This article
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue260/cassutt.html by Michael Cassutt has a nice anecdote with Lafferty:
Quote:
I was seated with friends at a convention perhaps 15 years back when an elfin man of 70-plus wearing a loud red shirt slowly worked his way past us in a hotel lobby. (He used a cane and was clearly having some difficulty walking.) "That's R.A. Lafferty," someone said. Lafferty sightings were rare at any time.
I wondered where he was going so often, so by and by, I got up and followed him.
He was going into the hotel bar, laboriously sitting down, having a beer, paying for it, drinking it, then, with some difficulty, removing himself from the stool and leaving the bar.
Only to return to repeat the process.
So I went up to Mr. Lafferty, introduced myself as a reader and a fan of his work, and had a marvelous chat. Finally, I had to say: "Mr. Lafferty, I couldn't help noticing that you've been going back and forth for some time, having a drink, then taking a walk. Is there some secret—?" "Oh, no," he said, with what I can only describe as a twinkle in his eye. "I just believe that gentleman don't linger in bars."