Thank you (so much) for sharing this story with us. Yours was certainly one of those special moments in life that does not offer itself very often! You may have opened an interesting door for Ms. George, and I hope that you may hear back from her regarding the book you are sending out to her. Maybe there is some "mysterious" element present in the drinking water of Warren, Ohio...?
"Oh the pain, Oh the pain" as Dr. Zakary Smith of Lost in Space would say! One last comment on the 2012 Bouchercon. Had I been a better student of Rush's website, I would have read in the STUDY, Miscellaneous article #24, titled "Collecting Mystery Fiction" -- an article from 1982, The Armchair Detective, by Otto Penzler! Mr. Penzler was at the Bouchercon, and sat on a panel, "BUCKET LIST-Books to read before you kick the bucket". Highly recommend you read if interested in collecting/buying any Chan mysteries. Had I read it, first, I'd known he was there and would have attended his panel. Second, I would have bought the VERY FINE, with DUST JACKET, FIRST EDITIONS of The House without a Key (Book 1), and Keeper of the Keys (Book 6). In the article (1982) he lists a price of $250 for Book 1 and $100 for book 6. That was in 1982--30yrs ago. I could have had them for the same exact price today, plus 50 percent off with another purchase! More importantly, I missed the opportunity to chat with a distinguished Chan-fan, Mr. Otto Penzler, proprietor of the world famous MysteryBookShop in NY and with six bookshelves of Charlie Chan editions a true Chan fan. The aphorism(quote) to Rush's study reads, "Knowledge only gained through curiosity." I'll definitely remember that next time!
