Idol worship? Don't mind if I do!

As some of you may know, I am a voracious reader. I read more than anyone I know or have ever known. When asked to describe myself using only one word the word I pick most often is bookworm. I love books quite a lot. If my ability to read were ever taken from me I would likely throw myself in front of a train or off a very tall building. I tell you this to give you some idea of how great my night was.

I got to meet my favorite living writer tonight. This is equivalent to a religious zealot getting to meet, at the very least, St. Peter/Moses/Mohammed/you get the point.

The writer in question is James Morrow. As I said he is my favorite living writer. This puts him at the top of a very long list. To say I love his books is understating it. When I hear a new one of coming out I ride a wave of bliss for several days. You can imagine what it's like when I actually lay hands on them. Of course I buy them immediately but I don't start reading them right away. Having a James Morrow book I haven't read for the first time yet is an event and has to be savored. This last time I lasted almost a week. It was a lovely kind of agony while it lasted.

Anyway, I was sniffing around online and found that he was doing some signings in support of the new book. The closest stop was over 100 miles away. I instantly put in for that day off work and planned to attend.

You know how sometimes you might wonder what famous types are like in person? You might get nervous about meeting them in case they're raging assholes and you lose all respect for them. No such problem this night. I was the first one there and when he arrived I was still sitting in the reading area by myself. He walked right up and shook my hand and introduced himself. I am pleased to report that I neither fainted nor soiled myself. Huzzah! Throughout the event he was witty, warm, highly intelligent and quick to smile, basically exactly the way I hoped he would be except for the part where we become lifelong friends and he puts me in his next book.

There was a reading and then a Q & A. I managed to ask a question that I think wasn't too annoying or stupid and have him give an answer that was far better than the question deserved. It was, in a word, awesome.

I don't know if it's worth mentioning or not but it occurs to me that my last post was about the very sad death of Arthur C. Clarke and this one is about James Morrow. I bought my first James Morrow book because of a great blurb on it from Arthur C. Clarke.

Several things jumped out at me and will stick with me but the one thing that has now made me respect the man himself at the same level that I respect his work, and something that would make any right thinking person switch from religion to scientific humanism, was this quote about people, children in particular:

"I believe in original virtue as opposed to original sin."

That alone was worth the trip.