putting teenagers to sleep

Work did get in yesterday's plans to take the coming Monday off, but things later made up for the disappointment. I bought the Nook edition of Nathaniel Philbrick's non-fiction book "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex", about a whaling captain who lost not one but two ships, and who was the inspiration for "Moby Dick" (the Melville novel, not the Hannah-Barbera cartoon). A trip to the physical Barnes & Noble had me find Harry Harrison's "A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!", a 1970s novel about a steampunk version of the 1970s. And... In the mail was "On The Banks of The River of Heaven", a story collection by Richard Parks, a wonderful writer if I may say so myself.

Later, I went to the local SF club's monthly meeting, after which we relocated to the nearby Appleby's, where we talked until 1am. Rather, some of us did. By the end, Shannon, a young fan sitting next to me, was sleeping soundly, with her head resting on the table.