BUZ March 11, 1921

February 17, 2005

BUZ -- 1
 Buz was a great fan and a
fine writer.
--David G. Hartwell

2 -- BUZ
BUZ is a fanzine dedicated to the memory of Francis Marion Busby, known as “Buz” to
his friends and “F.M. Busby” to the readers of his fiction. BUZ is edited by Victor
Gonzalez, and all errors, omissions and typos (or even “typoes”) are his; it would
have been impossible without support from Vonda McIntyre and Marilyn Holt. Above is
one of the illustrations that graced the many letter columns of CRY OF THE NAMELESS
and CRY, and that’s what this fanzine really is – a collection of letters from friends
and fans across the world to remember this kind and intelligent man. BUZ is also dedi-
cated to the woman who was dedicated to Buz – Elinor Busby. It is to her that many of
these letters are addressed. Both Buz and Elinor gave me a warm welcome into fandom
when I was a neo; Buz was one of the first professional writers I met, and set a stan-
dard few have equaled since.
The number of letters posted to the CaringBridge website and other venues was over-
whelming; do look at the We Also Heard From list on page 20.
The photos printed here are from far and wide; the illos, however, all come from
CRY 178, published in December 1968: Wally Weber (3); William Rotsler (5); Irene Wan-
ner (12); Paul Stanberry (15); and Tim Kirk (18).

Buz and Elinor in Alaska

BUZ -- 3
 Vonda N. McIntyre:
A COINCIDENCE OF COINCIDENCES led me to Buz and Eli-
nor Busby. Chance meetings with Elinor’s
niece and with Karen and Astrid Anderson both
resulted in – “Oh, you’re in Seattle? You’re
Robert Lichtman: interested in SF? You should call Buz and
Elinor.”
As someone who knew
They welcomed me, a shy science geek. I was
him (originally from a freshman in college. It was 1966. They in-
the pages of CRY, but troduced me to SF fandom, and like many of
soon after in person at us, I felt like I’d finally found my real com-
Westercons) since 1958 munity.
and was currently in Buz was a member of the 1971 Clarion West,
three apas with him and the first year of the first incarnation of the
had a regular correspon- Seattle workshop. He was older than the oth-
dence besides, I’m going er writers, but he had no trouble at all in
to miss him a lot. My
a group whose ages ranged from late teens to
heart goes out to Eli-
nor.
nearly fifty. It was a pleasure to watch him
resume his fiction writing – he’d published
several stories a decade or more before, but
life and work intervened.
His stories were space opera of the high-
est order – adventures, with compelling char-
acters and serious underlying themes. Like
most of us on the publishing midlist, he took
a serious hit in his career, in these days of
multinational corporations and instant suc-
cess or oblivion. But Buz’ work is having a
second incarnation in electronic form.
I know he already has many fans. At the
rehab center, I was patiently explaining to
Amy Thomson:
an orderly that Buz’ name is BUZ – that he
wouldn’t reply to Francis.
I knew Buz for a quarter
century. He was still “I’ve known Buz for 40 years,” I said, “and
one of the first science I’ve never officially known that his name is
fiction writers I ever Francis Marion.”
met. In many ways, Buz “One of my favorite writers is named Bus-
was part of the reason by,” said Scott the orderly. “I wonder if
I became an SF writer they’re related?”
myself. Back then, as a Scott was able to tell Buz how much Buz’
starry-eyed neofan, I work had meant to him, how much he enjoyed
believed that writers it, and though Buz was very sick, he heard
were godlike beings who
what Scott said.
floated approximately six
inches off the floor. I’m glad I got to tell Buz how much I ap-
Buz made me realize that preciated his and Elinor’s kindness to me all
writers drank beer and those years ago. And how much he meant to me.
committed fanac just
like real people. Know-
ing Buz made it possible
to envision myself as
a writer. I’m going to
miss him terribly.

4 -- BUZ
 Ted White:
I MET BUZ AND ELINOR, face to face,
at a mid-’50s Midwestcon. It
was an extraordinary convention
– G.M. Carr was also there, as
were the Toronto Derelicts (Rae-
burn, Kidder, Steward and Lyons)
– it was like a mini-Worldcon,
attracting people from all over
the country.
Buz looked then exactly as
he did for all the years I knew
him: very close-cropped hair,
and a short mustache and goa-
tee. I, still a teenager, thought he was Much
Older, virtually an Old Man in fact, but it
didn’t have any effect on our friendship. And Gregory Benford:
Elinor! I loved Elinor. (Still do.) Some of
my favorite convention memories of the ’50s As Marta said, grumpy
are of sitting in somebody’s room party, be- in the right ways – and
ing engaged in a conversation with the Bus- one of my oldest fan
friends. I met him &
bys.
Elinor at Westercon in
There were times when Buz and I found our-
1963...
selves on the opposite sides of some fannish He made a whole new
fences, but it never had any effect on our career as a writer and
friendship. always got my attention;
Farewell, my old friend.... the Rissa K novels were
great and deserve re-
printing. He was always
the sharpest mind in the
room.
Buz with Carol & Terry Carr, 1969

