2009 - 04/2009 Meeting

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THOMAS WILLIAM HAMILTON

Thomas William Hamilton at Changing Times

MEETING SUMMARY:

Meeting Date: April 11, 2009.

Meeting Site: Saddle River Valley Cultural Center, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Official Attendance: 25.

Meeting Program: Talk by Author / Actor.

Notes:

Meeting Memories:

Newsletter Account

The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County's April meeting was held at the Saddle River Valley Cultural Center in Upper Saddle River on Saturday, April 11, 2009. The multi talented Thomas William Hamilton was the featured speaker.

The evening began at 6:15 PM with our Animation Associates showing episodes of the anime series, PLANETS, about future astronauts charged with keeping the space around our planet free of dangerous debris. Fifteen minutes later our Ice Nine discussion of new and interesting genre items began. The evening's discussion was largely concerned with recent and upcoming genre and 3-D films.

Thomas William Hamilton has been an actor, a rocket engineer, a teacher, a politician, a planetarium programmer, and an author at various times in his life.

Acting was his earliest profession. After a short run on an off Broadway play based on an old comic strip, our guest was cast in his most famous role, Tommy, the son of the prosecutor in MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. He was 8 years old at the time and for years afterwards had to explain that he had no idea what Natalie Wood was like as they were never on the set together. He also lamented that a scene with Tommy and his "dad" at the zoo is often cut from televised broadcasts of the movie.

The acting gig did not pan out and he was an undergraduate at Columbia University when Sputnik was launched. He worked at the University's radio station and recorded the first broadcast of the satellite when it passed over New York. The FBI confiscated the tape the following day.

After graduating from Columbia, Mr Hamilton took a job with Grumman and was part of the 45 person team assigned to the Apollo Program's Lunar Excursion Module. His job was to work out fuel requirements for the spacecraft.

Mr Hamilton recently retired after 32 years of teaching and designing shows for planetariums. His newest career is as a novelist. His first book is TIME FOR PATRIOTS, published by Strategic Book Publishing (ISBN-978-60693-224-7).

TIME FOR PATRIOTS is an alternate history novel resulting from a freak accident which transports the North Shore Military Academy and the neighboring community from April 30, 2009 to May 1, 1770. The NSMA is a fictitious academy closely modeled upon one which used to exist in Long Island.

The NSMA decides to intervene in the American Revolution and to create a more egalitarian society after the conflict. The time travelers use their knowledge of history, science and technology to radically alter the course of the War of Independence and its aftermath. For example, Bunker Hill turns into a disaster for the redcoats. Casualties include General Howe.

They face a multitude of challenges. The more they change history, the less useful their historical knowledge becomes. Similarly, the more they use their 20th century artifacts, the quicker they wear out. Fortunately, some aspects of knowledge endure independent of changes in the political situation. For example, deposits of coal, iron and gold remain in place whether the British, the revolutionaries, or the Native Americans claim a particular piece of real estate.

Every character, major and minor, from the 18th century mentioned in the book actually lived, though many had their lives altered by the events of the story.

While the majority of the story takes place at the time of the Revolution, the book continues until 2026. The Academy becomes a secret society, covertly guiding the destiny of America and rest of the world.

Mr Hamilton was a gracious and fun guest, whose comments covered many areas including telescopes, planetariums, the cold war. We thank him sharing his time with us and also thank everyone who helped make the meeting a success.