Underestimate Terry Pratchett?  I never have.
<p>Neil Gaiman writes <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/neil-gaiman-on-terry-pratchett-he-is-not-a-jolly-old-elf-at-all-9754917.html">On Terry Pratchett, he is not a jolly old elf at all.</a>.  It&#8217;s worth reading.</p>
<p>I know that what Neil Gaiman says here is true, because I&#8217;ve known Terry, a little.  Not as well as Neil does; we&#8217;re not that close, though he has been known to answer my email. But I did have one experience back in 2003 that would have forever dispelled any notion of Terry as a mere jolly elf, assuming I&#8217;d been foolish enough to entertain it.</p>
<p>I taught Terry Pratchett how to shoot a pistol.</p>
<p>(We were being co-guests of honor at Penguicon I at the time.  This was at the first Penguicon Geeks with Guns event, at a shooting range west of Detroit.  It was something Terry had wanted to do for a long time, but opportunities in Britain are quite limited.)</p>
<p>This is actually a very revealing thing to do with anyone.  You learn a great deal about how the person handles stress and adrenalin.  You learn a lot about their ability to concentrate.  If the student has fears about violence, or self-doubt, or masculinity/femininity issues, that stuff is going to tend to come out in the student&#8217;s reactions in ways that are not difficult to read.</p>
<p>Terry was rock-steady.  He was a good shot from the first three minutes. He listened, he followed directions intelligently, he always played safe, and he developed impressive competence at anything he was shown very quickly.  To this day he&#8217;s one of the three or four best shooting students I&#8217;ve ever had.</p>
<p>That is <em>not</em> the profile of anyone you can safely trivialize as a jolly old elf. I wasn&#8217;t inclined to do that anyway; I&#8217;d known him on and off since 1991, which was long enough that I believe I got a bit of look-in before he fully developed his Famous Author charm defense.</p>
<p>But it was teaching Terry pistol that brought home to me how natively tough-minded he really is.  After that, the realism and courage with which he faced his Alzheimer&#8217;s diagnosis came as no surprise to me whatsoever.</p>