BUZ -- 5
 John D. Berry:
BUZ AND ELINOR ARE very old friends. The very
first time I visited Seattle as an adult (I’d
been here once when I was 12, for my broth-
er’s wedding), I stayed with them, in their
book- and fanzine-filled house on Queen Anne
Hill. I remember Buz’s homebrew, and his ex-
planation of the House Rules, which fea-
tured prompt, courteous, efficient self-ser-
vice: “I’ll get you the first one; after that,
you’re on your own.” They took me walking
Astrid & Greg Bear: with them around Green Lake, a stroll of 3+
miles that they did every Sunday. They took
Greg and I are so sorry me to a favorite beach, on the Sound – the
to hear of Buz’s pass-
first place on the West Coast where I had ever
ing. Someone should post
the details of the anec-
felt that the sea smelled right and sounded
dote of one of the staff right and looked right... then I raised my
members at the nursing eyes and saw the Olympics in the distance,
home being a reader of which was not what I expected at all. (I know
his – a lovely little now that that beach was Golden Gardens, and
gift of validation that I’ve been there many times.) Just last night,
I’m sure pleased him to avoid a traffic jam, I took a back route
greatly. When we visited across town that Buz had first driven me on
last week, he was Buz more than thirty years ago, on the way to a
– tired, but all there.
Nameless Ones gathering at Horizon Books.
The last time before that
we’d been together was I
And at least two of Buz’s short stories
think around the open- are, to me, small classics that I can’t for-
ing festivities of the get.
Science Fiction Museum I’ll miss him.
– Mother and I had lunch
with Buz and Elinor at
Chandler’s, a nice table Jonathan Vos Post:
by the windows overlook-
ing the lake. I think I SAW YOU AND Buz less often after Boeing relo-
Buz had crab cakes, and cated me in 1982 from the Kent Space Center
enjoyed himself greatly. to JPL. But you’ve always been in my heart,
A nice memory. He will
and that of my Physics professor wife Chris-
be missed.
tine Carmichael. Your husband encouraged me
as a writer. I might not have 1,200 publi-
cations presentations and broadcasts to my
credit had he not taught me so much about au-
thorial discipline. He taught me a lot about
the practical engineering of rockets, and
deserved some credit for the work I did for
NASA subsequently on the Space Shuttle, Space
Station, Moonbase designs, Marsbase designs,
and articles I’ve published in refereed jour-
nals about interstellar spacecraft. He taught
me things about the human heart, which have
made me a better husband and Father. He has
changed my world, and helped to make the en-
tire universe a better place.
6 -- BUZ
 Jessica Salmonson:
WHEN I PUBLISHED my first fanzine early in the 1970s, Buz was
very nearly the first person who got and touch with me ea-
ger to connect me to live-and-in-flesh fandom, rather than
just through-the-mails fandom I was barely getting to
know. An instant invitation to his and Elinor’s house was
a joy and a revelation, a house lined packed with books,
books, oh glorious books, intelligent folk devoted to the
same sorts of things that had long obsessed me, and who
were close chums to authors I’d read with tremendous plea-
sure.
Entering fandom through Hugo-winning fan-editors like
Elinor and Buz was about the best way to go about it. And
through Buz I was soon involved with the Expository Lump
where professional writers critiqued one anothers’ works
in progress and occasionally condescended to include a
novice writer the Lump members thought worth cultivat-
ing. So that meant Buz was one of the first people I ever
knew who took for granted that I would one day and soon
be a professional writer. That’s a wonderful assumption
to encounter when one is young and unproven. A few of my
first published stories had fewer stumbling-blocks between
composition and publication thanks to Buz’s critiques. I
doubt my critiques of his works-in-progress were as use-
ful, but I seriously tried.
For years I’d see Buz at least once a month and often
more than that, but at the very least monthly at the ages-
old Nameless Ones when it met at Capitol Hill’s Horizon
Books. I remember those faanish days with tenderness and
don’t expect to experience so close-to-hand such an ex-
tensive community of endearing caring sensitive bookish
people ever again, many of us in walking distance of each
others homes, many more short bus rides away. Buz has thus
remained a permanent resident of my memory of days marked
by deep emotions and enriching friendships.
It’s impossible to know what to say at a time like this,
to find something perfect that avoids the sloppily senti-
mental while conveying my great affection for Buz. Since
leaving Seattle almost six years ago, and since I stopped
attending conventions, I haven’t hung out with Buz, I’ve
been an utter homebody if not hermit. I sometimes feel
very far away from everyone and everything. Yet I somehow
thought I’d run into Buz again now and then, as an eternal
component of the best parts of fandom.
I’m of an age that loss of friends and family members is
becoming rather too commonplace. I will always have close
to my heart the warmth and support Buz extended to me
through the years, and his eagerness to treat me as a peer
even when I was not. His goodness had a lasting impact on
my life, and I hope occasionally I’ve managed to be as
good to people as he was to me.

