Gencon Memories, Part III

Geeze, time got away from me...

That's fine. Packing's done, and we're prepped for tomorrow. Through an unlikely series of events I secured a room for the Tuesday before Gencon this year, and I'm spending the day with my family in Indy, taking my daughter to the Children's museum, and treating them to a Brazilian steakhouse dinner.

Now where was I?

Indianapolis was a good fit for Gencon. The downtown core around the convention center was packed full of hotels, restaurants, and bars, and as I went back again and again over the years I watched the numbers grow.

I laughed to see things the second year around, because the local businesses realized "Hey waitaminute, these weirdos have money!" Soon restaurants started having theme menus, calling Reubens things like "The Dark Wizard," or showing scifi movies on the nearby TV screens. Various companies donated banners to hang over their favorite eateries... to this day, Privateer Press is pretty much an unofficial sponsor of the Ram brewery while Gencon's going on.

The cops love us. We come to game and don't cause trouble. Eventually the other events in Indy in August started scheduling around Gencon, either avoiding it because of the lack of space, or catering to it, with concerts, art shows, even plays. We boost the local economy by millions, whenever we go.

It's been good there... not all fun times, mind. The last few years' bouts of political stupidity caused a lot of ire. And Gencon, thankfully, stood up for its diverse attendees. That show of solidarity secured my loyalty. I may not know how long the con will remain in Indiana, but I will not hesitate to attend whenever I can.

And now here we are, at Gencon's fiftieth anniversary. Badges are sold out, and so are the city's hotels. I have no schedule, I have no plan, I just have a few ambitions and minor goals.

And yeah, I'm bringing my laptop. Got lots of writing to do. No idea if I'll have time to use it, but we'll see.

Be well, friends. I'll let you know how awesome it was when I return.