I heard yesterday that writer Jerry Pournelle had passed away. It so happens that I had seen him one week before at Dragon Con. I believe it was his first time to visit that convention, and it was my first time to see him in person. I got to know Pournelle's work through Larry Niven, who also attended the con last week. Niven had become my favorite science fiction author at some point during my high school and college years, and inevitably I'd read and enjoyed The Mote in God's Eye, his first collaboration with Pournelle. Not long after that, I read various other books of Pournelle's, including High Justice, A Step Farther Out, Black Holes, and King David's Spaceship, all great reading.
When the panel with Pournelle and Niven let out last weekend, the friend I was with suggested I go up and say hi. I think I was too star-struck, frankly, and passed on the opportunity. Of course, I regret that now, but I can't help thinking I ought to do something in Jerry's honor. He died, to borrow the words of Scripture, "old and full of years". If you know his history, those were full years indeed, and I have only admiration for the man and his accomplishments.
I've been thinking to myself that I'd get back to this blog and start writing again, for myself and anyone interested in reading, and I think now is a great time to get back into things. Jerry, having authored one of the very first blogs on the internet, would likely be pleased if I did so. So here I go.
God bless you Jerry for your wisdom and your fine example.