BUZ -- 7
8 -- BUZ
 Marilyn J. Holt (married to Clifford R. Wind):
WHEN BUZ LEFT THIS LIFE, he knew he was loved by Elinor, friends,
and fans. I think he knew that he was loved and respected
throughout his life. The day he died, we talked about his
death and dying. I have no idea if he contemplated live af-
ter death. We talked about death after life, and he said it
was his time to go. He was not happy to go, his spirit had
more conventions to attend, books to write, and parties to go
to. His body did not. He had the wisdom to meet fate head-on,
like the characters in his books with no apology, no bargain-
ing, no fear.
I have no idea when or where I met Buz. It was about 1975.
Since then, I drank more whiskey with him than I drank with
anyone else, hoisted any number of beers, and even shared a
sophisticated martini while he regaled me with fannish sto-
ries – First Fandom, second fandom, and the kids. His origin
story of Scientology was wry and witty. Through Buz’s story
telling, I met A.E. Van Vogt, L. Ron Hubbard, Bob and Ginny
Heinlein, Alan Nourse, and many more. Hanging out with him at
conventions, I met many others. He told me not to ask for au-
tographs – “be cool.”
When I told Buz, as did others, how much he helped me when
I was young, he said that he did not remember doing anything
special. That is, as Cliff has said, what is special: Buz and
Elinor did many kind things because that was what was needed
and right at the time. To them there was nothing special in
doing that. Yet, there was and is something special and en-
during. I lived in Buz and Elinor’s next-door apartment for
about three months twenty-seven years ago, during a particu-
larly nasty patch. Drinking some of that whiskey at midnight
in their kitchen, he told me two things that have helped me
shape my life: “Oh, kid, this ain’t so bad.” And, “You do
what you got to do, and just tough it out.” A few years lat-
er, when I told him that Cliff and I were going together, he
told a long story of how and when he had first met Cliff (a
tall, gawky boy) at Nameless, then he said,”It’s good when
fans marry fans. Makes it much easier going to conventions.”
Since Buz died, I have realized how true to himself his
stories are. Instead of writing this, I spent time with “The
Breeds of Man.” His characters live and die with the same
grit that he did. The book reads like a blog: immediate and
emotionally naked. His writing touches a lot of people. On-
line, I found Buz’s books quoted by soldiers, boxers, gamers,
and prisoners. Oddly, it was reading in the French paper Le
Monde, “L’auteur de science-fiction américain Francis Marion
Busby est mort,” brought home to me how far flung his influence
extends.
As one of Buz’s characters, Rome dos Caras, wrote, “We
are, all of us, lucky that the future is normally opaque.”
However, I know the future will be poorer for his loss, but
richer for his memory. I really miss him.

