When I was in H.S., I was "right over the hill" from where he and the Mrs. lived.
I knew the name of the general area they lived in. One Wed. AM I grabbed my Heinlein books (Starship Troopers, Friday, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), skipped my AM classes, drove 'over the hill' and went looking for his name on a mailbox.
Found it, found the Mrs. doing yardwork, asked her if I could talk to him.
Mrs.: "Who are you, young man?"
Me: "A guy who thinks your Husband's books are some of the best I have ever read."
Mrs.: "Really? Well come with me."
Into his house I am taken, he's in his study, signs my books, asks why I am not in school (me: "I should be, but I needed a break, and I own all the freshmen who work the attendance office anyways so it's not like I will be missed", he laughed at that), and he proceeds to tell me about his days in the USN long ago.
I had no idea what a lucky punk I was until I related the story to Jerry Pournelle years later, and Mr. Pournelle 'enlightened' me.
A great guy, I can remember that day like it was yesterday still.
Mike/wulfie
p.s. John Carter of Mars series and Pellucidar series by Burroughs may be light reading for an adult...they are perfect reading for 10-15 year olds in my opinion. I found 'A Princess of Mars' in a classroom desk while bored in an english comp. class in Jr. H.S. and read it in 2 days, and never looked back. Great, great classic cliffhanger-action-etc. stories. The last 3-4 pages of a Princess of Mars is maybe the best cliffhanger ever written, no?