GOH: Roger Zelazny
Fan GOH: Jay Kay Klein
Toastmaster: andy offutt
Attendance: 3587
The second DisCon was Don's first sf convention. He stayed with family friends who lived in DC, and commuted to the con in an old Buick station wagon. Except for getting lost on the way back at two in the morning, the trips to and fro were uneventful. However, they left him determined to stay at the hotel for every subsequent Worldcon.
The con was immense, and as a neo Don spent the entire weekend suffering from gosh-wow syndrome. He attended almost all of the program items (in those days, even Worldcons were single-tracked), and between times he wandered the convention spaces or visited the dealer's room. He also paid attention to the freebies table -- at which he learned for the first time of the existence of local and regional cons.
Don particularly remembers the Friday night dialogue between Asimov and Ellison (they were on individual platforms at either end of the ballroom, separated by four thousand fans); Harlan's midnight showing of "A Boy and His Dog" (which had to be postponed because the film was in such bad condition); the Hugo Banquet (Don sat at the same table with a newcomer named Jerry Pournelle, and told him how much he liked The Mote in God's Eye); and the Dramatic Presentation (2001: A Space Opera).
The con newsletter (The Daily Discard) waxes enthusiastic about membership ("At last count, the largest worldcon ever had over 4500 members"), urges con attendees to keep cameras, jewelry and other personal belongings with them at all times, points out that Ray Walston received a plaque from andy offutt "in appreciation of his simple, but entertaining portrayal of a martian..." and carries the following bit of fannish news: "Joe Haldeman is working on a new fantasy involving a bathtub full of lime jello. I wouldn't call it exactly sword & sorcery. More like horn and lust. When last seen, he was doing research on the subject in a darkened room."
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