BUZ -- 9
 My Plow has Tender Gripes
AND MY TENDER BLUE-EYED BICYCLE, you just wouldn’t believe!
Seeing me in an unfamiliar non-Selectric typeface here, the astute will deduce that
I am facing an unfamiliar typer-keyboard (Elinor’s Smith-Corona 250, which she bought
last month after she Got Rich) and will not cavil at a few extra typoes, I hope.
There was a squib in a fanzine some years ago that read something like this: “Mis-
spellings in fanzines are evil and abominable, andto be deplored. Typoes, on the
other hand, are accidental and lighthearted and fun-loving and cute. In this zine you
will find no misspellings, but only typoes.” At the moment, I’ll drink to that.
We try to stay apolitical around here as much as possible, but I have a question.
If, as many say (and perhaps correctly, for all I know), the U.S. ABM program is such
a goof and invitation-to-disaster, how come the Russian ABM setup with 2 years’ head-
start on us is not equally a No-No? I can never understand these One-Way Protests.
At hand is a clipping from the Wall Street Journal which presages (by implication)
the total collapse of the budget of the Republic of Mexico. The headline is “MOVE
OVER, TABBY: YOUTHS FIND CATNIP HAS PSYCHEDELIC JOLT”. Sub-headline: “Doctor Likens
It To Marijuana, But It Is Cheaper And Legal; A Catnip Producer Rejoices”. Then Wil-
liam M. Carley, Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal, goes on the say that cat-
nip is the timid citizen’s answer to pot-Prohibition and the Treasure Dep’t. My word;
what won’t they think of next? Of course, everybody knows what a radical scandal-
sheet that WALL STREET JOURNAL is! Probably just beating the drum for The Great Cat-
nip Monopoly...
I keep reading books and flushing the fallout into coumns of this type (columns?).
Well, for instance: everybody talks about BUG JACK Barron, by Norman Spinrad, but no-
body DOES anything about it. So I will. In the first place, the title is not a noun
with modifiers, but a complete imperative sentence. No other reviewer gives you these
little clues, but I do, being as we’re buddies and all. OK; aside from that, how did
you like the book, Mister Interlocutor? :: As a matter of fact I liked it more than
not. It’s true that the author said *fuck* more times in this book than his major
character could have managed to do it in the allotted time, and my personal opinion is
that doing is a lot more fun than saying. It’s also true that the Kerouacy stream-
of-consciousness style got in the way of the plot and the characters and the reader’s
understanding of either, more often than this reader would have preferred. But none
the less I dug this flawed but powerful story. (That’s “dug”, obscured by the underlin-
ing there.) Norman Spinrad’s people here are more real than not, and a couple of them
have the necessary larger-than-lifesize whammy. I admit I got tired waiting for the
other shoe to drop, for the author to kill the chick off; I can’t recall exactly what
clued me so early, but it was obvious for a long time that the lady wouldn’t make it
to Page Ultimate, and she didn’t. The why of her exit was reasonable in the terms of
the story; what BUGged me was seeing so far ahead of time that Spinrad just had to
insert this plug-in module of Tragedy to avoid (of all things) a Happy Ending, which
might otherwise have ensued. He was right to avoid the Happy Ending in this instance,
I think, but he telegraphed his punch altogether Too Damn Much.
In general, however, I think this book is a lot more Plus than Minus.
Curt Siodmak is back, and really, he hasn’t changed a bit! Back in the late ’40s he
wrote “Donovan’s Brain” and it was like Frankenstein Revisited. Now he has come up with
//////// Shelley”.
“Hauser’s Memory” and guess what? It’s still “And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson
My guess is that if Curt Siodmak had had anything to say about it, Man would never
have invented fire or the wheel or the arch or L. Ron Hubbard, because Curt Siodmak’s
predictable pitch is that all Scientific Advances turn to organic fertilizer. Mr.
Siodmak writes a good stick if you read only halfway-thru.
Once in a while we have to look at a little non-fiction, to keep our Image up so’s
you’ll take us seriously, more. This time we’re on the trail of Robert Ardrey and
Konrad Lorenz in search of our ancestry and how to live with it, with Desmond Mor-
ris’ “The Naked Ape.” Well, now. I don’t care whether or not you agree with this book
(parts I do, and parts I don’t), but-- well, if this book bores you, you probably
didn’t read this far down this page anyway, and I’m wasting page-space to no purpose.

