I have enjoyed reading science fiction magazines most of my life, but a decade ago I let all my subscriptions lapse because I no longer had time to keep up with monthly magazines. But I’ve always missed getting an sf magazine in the mail periodically, so when the best surviving magazine Fantasy & Science Fiction recently cut back their publication from 12 times per year (at 160 pages each issue) to 6 times (256 pages), I took the opportunity to renew my subscription to it. I await much great reading.

I’ve been thinking lately about two kinds of people: those who are mediocre in their career or personal relationships and those who excel in one or the other. When people are mediocre and blend into the crowd, others tend to overlook them and have few strong feelings towards them. But when mediocre people strive for the limelight, they incur a lot of ridicule behind their back. I know two people who certainly qualify in this latter category. One is a principal of a nearby high school and he is the subject of so much ridicule that, if he ever knew, he would be mortified for life. The other is just clueless and really believes he is admired by others, while in fact he is viewed precisely the opposite.

When people excel and blend into the crowd for whatever reason (personal preference, insecurity in their talents), they are often missing opportunities to succeed at a higher level and perhaps earn greater happiness. But usually they are content within themselves, enjoying the warm feelings of their peers without aspirations for anything else. People who excel and are in the limelight tend to be the leaders and movers around which other people orbit, which incurs high demands on those people’s time and talents. I’m not sure which situation I would prefer to be in, so long as I could excel rather than be mediocre.