One is supposed to do con reports a little closer to the time the con itself ends, but for reasons I will get into, that couldn't really be done.

This is a record of my first visit to Mephit Furmeet, held in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which was tied to an extended visit to Chez Marmel, in Springdale, Arkansas. Overall, it was a success, with some interesting features.

Monday, August 30 I took the train to Newark, New Jersey, and stopped at a Marriott hotel. My flight out was to be an early one, and I didn't want to rely on rushing things about and timing things just right (which, as you will see, will be an issue later).

Didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night, but I was up bright and early on Tuesday, August 31, and got to the airport in good time. The TSA fellow fiddled a bit too much, for my taste, with the way I laid out the stuff in the trays, but other than that, and having to remove my "spectator" shoes (I was dressed in red seersucker, with straw hat), not much of an issue. The flight to Atlanta was not eventful, other than the usual popping and clogging of my ears, something I'm a bit of a martyr to. The flight from Atlanta to northwest Arkansas was a bit convoluted, as there was an equipment failure on the part of the local feeder airline, but I wasn't too late in getting into Arkansas. I was met there by  marmelmm, and by Eden Miller, a lady Mitch works with for the Northwest Arkansas Audio Theater. We immediately hit a prime used book store in the area ("Once Upon a Time Books") and then raided a few flea-market/antique store type places. Eden got a painting of a ship under full sail. Mitch and I went to AQ Chicken House, a famous area, and had some good fried chicken. Also fried mushrooms. I expected a small plate of those, and got a large basket. Mitch said he'd have a few. He had a bit more than that; it would come back to him, in the near future, that this was folly and madness. We met up again with Eden to go to the truly local ballpark, where the Arkansas Naturals beat the Corpus Christi Hooks in a fairly tight 3-1 game that was actually quite good. Eden was amused by my little plastic ice cream helmet. By and by, I was introduced to Mitch's cats, Norma and Sylvia. Sylvia (the Siamese) avoided me, but Norma proved to be very friendly.

Wednesday, September 1 was largely taken up with a train ride from Springdale to van Buren, Arkansas (the latter being the home town of 30s radio personality "Bazooka Bob" Burns, who has a small museum dedicated to him in the depot). Picked up some Arkansas & Missouri Railroad materials, including a t-shirt that will come into play later. I was in a kind of bar/observation car, and got a good look at the viaducts in the area. A looooooong drop down. Van Buren had some bookstores, a good Italian restaurant where we had lunch, and a few antique-y style places. I got a Frisco Schaeffer pencil, which was confiscated by Mitch. Did a bit of cleaning and vacuuming at Mitch's place when we got home; it was still a work in progress from some major Stuff Shifting.

Thursday, September 2 was a travel day from Springdale to Olive Branch, though we did stop off first at the local Tastykake outlet to get stocked up on things. Met up with  walt46 when we got in, and later,  rabbi-tom, to whom I gave some books I'd been saving up for him.

Friday, September 3 was mostly about the Three Writers Panel. It was held in a relatively small room -- I'd estimate the audience was about 10-15. Engaged audience, though, that asked a bunch of questions. Went fairly quickly. Tried to feed some stuff to the others, though  walt46 did think I bigfooted him a little bit. Much crude hilarity with a Cards Against Humanity game; Groat had a huge number of the sets, so there was a lot of variety. Needless to say, Walt did well. One chum of Mitch's,  tavimunk, stopped by the room. He appears to have been a pretty remarkable mix of Disney artist and train-driver, and Mitch has been scheming to get him to drive trains for the A&M. Mitch needed to bribe him with A&M swag, and he had overlooked this when we left Arkansas. Ho for minks bringing A&M t-shirt; this was passed over, and gleefully worn. Tavimunk was a very charming, very sharp fellow, and meeting with him was a highlight of the con; he may well be useful, later. Also dealt with news regarding a flood in the basement of my apartment building in New York; 7 inches fell, including 3 in one hour. No damage to my property, though my brother's new place in Brooklyn got flooded, again, and he is not happy. Olive Branch is a lot quieter than Pittsburgh, and there doesn't seem to be a lot to do, compared to Pittsburgh/Anthrocon.