10 -- BUZ
The book deals with the evolutionary origins of your-and-my in-
stincts and built-in conflicts, and while the writer seems (to
me) to settle occasionally for too-pat answers, he also brings
up enough new questions to ring a lot of worthwhile bells.
‘Srecommended.
Also there is Philip Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Elec-
tric Sheep?” At 160pp it’s a little skinny for Signet’s 75¢
price in PB, but inflation seems to be here to stay. :: Here
we have Dick’s familiar fan-sheaf of similar but not identical
future worlds all stemming from a World War Three that didn’t
quite kill us off but left us limping badly. (Oops, only one
such world to the book, usually, and this time.) One big thing
in this one is that most animal life other than human has been
wiped out. (Howcome? I don’t believe it either.) So possession of a live critter of
any kind is THE Status Symbol; people who can’t afford the very rare living creature
fake it with electrically-powered fakes. Meanwhile back at the ranch we have flesh-type
humanoid androids commercially-produced for scut-labor on Mars. These androids occa-
sionally escape and get back to earth, where they must be hunted down and destroyed,
because the only way they can escape is to kill their human masters. Obviously. (All
right; I’m not convinced, either. Snowed, maybe, but not convinced.) Our protag-
onist’s desperate job is to hunt down these criminal androids, who would otherwise
hide out and pretend to be human on Earth. This only gets really silly when eventu-
ally it comes out that the poor gahdamn androids only have about a 5-year life-span in
any case, because the manufacturers haven’t solved the cell-renewal problem. Somehow
I can’t quite see the vital necessity for hunting down even a killer who is by na-
ture doomed to wear out and go on the scrap-heap in a couple more years at most: if he
takes further action he’ll spotlight himself and get nailed, anyway, so why sweat it?
(The android-hunter thing is vastly over-emphasized here, is what I mean.) Perhaps if
Dick had convinced me that androids couldn’t escape without killing humans, instead of
just saying so, every time he happened to think of it, I might have bought more of the
package; but as is, no. :: Phil Dick is beginning to disturb me. His protagonists
lately seem to combine an extraordinary amount of dedicated motivation with a degree
of personal pessimism, desperation, and inability to derive any enjoyment out of the
GOOD spots. He has people carrying on with incredible dedication, who according to the
way he sets them up emotionally, should be either suicides or catatonic. This scares
me-- does he know something I don’t know? I mean, if there are really people like
that running around here these days in official capacities, I WANT A GOOD HEAD START,
friends.
I had a recent Piers Anthony (that I liked) around here but can’t find it now. Joe
Green said maybe it was “Chthon”. Not so. Any time the author has to write a long
explanation of how to read a book to make sense out of its involutions and convo-
lutions, as with “Chthon”, the book is not likely to find a place on my “To Reread”
shelf. But ol’ Piers (a determined non-reader of CRY) did get off a good one lately.
Since you asked.
From the Plow to the Bicycle: the evening of this page was the occasion for Elinor
and me to celebrate our 15th anniversary, so we did. Down at the Edgewater with lots
of fancy booze and fancy food and a view of the bay with assorted seafowl and all, we
lived it up for a couple of hours. There was an added fillip: this one fella with the
four-syllable surname, who is our Legal Beagle down at work, was paged about 6 times
while we were having dinner. The lady announcer never got his name right twice in a
row but we knew who she meant. We made several interesting speculations about howcome
a guy could be at the Edgewater and be paged and never answer (ignoring the probable
mundane answer that maybe he just didn’t show up, or left ahead of announced sched-
ule). Tomowwor I shall have to look in on this gentleman at his office and needle the
hell out of him, about that. (“Tomowwor” is of course a drunken lisp, not a misspell-
ing or even a typo.)
I see the blue-pencil STOP-line, and you’ll never know what a comfort that is.
--Buz.
From CRY No. 181, May 1st, 1969.
BUZ -- 11
 Steve Stiles:
IT WAS CRY OF THE
NAMELESS that was
John G. Cramer: largely responsible
for getting me into
Pauline and I are very fanzine fandom. Each
sad to hear about Buz. month I would eager-
He was one of my favor- ly await the next issue. Through it’s pages I
ite people in the SF got to know many people, and some – like rich
community. I will always
brown and Les Gerber – would become lifelong
be grateful to him for
sitting me down, after I
friends.
received the bewildering As corny as it undoubtedly sounds, I’ve
contract for “Twistor,” always rather regarded Buz and Elinor as my
and telling me in clear fannish ghodparents. I’ve also always wanted
and careful detail how to visit Seattle, and one of the reasons was
one should deal with a to see them.
book contract. He was I’ve only met the Busbys a handful of
always glad to help times, and each time it’s been a pleasant ex-
other writers with ad- perience.
vice and encouragement.
For four plus decades there has hardly been
We will miss him. I do
already.
a month when I haven’t read something by Buz.
It’s going to be strange without him.

J.E. Silverstein:
Kathie:
I FIRST BECAME ACQUAINTED with Buz when I was an
Buz, you were part of editorial assistant at Bantam Spectra nearly
the tapestry of my life 20 years ago.
and your passing leaves I desperately wanted to write as part of
a hole. We only saw each my job. After some badgering, I received my
other at conventions but first assignment: to write cover copy for one
had long and wonderful of the novels we were about to publish. The
talks. I remember spend- book: F.M. Busby’s “The Breeds of Man.” I en-
ing time talking about joyed the book hugely and went at the copy-
Rissa and who she was writing with gusto. My very first draft was
and why she did things
accepted and is what you’ll see on the book’s
with you. When I told
someone about it they cover.
looked shocked and said After we sent out the cover flats to Buz and
you were arguing with an his agent, Buz called to tell me how much he
author about his charac- liked what I’d written. It meant a great deal
ter? I though about it to me; more than any praise I received from
for a minute and real- staff in-house, getting positive feedback
ized that I had but it from the author himself meant I’d really done
was only because to you well by the book. It was an act of great gen-
and I she was a real erosity to an upstart baby editor.
person.
Buz’s left behind some wonderful stories,
great adventures for us all, and a legacy of
love for the community that will certainly
survive. I raise a glass. He’ll be missed.
12 -- BUZ
 rich brown: Margaret Oliver:

His books had a lot of

F.M. “BUZ” AND ELINOR BUSBY were very much my
influence on me as I grew
fannish mentors. I was a gooky silly neofan
up. I’ve always enjoyed
who didn’t know how to go on; they took me his richly developed
under their wing, advised me, talked to me, universes and charac-
explained to me, guided me, protected me from ters. I’m sad he’s gone.
my own folly while advising me to be myself
– Buz with gruff home truths, Elinor with her
angelic voice.
I listened because they (with Burnett R.
Toskey and Wally Weber) edited CRY OF THE
NAMELESS, the first fanzine I ever received,
which published my first articles, stories,
artwork and LoCs. All the promising neos of S. Leigh:
the period, including but not limited to
This is one author that
Bruce Pelz, Steve Stiles, Bill Meyers, Es my ex and I both en-
Adams and Les Gerber, were CRY letterhacks, joyed. His books are in
but frankly I needed more help than most. And the “keeper” box.
got it from Buz and Elinor (“Effemeny” a.k.a.
“the Busbixii”). For which I am eternally
grateful.
I am only consoled to hear that, at the
end, Buz was not in as much pain and discom-
fort as he had been earlier.
I am diminished by his passing. We all are.
Christopher Browne:

It’s always a sorry

thing to see an author
pass on. I only ran into
Busby’s work relatively
recently; I was pleased
to see as much of a
“body of work” as I did,
as he did get a goodly
amount published that I
could look back to.

Renata Russell:
May Buz be in Snug Har-
bor, lifting a stein
with Heinlein, Verne,
and all the great men
and women of science fic-
tion.

BUZ -- 13
Vicki Mitchell:

I’m so sorry to hear

about Buz. He has been a
good friend every since
I got started in fandom,
and I owe him a lot for
all the devastatingly
accurate critiques he
dished out in writers’
workshops. I learned
so much from him, and
I hope I’m passing at
least some of it on to
others.

Terry A. Garey:

I certainly remember Buz

from when I was a neo
back in the 1970s. I
had just met a real pro
author whose work I had
actually read, and read
my first fanzine and met
the fannish author, and
then someone pointed Buz
out at a con and an-
nounced he was both a
pro and a fan! I was Debbie Miller:
amazed.
I LEARNED OF BUZ’S ILLNESS only a few days ago when
I was chin-deep in work. Today, I thought I’d
stop by the site and tell you and Buz that I
was thinking of him and you when I found out
I was too late to say it to Buz himself! I
hope your many happy memories of him, as well
as the many friends and family you no doubt
have, will help you through this time. I’ve
seen that others have shared special memo-
Mike Parker: ries. Mine is of the last time I saw the two
of you at a convention a few years ago. (I’m
It is hard to imagine an sorry I can’t remember if it was InCon or
Orycon without him on a MosCon!) We were at a room party where the
panel, signing books, host had a couple of small snakes. Buz was
and especially in Hos- absolutely fascinated by them and insisted
pitality where he (and that you take photos of him with them. I’ll
Elinor) were always just never forget the little-boy excitement on his
so friendly and engag- face as he held those reptiles!
ing.
14 -- BUZ
 Harriet Lynch: Reggie C. Grothe:

Mr. Busby was the solid

IN READING THE MANY TRIBUTES to Buz, the impact is
rock foundation upon
most clear that Uncle Buz and Aunt Elinor
which I built my love of
have made to the SciFi world with wonderful Sci Fi. Rissa is my all
connections as mentors, friends, and inspira- time favorite character
tion. along with Zelda.
We remember the very words: I’ll serve you
the first one, then after that you’re on your
own. In the busyness of lives, it was too
long and too few times ago. Buz recalled his
Colfax roots to Mike recalling the WSU Cou-
gars’ bid to the Rose Bowl in (when?) 1930
(with Buz’s personal memory as clear as the
radio station that carried the game), and the
memories of the Palouse rolled through again
this fall when we were caught up in our own
H.S. championship hoorah. Buz could with his
sincere good wishes share in our walk. Now
with his walk over, I’m left with a renewed Alfred T. Johns:
purpose to read alot more good books starting
with Busby. We’ll see you soon, Elinor and “To Cage A Man” had a
Michele. My heart is with you. profound effect on my
view of individuality
and freedom. Tonight I
feel like I’ve lost a
Megan Lindholm: friend I never met and
should have known bet-
I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT SFWA when I received a let- ter.
ter, following publication of a couple of
short stories in magazines (I hope I’m re-
calling this right). I think it was from
Andrew Offutt. I was invited to join. I
didn’t have the money at that time, so it was
a couple years later that I joined. I joined
because F.M. Busby took time to help me, gra-
tis, with my very first contract. (I had no
agent.) And he recom-
mended I join SFWA. So Gail Weiss:
I did. (At the same
time, he told me that I admired F’s work for
writers could never pay so many years before we
back their mentors, and met in the pages of Apa-
nage. I have felt that I
instructed me to “pay
grew to know him through
forward.” I’m still knowing you and although
doing my best at that, we have never met in per-
Buz.) I’d have to say son, I feel like you are
that Buz’s act, as an members of my family and
individual member of I shall miss Anna and F.
SFWA prior to my join- I hope that F knew in
ing, was the most sig- these later years how
nificant benefit I ever many of us still loved
received. and reread his work. My
thoughts are with you.
BUZ -- 15
C. M. Stultz Mike Holsinger:
I’m so sorry to hear of
THE CREATIVE MIND emits a kind of glow that up-
Mr. Busby’s passing. He,
lifts the spirits and warms the souls of
and you, have been among
the “bright lights” of those around him or her. F.M. Busby was one
many Norwescons for me, of those fine authors who helped inculcate a
and he always had some- love of reading, creativity, and imagination
thing encouraging to say into a young Pittsburgh boy in the 1950s. In
about my own writing all truth, these writers had more to do with
during our brief conver- building a desire to learn, read, and ques-
sations. Thank you for tion than any of the “teachers” that I had.
sharing him with us. Although I enjoyed the products of his cre-
ative talents, I never had the pleasure of
meeting him. Perhaps we will yet meet, in
some other kind of place or time. Buz, you
wrote a good life. Thanks.

