By Curt Phillips: I just had a long phone call with birthday boy Bob Madle and he sounds like he’s doing great!  He says about 200 cards and letters have arrived thus far (and of course we here know that more are on the way…) and he’s obviously very touched and grateful that so many have remembered him on his 100th birthday. 

He told me that many of the cards came from people whose names he didn’t know “but from what they’ve written they’re obviously fans and they know who I am.”  And then we discussed how it is that although fandom has grown in many different directions in the past 8 or 9 decades, all the roots go right back to one common time and place, and Bob Madle was there. And he’s still with us here, today.  I think that’s why – or part of why – so many fans have responded to Bob’s centennial.  He represents something on this fannish road we’re all traveling that we can all take a measure of pride in. 

His lifelong fannish adventure is our adventure too, and today – with all those birthday cards piling up in his mailbox, we’ve all brought our own particular fannish adventure right back to one of the starry-eyed young people who started it all. 

We made Bob’s day a happier one, folks.  Well done all, and thank you.

[Editor’s Note: If you still want to send a card, the contact information is here.]