Winkie Convention Countdown: 13 Days to Go

We're getting to the point in our countdown where I'm remembering very little about specific years, and what happened at each particular convention. I suspect much of the next few days will be general remembrances that are not necessarily tied to a specific year. Hey, cut me some slack, I've been to thirty of these things now, they all sort of bleed together. Case in point is the 1997 Convention. Nope, don't remember much about it at all — except for one thing. The Winkie Award was first presented in 1992 (the last of the big conventions to have its own award), and I figured I'd get it one day, so imagine my surprise when Peter Hanff started describing the new winner for 1997 and I figured out, about halfway through, that it was me! Nope, no mistake, I'd won it. I'm glad Laura was there that year. As I said in my totally off-the-cuff acceptance speech, I didn't think I'd get it for years! Then I told the story about eating dinner with Fred Otto at my first convention (see my very first reminiscence in this series), then looked up (Fred had passed on by this time) and said, "Well, Fred, if I ever make it to Ozmopolitan, I guess I won't be such a nobody after all." Of course, now the Ozmopolitan Convention has ceased to be, and I'm becoming acutely aware that my role is now one of the old guard of Oz fans, helping to shepherd the next generation along. But I think I've got a few decades left in me yet...