I am pleased and proud to be the winner of an award bearing his name. He was also an articulate and progressive voice on the issues of the day, and an unfailing champion of science… something sorely needed in these troubled times. CHILDHOOOD’S END, A RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, “The Nine Billion Names of God,” “The Star,” 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT… the list goes on and on, a body of work that has few equals. Clarke was one of the giants of science fiction, and his stories and books had a profound influence on generations of writers who came after him. Clarke, but of course I read his work… pretty much all of his work, to the best of my recollection. I never had the honor of meeting Sir Arthur C. This award is not that award, though both of them are sponsored by the Arthur C. That one is a juried award given in the UK for the best novel of the year. (It should be noted that there is another Arthur C. Scott Shannon of Random House, my publisher, came down from New York to introduce me and help present the award, to my delight. Clarke Foundation presented me with the 2019 Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination Award. There, on the evening of October 17, the Arthur C. I like the idea of being on an airport wall down from the Boss.Īfter Chicago, I moved on to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, there are plaques of us at Newark Airport. Yes, the former Xanadu, decades in the building. I am told the permanent home of the New Jersey Hall of Fame will be in American Dream, the new mega-mall that just opened in the Meadowlands across the parking lot from Giants Stadium. Having my family present for the induction ceremony made it even more special. Bart actually let me try on his Superbowl ring! And Harry showed me his Hall of Fame ring, which was big enough for four of my fingers. As a Mets fan, it was a great honor for me to be inducted by Ed Kranepool of the Amazin’ Mets of 1969, and Todd Frazier of the current squad… and to share the night with Jason Alexander, Harry Carson, Bart Oates, Martha Stewart, Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and many more incredible Jerseyites.īefore the ceremony, I was also thrilled to be able to meet a couple of my favorite Giants from the Superbowl champions of 1986, Harry Carson and Bart Oates. And of course the awards ceremony was great fun. The sand, the surf, the boardwalk… iconic old bars like the Stone Poney and the Wonderbar… lovely grand houses and old hotels, a downtown that felt like stepping back in time… all in all, a cool town to visit. I had never been to Asbury Park before this visit, but I have to say, I was charmed by the place. I think I got paid twelve dollars a week (in a pay envelope, with a ten and, yes, a two-dollar bill). The only amusement park I got to visit was Uncle Milty’s, right down First Street, where I could blow my allowance playing Skee-Ball… and would eventually land my first job, running the Tubs O’ Fun for the kiddies one summer. Water all around, but no beaches (though once or twice each summer we’d get to take an excursion boat from Brady’s Dock across the street from the projects to Rye Beach or Far Rockaway). We were projects kids, we did not even own a car, so we spent our summers in Bayonne, mostly. Splashing on the beaches, eating salt water taffy, strolling the boardwalks, riding roller coasters and other rides in the old amusement parks. If not at Asbury Park, then at Atlantic City, Seaside, Tom’s River, Keansburg, or one of the other shore towns. When I was growing up, a lot of my friends and schoolmates spent their summers down on the Jersey Shore. You can take the boy out of Jersey, I guess, but you can’t take Jersey out of the boy.Īsbury Park is one of the iconic Jersey shore towns. Also, New Jersey still has the best pizza in the world (New York and Connecticut are very close, though). I never really returned, except for visits… but I do visit often, since almost all of my family is still in Jersey, along with a few old friends, a lot of memories (mostly good, some less so), and a big piece of my heart. I was born and raised in Bayonne, as most of my readers probably know by now, but I left New Jersey in 1966 for Evanston, Illinois, to start my college education at Northwestern University. The last stop on my October travels was Asbury Park, New Jersey, where I was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
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