Sounds like a very Heinleinesque approach.



I agree the photo caught him at a good age. Is there a way to know the year it was taken? I'm thinking it may have been before his major illness in 1970 that almost killed him (and caused the release of IWFNO without editing, which Heinlein probably thought was worse).

1966, I believe. That would be about the time Bonny Doon was finished. Bill may or may not have a specific date (or a closer date) for it.

I think I saw reference somewhere to there being Heinlein's at the Centenial. Is this right? Did they have stories they were willing to share? and how senior was the most senior member of the family present? What was the familial relationship? Are there any surviving RAH siblings still around?

I'm a big one for peripheral facts so please excuse the barrage of questions.

Oh, yes; Dorothy Heinlein, the wife of Robert's younger brother, whose name escapes me. She was 94 years old, and obviously as bright and alive as she ever was. She was there with a small group of other, younger Heinlein family members who lived in the KC area, I think.

She told some really fascinating inside stories. One I remember in particular took place in 1940, when her husband was attending the University of Chicago, and Robert and Leslyn visited them in their small apartment. The younger brother was struggling financially, and Robert had given him a gift of $500 to help with expenses. Robert James read a letter from Robert to his brother, and Mrs. Heinlein filled in a lot of details. One thing she said that struck me was that Robert and Leslyn spent the night on their sofa, and in the morning Dorothy awoke early and saw Robert in his pajamas sitting at a table staring out into the distance. She asked him what he was looking for and he told her something like "the war over the horizon."

She also had quite a lot to say about Robert's first wife, although she was young when they married and divorced. She was quite emphatic that the whole Heinlein family loved second wife Leslyn and were sad when she and Robert divorced. Perhaps someone else can remember more details.

Dorothy was Jay Clare Heinlein's wife. You summarized her participation quite well - I wish I had seen her (other than briefly introducing myself on Sunday) and I sure wish her sessions had been recorded. As it appears, our noble AV team missed her - there were only two of them and they were stretched thin.

I heard from the other family members that they had not seen her so bright and vibrant in quite some time, so the Centennial was an event worth her attention. Sadly, I have heard since that she went into a rapid decline afterwards. It would seem she saved her last bright spark to spend with us. I, for one, am honored beyond words.

Jim, look more carefully at Tracy's video -- he *interviewed* Dorothy for about 10 minutes at the Gala.

That may be in one of the tapes I did not keep an eye on as I did the capturing. I hope so.

OK, I've seen a couple of references here to a video or a DVD but I haven't seen anything about how to access/purchase this partial record of the Centennial. Is it still in the stage where only organizers have seen it or did I miss the email offering it for sale? If so, I sure would like to see that resent. There was so much more I wanted to see, so many panels I had to miss to see another -- are you folks planning to market all of what was captured or just highlights?

The event was extensively, but not exhaustively recorded. I have the tapes and have them all but completely captured, but have lacked time and energy to process them further.

At some point video from the event will be available. There will most likely be selections from a simple highlight reel to a short set of good stuff to a complete archival set.

All I can say is, "stay tuned."

That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks!