Thanksgiving, Earth, North America, The United States

by Dylan Jeninga
(Illinois, Wisconsin)

Many happy returns this Thanksgiving Day to the OSS!

The residents of other worlds may not be familiar with the holiday, on account of turkeys being indigenous to Earth. Allow me to explain.

Stateside, we celebrate today to remember to be grateful to the Native Americans who help the early European settlers survive. (Those European settlers had a strange way of showing their gratitude over the next couple hundred years.)

Usually, apart from gratuitous feasting, it is customary to recite the things you're grateful for in list fashion. It happens I've got just such a list right here!

OSS Stuff I'm Thankful for Today:

1. The classic authors. Leigh Brackett, C.L. Moore, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells. Edmond Hamilton, Phillip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, etc.- they engendered the genre, and without their wonderful works, my life would have a big OSS sized hole in it. And this website wouldn't exist!

2. The modern authors who keep the OSS alive. Gibson, Stirling, Anderson- and the dozens of other writers who pen the occasional short story and keep the fire lit. Thanks!

3. Used Bookstores. Without them, I'd have never gotten to read the works of the more obscure authors of science fiction's golden age.

4. A new chapter in The Arc of Iapetus! I can't wait to read it!

5. That a website exists where I may discuss OSS fiction with others who are familiar. It has led me to a lot of good books and made for a grand old time.

Happy Thanksgiving from America, on the third planet!

{Zendexor comments: the webmaster gives reciprocal thanks to the contributors, Earthmen Dylan Jeninga, John Greer and Robert Gibson, without whose input the site would be much diminished. Long may they retain their inspiration!

By the way, changes are in the wind: I hope in the next few months to get my head round social media and thus win more support for the site, with (one hopes) many more contributors. But those named above will always have the special credit that belongs to pioneers.}

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to join the conversation.

Solar System Heritage