by
Steve Lazarowitz
December 2001
JUST ANOTHER CASUALTY
I was all set to go to UncommonCon this year to host the Dream Realm Awards. And to unleash on my unwitting public a new short story seminar I've painstakingly developed. I was psyched. I had my hotel reservations and plane tickets. I had my convention clothes all picked out. I had a list of the books I would look for in the dealer's room. I had plans to meet with umpteen friends, some of which I haven't seen since last year's UncommonCon, others I've only spoken to online or on the phone.
I was stoked. I love a good con. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait for it as this year, ten days before it was to open, UncommonCon was canceled.
That's right. Hundreds of people will lose money transferring their airline tickets over to something they can use. I'll be one of them. The Dream Realm Awards will be held late on Cybling.com. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's an e-book award, so why not have a virtual ceremony.
Of course, now I'll have to wait until January for my next convention and that's just too far away. I'll be in Boston for Arisia Con 2002. I can't wait. It's a bigger, more established con, so it will very likely not suffer the fate of UncommonCon.
Yet UncommonCon is not alone in its sorrow. It is yet another casualty of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The most obvious results of those attacks are the death toll and altering of the New York City skyline, but there are other things affected just as badly. Living in New York, I've had to deal with many of them.
The closing of Broadway shows, the increase in unemployment, the changing of subway schedules and routes, and the increased security everywhere from movie theaters to ball games to public buildings.
However, UncommonCon's cancellation illustrates just how far the shock waves reach. UncommonCon was to be held in the Dallas/Forth Worth area of Texas. It was promoted heavily and yet could not drum up enough interest to pay its way. Preregistration was down, the hotel block they set aside remained largely unrented and they didn't have the money to hand over to the hotel to cover the difference. Consequently, the event was canceled.
On one hand, it's only a Science Fiction Convention and not a very large one. On the other, it's a symptom of a growing economical problem. People don't want to travel. They don't trust the airlines. They don't want to leave their homes. You can't really blame them. It's been a tough year for the airlines.
Yet there is another issue here that bothers me. By staying home and changing their lives, people are letting the terrorists win, for surely, the U.S. economy was as much a target of the September 11th attack as any of the more visible targets.
For myself, I simply refuse to sit at home and wait for the next assault. I have attended baseball games, Broadway (and off Broadway shows) and will attend conventions, just as if September 11th never happened. I will not show fear. I will not stay at home. I will make a small donation to our economy by supporting the things I really like, because I want them to be there tomorrow.
In all likelihood, UncommonCon will never recover from this. People who lost money on preregistration and plane tickets will no doubt have a long memory. But in this one instance, it may not be the fault of those in charge.
UncommonCon is just another casualty in a long list of casualties, but there is a difference. UncommonCon is one casualty that might have been saved. It's something to think about this winter, while you sit at home and wonder why there aren't any good shows coming up or why the local movie theater closed. We've donated blood and we've donated money, but it's time now to reinvest in our culture.
If not for ourselves then for the generations of Americans yet to come.
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