Tuesday, July 7 2009

Happy Birthday Admiral Bob

"What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what 'the stars foretell,' avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable 'verdict of history' - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"

Born on this day in 1907, Robert A Heinlein had an enormous influence on my life and helped shape the person I am today. At the tender age of four-and-half I figured out how to read (I suspected that people reading me stories were holding out on the good stuff, and I was right--there was a world beyond 'Harold and the Purple Crayon') and within a couple of years I had a big-boy library card that let me take out books from the adult section as well as the kiddie stacks (God bless subversive librarians, sneakily letting kids read for themselves. Hug a librarian next time you see one.)

I had tried a bunch of books, and some were pretty disappointing. I understood most of the concepts, but the people didn't seem to behave in any reasonable fashion--what the heck did Catherine see in Heathcliff? He was a jerk! Then I picked up a copy of Have Spacesuit–Will Travel. The characters behaved reasonably, they worked hard to overcome conflicts, and most of all they seemed to think for themselves, all the time. I was completely taken with the idea of becoming an astronaut from that point on (I was later disabused of the notion because astronauts were all below 5'7" and had other things I didn't, like good grades and binocular vision) and I eagerly sought out other books with spacesuits on their covers.

To a one, they were disappointing, and after about the third one, I had one of those childhood flashes of insight that rocked my naive little brain: it wasn't the topic I liked, it was the author! I burned through all of the Heinlein juveniles in six months, and started on his adult fiction, aided by both the librarians in my town, and by a fabulously well-stocked used book store. To this day I still have at least thirty of his books in my library and re-read them all at least a couple of times a decade. He still remains one of my favourite authors.

Would you buy a used spacesuit from this man?

Heinlein presents a bunch of contradictions to modern readers, and for a long time it was fashionable in some intellectual circles to decry him for one reason or another. I missed most of that, being simply entranced by his stories, and by the relentless respect he seemed to have for hard work, duty, loyalty, leadership, free thinking and non-specialisation. As I've matured as a reader I've come to see that he wasn't the flawless hero I thought him to be when I was a little lad. But in it's own way, that was another lesson he taught me, judging for myself and learning from experience, and not believing everything I read.

The single most important thing I got from reading Heinlein's work was the desire to write. He made it look so easy, so fluid, and his stories were always so concise and clear and logical. Alas, he never lent me any skill or talent, but he sure enough sparked the desire, and now it's mostly how I earn my living, as an ink-stained wretch and hack-for-hire. And for that alone, I raise a glass to him every year on the seventh day of the seventh month. Thanks for everything, Admiral Bob.

Posted by Tim AT 6:11PM

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