Pine Barrens of New Jersey
April 15, 2001
Here I am at Lebanon State Forest in the heart of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a side trip from the JerseyDevilCon April 6, 2001.
Photos
Christmas, 2000
December 26, 2000
My friends give me neat stuff. This Christmas the presents included the first two issues of Air Wonder Stories, completing my set of that deservedly-little-known pulp.
Baen Books Moved
November 11, 2000
Baen Books has now officially moved to North Carolina. Jo and I had dinner Christmas Eve with Jim at his house/office. The place is gorgeous, and it’s in an even nicer setting including five-acre pond.
Jim Baen at his e-mail computer
Jim in the office portion of the building holding the Gary Ruddell cover for THE TIDE OF VICTORY, the fifth book in the Belisarius series which Eric Flint is writing from my outlines.
Jim was invited to our family and friends Thanksgiving dinner (fifteen people, and a great time was had by all) but had to cancel at the last moment because his car wouldn't start.
He did, however, make it to dinner of pretty much the same group the next night at a family-style BBQ place in Durham, another tradition in our crowd. Everybody pigged out happily again. The shots here are from that event, not Thanksgiving; but maybe next year.
55th Birthday Pig Pickin’, 2000
September 26, 2000
Every year (since 1973) for my birthday we have a pig-picking–a whole barbecued pig. The past several years we’ve been borrowing a gas cooker from a neighbor instead of doing it with wood or wood and charcoal; this isn’t as traditional, but I don’t have a splitting headache the next day either. I won’t claim to like getting older; but I will say that the friends I’ve made over the years are the best part of my very good life.
I'm cutting up the pig with the help of two guests (there were about a hundred people this year).
One of the presents my friends gave me. This is the August, 1930, issue (whole number eight) of Astounding, the issue I needed to complete my set of the magazine.
Mark Twain Mansion
June 10, 2000
On June 5, 2000, Jo and I visited the Mark Twain Mansion in Hartford, CT. Twain and Kipling were similar in many ways, drawn from poverty by their genius, and they got along well when they met. I was struck by the different ways they lived, though.
Kipling’s house in Brattleboro was a writer’s work area with lovely views, very secluded. Twain built a mansion in the center of the literary district of Hartford (beside Harriet Beecher Stowe), and entertained lavishly to build his image with opinion makers.
They both succeeded brilliantly, and both were (and remain) world-class writers. But my taste is with Kipling’s methods.
John Squires
May 31, 2000
Misty Squires married Greg Peeler on May 27, 2000. Misty's father, John, is one of my oldest friends (and is one of the world's experts on MP Shiel and his writings). Here's a picture of John and me at the reception.