Nikki Quinn: She watched Tendal’s face twist, and thought, It almost worked
– no one could have done it better – but there’s no reasoning with a
I have loved F.M. Bus- madman. She did not see how the knife came to Tendal’s hand – it
by’s books since I was slashed toward her; frozen, she looked at death.
a kid (possibly a bit –Young Rissa
younger than I should
have been to read them!)
I have been absolutely
fascinated by the ideas bandit:
he generated ever since,
and have admired him I MET BUZ AS A NEO at some NW con – and realized
enormously. I am sad to he was a character (somewhat obvious, I know
see that he is gone, and :^), but that he was somebody famous – nah
I’m glad we have his
– he never acted like a typical writer (at
books.
least my perceptions of the breed). He was
always ready to chat on any topic you could
think of, and would listen when you knew more
than him. He was also willing to drink you
under the table... there was this merky dead
dog....
Elinor – always a rock and his keeper. Buz
was the type that needed a keeper. You did
well.
Elinor, we have you in our thoughts and
Herb Kauderer: prayers. You will do fine – mourn, cry, curse
at the old bastard. I suspect y’all had some
I wish I had gotten a
chance to know Buz be-
righteous fights – any two strong-willed folks
yond his works. I’ll will in any marriage, but I know you will re-
have to settle for that. member the best times.
“The Demu Trilogy” is When I first learned Buz was a writer, I
the most stolen book by made it a point to read one of his books be-
far from my large per- fore the next con – where we had a wonderful
sonal library. Eight chat about it. It is one of the memories I
copies have disappeared. will always keep of him.
That is a tribute.
16 -- BUZ
 Bobbie M. Smith: Jan Stinson:

I MET MR. BUSBY through his books first, and His Rissa Kerguelen
in person several years ago at a Worldcon. I novels were some of the
earliest SF books I read
told him I loved the Rissa books, and asked
and enjoyed as a young
him how to pronounce some of the characters’
person, and I deeply re-
names. He told me to “pronounce them the way gret I’ll never have the
you like them, darlin, cause you’ll enjoy the chance to tell him so in
story more that way.” A lovely man who will person.
be missed greatly.

Carol Klees-Starks:

May you find some small

comfort in knowing that
your husband’s wonderful
novels brought joy and
inspiration to some of
us when we were strug-
gling to survive in dark
places. The light of
that kind of memory nev-
er dies. (Thanks, Buz!)

Steve Forty:

Elinor, there were many

conventions where you
I and Buz went and had
a drink away from the
crowds, they have always
been amongst my favor-
ite con memories. I will
miss him, and hope to
Jari James (Jari Wood): see you at a convention
in the not to distant
YOU AND BUZ (and Bill and Bubbles and Wally, future.
et al) were my introduction to not only the
world of SF, but a place of intelligence
and a rite of passage from adolescence into
adulthood for me back in the 1960s. “The
Nameless Ones” helped introduce me to what Dian Crayne:
the world could really be like: a place where
dreamers could strive for their dreams if I will always treasure
only they took that first step. Both you and my years in SAPS with
Buz were important parts of that “first step” the two of you, and re-
for me. member them with fond-
ness.
BUZ -- 17
Edd Vick: David Keener:
Fare you well, Buz. You WHILE I DID NOT KNOW Mr. Busby personally, I knew
and Elinor have been him through his books, especially the Ris-
constants in my Seattle
sa Kerguelan series. I can remember being a
fannish experience for
teenager, and spotting his books in my Dad’s
nineteen years. It may
be a couple of years collection. Somehow, the books became “liber-
before I stop looking ated” and ended up in my own fledgling collec-
around at conventions tion... where I still own them and enjoy them
for you. today.

