Friend a Day – Perrin Klumpp

Photo by Peter Verrant

The first time I met Perrin was during the CONvergence room party at Minicon 33.  He was friends with one of the many people we’d recruited to help with our party that weekend and he just showed up and started to pitch in.  And he never stopped.  I’m not even certain he slept.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Perrin since then.  We’ve run a convention together, we’ve gone to movies together, we’ve even gone on vacation together.  We share a lot of the same interests.  In a world of geeks who aren’t interested in such things, he’s one of the few people I can talk to about sports.

Several years ago, I even got to mess up his public marriage proposal!

What made Perrin so noticeable that first weekend was the easy way he can talk to people.  He’s naturally friendly and genuinely interested in what other people have to say.  He knows how to make his conversation partner feel important.

Perrin was great at securing Guests in those early years of CONvergence because he of his ability to talk to people.  The convention had no reputation but Perrin knew how to make it sound like something a potential Guest of Honor would be interested in attending.

I enjoy vacationing with Perrin and Jenni because there is no pressure for all of us to do the same thing.  We will talk about what we want to do and if our plans match, that’s great.  If not, we all go our separate ways and tell each other about our day at dinner.  We all enjoy each other’s company but don’t feel bound to keep it.

Perrin is a friend who will always offer to help when you need assistance and never presume that the favor must be repaid.  He helps people out because it is a good thing to do.

Like so many other people I met through CONvergence, Perrin has become one of those people whose presence in my life will always make me smile.