Saturday, September 4 involved, among other things, another round of Cards Against Humanity (where a lady and her partner cleaned up -- they knew each other's sense of humour!), but also dinner at Coletta's, an Italian joint in Memphis. This is apparently a long tradition, where folks dress up in tuxedo t-shirts, and adopt Mob names. (I am now Don Sueme; I got one laugh for suggesting Don Bardo for another newbie.) Pretty decent food. A highlight was a gag I'd thought of with a serious twist. 35 years ago, I myself had been a waiter, so I know from how difficult it can be. The lady that waited on us has been doing it for "Dinner with the Dons" for years. So I'd saved up 100 $1 bills, and put them in a standard wrapper. I passed it over to Groat, who passed it back, saying it was my idea, and I should do it (he approved, naturally). It got quite a reaction from the waitress, who bestowed a hug upon me. Added to the already good will, I think, she has for our group (which she has apparently christened "The Redneck Wedding.").

Sunday, September 5. Received a certificate for being "most dapper." (I'd worn my red seersucker suit, tie, boater, and spectator shoes on Friday for the panel.) Gave me a good laugh. Also showed the intimacy of the con; I think attendance was about 250 or so. Also got a small bunny-duck at the closing ceremonies. Dinner afterward at Osaka (the site of a famous outburst by Walt years earlier), which was quite good. Groat in fine raconteur form, talking about javelinas in Arizona and how dangerous they are. Superb chicken fried rice; I think Osaka messed up my order, but not seriously enough to get me to Karen it. One last match of Cards Against Humanity -- Walt is a master at it, I must say.

Monday, September 6 was a travel day, broken by meeting an old chum of Mitch's, Mike Curtis, one of the brains behind the Dick Tracy comic strip. Very interesting fellow, with a vast knowledge of his craft. Brief bit on a possible project, but most of it was on comics history. Kicking myself for not getting the "Mr. Crime" book to get signed. Mitch was seeing double by the time we got home. Lesson learned: plan things out to stop in mid-Arkansas, to avoid that and idiots with high-beams.

Tuesday, September 7 started out well with a breakfast meeting with Eden, and a longish discussion about "Rock of Ages," a radio series set in 1870 Colorado I'm creating for her. I was gobsmacked by some artwork she'd done of the characters, and later on, I saw her whack out some seriously good artwork in seeming minutes. She'd be a terror in Artists' Alley. (She also had done a painting partly inspired by the painting she got a few days prior.). Much of interest in the discussion. Well, the airline trip didn't turn out quite so well. Feeder airline had another mechanical failure, and one that would have caused me to miss my connecting flight in Atlanta. Had to rebook for the next day. Called Mitch with a "get the cat out of the tree" request. He came back. In Arab head-dress, asking if I'd called for a cab. A needed laugh. Dinner was at a local steakhouse, where one pound slabs of solid steak were served. I could only eat half of mine. Steak sandwiches for Mitch, later.

Wednesday, September 8 was "take two." Lunch with some of Mitch's railroad club chums (including a fellow named DiMaggio that doesn't like Joltin' Joe jokes, even if he's from New Jersey), and then to the airport. I'd jawboned Delta into giving me free upgrades, and this time, things went off without a hitch. Was briefly tempted by an offer of $300 in gift cards to give up my seat for a later flight, but I had a first-class seat, so I wasn't giving that up. Uneventful flight, and thence to hotel, though Marriot has some different hotels in the complex and it's tricky to get to the one I had for this night.

Thursday, September 9, Newark to home. First two Uber drivers flaked out. #2 called me, and asked me where I was going. (Dope. Didn't you look at your screen?!) Upon being told, I was told he didn't go to New York. Makes me wish I could flame defalcating Uber drivers. #3 was based out of New York, and took me to my door no problems.

So: there will, I hope, be a 2022 Mephit Furmeet visit, though I might (with Mitch's concurrence) spend slightly more time in Arkansas, and allow for a bit more travel time. Very intimate little con, good-natured, no drama. Not much in the dealer's den, and I didn't do anything with artists' alley (unlike Walt), and as I say, Olive Branch is quiet, but it does make for a fun little con. And Mitch was a good host, and it was good seeing Walt and Groat again.