Joyce Scrivner:
I MET BOTH OF YOU at various conventions and at
Daniel Reitman: least one SAPS party that Anna Vargo took me
too (and she’s gone as well). I feel my cir-
I met Buz at RadCon
about eight years ago cle of friends shrinking, but I wanted to let
and ended up playing you know that I plan to reach for the next
Great Dalmuti with him hand I see as a way of passing forward the
at the dead dog. He was good will you (and Buz) have shown me in the
one of the nicest guys past.
I’ve ever met and will
be missed. My deepest
sympathies.
Joe Green:
YOU AND BUZ HAD one of the longest and best mar-
riages in SF. I’m so glad Patti and I got to
visit you for a few days, just before I re-
tired. Although the correspondence has been
Marc Laidlaw: steady, that was the last time I got to talk
with Buz in person. We had a strong friend-
I have fond memories of ship that lasted over 40 years – and that is
workshopping with you on a memory that will be precious to me always.
Orcas Island in 1982,
meeting Buz at Norwescon
shortly thereafter, and
reading the fine Rissa Stu Shiffman &
K. shortly after that. Andi Shechter:
Peace.
FOR BUZ HIMSELF as an
individual, a sci-
ence fiction fan and
writer, a very spe-
Leslie What: cial person, we will
greatly miss him.
I was so sorry to hear It’s a shame his
about Buz’s illness and books have fallen
now his death. You two out of print, but
were always so welcom- Buz was always a
ing to newer writers and double-bagged First
I hope you know how much Edition item in mint
your kindess was/is ap- condition.
preciated.
18 -- BUZ
 Susan Mohn:

We will all miss Buz –

he was a great light in
the world just for being
who he was – and that
honesty and wit will be
missed. As the sun rises
on this morning, I hope
his next great adventure
will bear as much fruit
– and my prayers go out
to you.

David Bratman:

Buz was a great man (and

a good writer), lots of
fun to be around, and
the two of you always
made a good couple to-
gether. Our thoughts are
Don Gaffney: with you.

BUZ WAS A CHARACTER and I had the privilege to

meet him on a few occasions most notably at
my mother’s jewelry store in Ballard. We
haven’t just lost a member of our fannish Geoffrey Kidd:
community but a neighbor and a friend. I will
be returning from my tour in Iraq in time for Busby was an author I
Norwescon and we will raise our glasses... never got the chance to
meet in person. I only
know him by his writings.
But if “by their fruit
shall ye know them” he
Eva Whitley (Chalker): was an uncommonly decent
human being, and several
I REMEMBER BEING IMPRESSED that Buz once mailed 65 of his books to this day
copies of a remaindered Demu novel as his have places of honor on
contribution in FAPA one month. I know I en- my shelves.
joyed it more than some of the fanzines in
that bundle! The boys and I send you our sym-
pathy.
Karen Anderson:

I thought Buz was too

Fran Skene: ornery to die. I knew
him first through fan-
YOU AND BUZ WERE welcome guests at a number of zines when I was a neo
Vancouver conventions in the seventies and in 1952; he and Elinor
eighties, and as I recall Buz was the GoH at were people I counted on
a RAIN. There I was, thinking I’d run into seeing when I visited
the two of you before long and then yesterday Seattle. I’m going to
I got the news about Buz from Donna McMahon. miss him a lot. And make
I’m so sorry. sure to see Elinor every
chance I can.
BUZ -- 19
 Robert Heinlein and Buz in 1961

We Also Heard From:

Chris & Steve York, Dragon Lady, Gary Farber,
Starshadow (Anne Fahnestalk), John Hopfner,
Bubbles, Heidi (Pfeifer) Walker, A.P. Lukash-
in, Brian McGuinness, Rise Sheridan-Peters,
Linda & David Bray, Patricia Bradley, Linda
L. Martelle, Steve Fahnestalk, Eric Hosmer,
Kelley Kelly, Bev Clark & Steve Gallacci,
Joyce Peterson, Mary Frances Zambreno, Elea-
nor V. Miller, Sheryl Birkhead, Jean Weber,
Kathy Routliffe, Byrd & Charley, Paula Sigman
Lowery, George C. Willick, David Binger, Jack
& Fran Beslanwitch, Cap’n Bob Napier, Trevin
Matlock, Debi Robinson-Smith, carlton mcken-
ney, Julie Zetterberg Sardo, Susan Shwartz,
Susan (Dragon Mom), Bobbie DuFault, Tamara
Vining, Don Anderson, Joan Marie Knappen-
berger, Kay Kenyon, Steve Perry, Cynthia Gon-
salves, D Gary Grady, Earl Kemp, D. Potter,
Bob Tucker, Jerry Kaufman, Jim Caughran, Wal-
ter K. Willis, Mike Deckinger, Linda Dener-
off, Berni Phillips Bratman, Joel Davis, Geri
Sullivan, and Lenny Bailes.

20 -- BUZ
Ahead she saw it, then came abreast and
turned. Still climbing at full power, she
pointed toward its center. First there was
calm – this cannot be all of it – then an in-
visible current shook the car and thrust it
downward at a rate that shocked her. Drop-
ping, the car lost forward speed; she saw
only one choice and took it – deliberately she
went into a dive.

–Rissa and Tregare

BUZ -- 21
22 -- BUZ