnout, and some of the group did their personal best to meet everyone and talk around. But that wasn't an organized part of the plan. And, as in any group like that, you've always got a few who made little or no effort to acknowledge the non-members.
So, I think it's out of my system. I'm glad I went, if only to have been in the Howard house and seen the surroundings. It made clear several interesting points about Howard.
To have imagined the worlds, characters and stories he created while residing in the midst of a whole lot of not much would have required a person of no small intelligence and an extremely fertile imagination. He was, according to reports, in posession of a photographic memory, and it's clear that he was a voracious reader. Details of his suicide are also much discussed, with little concrete notion of the real why. What seems certain is that he was under tremendous stress in the weeks and months leading up to his taking his own life.
In the long run, if I ever move to Cross Plains, I'll open up a Barbarian shop across the street from the Howard house and sell paperbacks, pulps, videos, hardcovers and replica weapons. Coupled with internet sales, there'd be some boom sales at least once a year...
The last was by far the highlight.
The balance was essentially a street fair like you'd find anywhere, complete with cheesy knick-knacks, local goods and fried food. And a stage where a few acts played. Oh, and the Texas Tornados, a group of ladies in red shirts and jeans who did country line dancing performances to about 10 songs.
With all that activity, I went to a lecture. Well, really a Q&A session with Roy Thomas, the writer of the early Conan comics. He was fun to listen to.
The whole event ended with a real Texas BBQ at Caddo Peak Ranch, which is a cattle ranch. On the ranch lands is West Caddo Peak, which REH mentioned as a favorite place to visit. Many of us climbed up. Took maybe 10 minutes of climbing to reach the top. From there, you could see quite a fur piece.
All in all, I had an enjoyable time in Texas. I met some nice folks and we all shared a passion about a particular writer, so there was always something to talk about.
The only odd thing, and this is what will keep me from going back, is that it was essentially a gathering of the 39 members (or as many as attended) of the REH united press association. They were in the in-crowd, and the structure of the event essentially revolved around the strongest personalities in that group, with everyone else looking in from the outside.
Since I am naturally disinclined to be a joiner in almost every situation except the BOD, I found this a bit off-putting. I understand the lack of preparation for how to deal with a larger-than-usual turnout, and some of the group did their personal best to meet everyone and talk around. But that wasn't an organized part of the plan. And, as in any group like that, you've always got a few who made little or no effort to acknowledge the non-members.
So, I think it's out of my system. I'm glad I went, if only to have been in the Howard house and seen the surroundings. It made clear several interesting points about Howard.
To have imagined the worlds, characters and stories he created while residing in the midst of a whole lot of not much would have required a person of no small intelligence and an extremely fertile imagination. He was, according to reports, in posession of a photographic memory, and it's clear that he was a voracious reader. Details of his suicide are also much discussed, with little concrete notion of the real why. What seems certain is that he was under tremendous stress in the weeks and months leading up to his taking his own life.
In the long run, if I ever move to Cross Plains, I'll open up a Barbarian shop across the street from the Howard house and sell paperbacks, pulps, videos, hardcovers and replica weapons. Coupled with internet sales, there'd be some boom sales at least once a year...