It’s summer of 1987, and I’m in the sweltering heat of downtown San Diego, walking with my friend Brian to introduce him to another friend, Kevin, and it’s making me anxious. This is going to be one of those “world’s collide” kind of meetings.
Brian I grew up with, and though we attended different high schools we’re still best friends thanks to our long-running game of D&D.
Kevin I met through a bulletin board system (BBS), and though meeting someone “online” is perfectly normal by today’s standards, back then it was so nerdy that even nerds would sneer at its nerdiness.
Yet as Brian and I walked from Comic-Con over to the Burger King, I assured him once again that Kevin was cool. Kevin was one of us. Kevin was good people.
It didn’t help that when we finally spot him, Kevin’s barreling down the sidewalk, in 100 degree heat, wearing a leather trench coat that would make Harry Dresden proud. He loved to say “let your geek flag fly” and lived by that advice, even back then. Anyway, he looks, and I think wanted to project, a blend of Roland Deschain and Rick Deckard (which I’m only realizing now share the same initials). Half Gunslinger, half Blade Runner. They say dress for the job you want, and Kevin was nothing if not ahead of his time.
That was the first San Diego Comic-Con where I hung out with both Kevin and Brian (who now helps run the KWF), and my anxiety over those worlds colliding were unfounded, largely due to Kevin being Kevin. The introduction went off without a hitch. Worlds didn’t collide so much as merge. That was just how Kevin was. Drop him into any conversation in the world and I have no doubt that within minutes he’d have those gathered laughing and hanging on his every word.
We quickly found that we all shared a love for art and technology. These things anchored the friendship we developed that summer, and so it’s absolutely perfect that these are the cornerstones of what the Kevin Workman Foundation is trying to accomplish in my late friend’s name. I hope you’ll consider supporting their efforts.
Brian I grew up with, and though we attended different high schools we’re still best friends thanks to our long-running game of D&D.
Kevin I met through a bulletin board system (BBS), and though meeting someone “online” is perfectly normal by today’s standards, back then it was so nerdy that even nerds would sneer at its nerdiness.
Yet as Brian and I walked from Comic-Con over to the Burger King, I assured him once again that Kevin was cool. Kevin was one of us. Kevin was good people.
It didn’t help that when we finally spot him, Kevin’s barreling down the sidewalk, in 100 degree heat, wearing a leather trench coat that would make Harry Dresden proud. He loved to say “let your geek flag fly” and lived by that advice, even back then. Anyway, he looks, and I think wanted to project, a blend of Roland Deschain and Rick Deckard (which I’m only realizing now share the same initials). Half Gunslinger, half Blade Runner. They say dress for the job you want, and Kevin was nothing if not ahead of his time.
That was the first San Diego Comic-Con where I hung out with both Kevin and Brian (who now helps run the KWF), and my anxiety over those worlds colliding were unfounded, largely due to Kevin being Kevin. The introduction went off without a hitch. Worlds didn’t collide so much as merge. That was just how Kevin was. Drop him into any conversation in the world and I have no doubt that within minutes he’d have those gathered laughing and hanging on his every word.
We quickly found that we all shared a love for art and technology. These things anchored the friendship we developed that summer, and so it’s absolutely perfect that these are the cornerstones of what the Kevin Workman Foundation is trying to accomplish in my late friend’s name. I hope you’ll consider supporting their efforts.
Jason M. Hough
7/12/2017
7/12/2017
| Jason M. Hough is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dire Earth Cycle series and the near-future spy thriller Zero World. He most recently released the Sci-Fi Dire Earth Duology - Injection Burn and Escape Velocity featuring indomitable characters, incredible worlds, and plenty of rip-roaring action thrills. |  |
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