28/ I said that, which the other regulars didn't like. And when Harlan actually denied groping Willis at all, after initially admitting it, well, I knew my time there was limited. I couldn't believe a man supposedly dedicated to telling the truth was peddling a line of horseshit.
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29/ The more extreme fans on the board backed him up on the denial, which was maddening. "We have always been at war with Eastasia." Harlan Ellison's flaws I could take, I suppose, but a Greek chorus of the worst caricatures of the sf fanboy/girl was too fucking much. I bailed.
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30/ A group of us were effectively banned from the board for speaking out. Sometime later, he called us and left nasty messages on our voicemails. He actually threatened the job of one friend of mine. For saying something he didn't like on the internet.
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31/ I got my call after midnight while I was walking my German Shepherds. I live in Florida, Harlan lived in California, so he was aware of the time difference and that I would probably be asleep, but called anyway. Gotta say it: kind of a dick move, Harlan.
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32/ Susan Ellison, his wife, actually left the message on my voicemail. "Jim Davis! It's Susan and Harlan Ellison! Give us a call back!" I never did. Though part of me felt a thrill at finally getting my own personal Midnight Harlan Ellison call, I didn't feel like playing.
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33/ I sometimes wonder if I should have picked up the phone and made that call.
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34/ I lurked on the board occasionally, but I never really posted there again. And that midnight phone call was the last attempt at any contact between Harlan Ellison and myself. I kept up with he did in the final decade, but it was cursory, almost impersonal.
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35/ His work, his career, his opinions--it all wasn't a matter of life and death for me anymore. It didn't feel NECESSARY. His productivity took a plummet from his glory days of the '60s through '80s. It happens. We all get old sometime.
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36/ He had a bad stroke several years ago, and I suspected it was worse than people let on. I know in his last public appearances, he was in a wheelchair, which must have been maddening to him. Apparently, he was effectively bedridden for the last three years of his life.
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37/ My friend whose job HE threatened? She broke the news of his death to me via text. She has a red dress she's saved for this occasion that she plans to wear at the first opportunity. I don't share her hate, at all, but I get it.
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This is very good. I think it speaks to a common experience.
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