I've always "loved" this quote by Isaac Asimov

[mntleo2]

28. Funny Story Meeting Robert Heinlein and Wife

OK So the first Star Trek convention was in Seattle, November 8th 1975. My brother-in-law had bought tickets for my sister and I to go to the banquet. Sulu was there, and i am not sure whatever other characters were there. I was just dazzled to occupy the same space. The convention at that time was small and mainly Trekkies like me who, as a teenager, had loved them since the beginning of Star Trek.

ANYWAYS ... my sister and I were placed at the same table where the Heinleins sat, I was seated next to Mrs Heinlein. Everybody was chatting and enjoying the banquet. Then Mrs Heinlein turned to me and asked me if I had read his books. That is where the troubles began.

The truth was I had stopped reading Heinlein, although in many ways I knew he was an amazing author. But I had become an feminist and just thought he was too sexist for my sister and me. Do you know that throughout Heinlein's work,100s of his books and short stories, he made sure they all connected with one another in some way? I am sure he was invited because Star trek had re-created The Trouble with Tribbles, one of his very funny short stories about a cute pet tribble that someone had brought onto the ship. It began to multiply and multiply, until they were everywhere on the ship, etc.

So when she asked me if I read him, I opened my mouth to politely say I had, which was true. But my sister jumped in and said, "Oh we don't read him anymore. Mr Heinlein was sitting next to my sister, talking to someone else, but he stopped talking turning to me, intensely focusing his attention on me. He asked, "Why don't you read my books anymore?"

(sigh) Now I had to tell him the truth. So I told him the reason was that his female characters had no depths, they just had big boobs. I said, that having this rather useless crew member who did not do anything was a waste of space on a ship where every crew member should have important lifesaving work to do. I explained that the way I saw it, space ships were small, everybody on one of those ships had to have more of an important purpose than having big boobs.

Heinlein stared hard at me as i was wishing the seat I was in would just swallow me whole. Then he said, "Promise me you will read my next book, OK?" I told him I would.

A year or more went by and his next book was called, "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls." I obediently bought the book and began to read it as i promised. But the first chapter sent me into gales of laughter, I could not believe what I was reading. One of the main characters was a woman and yeah she still had those big boobs. But she was an engineer, dammit!

My 2 cents, Cat in Seattle