I've heard this a while ago, and I can't recall the exact source, but I remember denoting it as authentic ...(would this statement stand up in court?)...Hmm.... Anyway, what I heard was that everybody that walked on the moon read Ray Bradbury when growing up and was influenced by his stories.
I had the priviledge of meeting James Irwin ( who was the fellow who drove the Rover on the moon ). He was working out by running around the track at a high-school in suburban LA, one early morning. I was later invited to a private home that day, where he was to speak. I wound up talking about Ray with him, and he was very excited about getting in touch with him. Which he later did.
Ray's influence is so far reaching, even "vaster " when you think about future generations not even born...that you really cannot take it all in.
And I don't like it when people refer to Ray's writings as sentimental, ( which some like to call it.) Film director and creator Frederico Fellini had a word for the kind of stories Ray writes about...he referred to it as "motionless time." You'll find Ray's characters and the emotions he evokes, in the realities of life in 840BC as well as 2270 AD.

I'm jealous of the former part of your posting (on meeting these people); and want to give a hearty "amen" to the latter part of your posting -- the part about the vast influence of Bradbury and his writing. It is immeasurable!

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 08-15-2002).]

All I can offer is something Bradbury said in an article, I think in LIFE magazine, about going to a launch site and all the technicians had read and been inspired by him, and so really rolled out the red carpet, but I know nothing about the astronauts having read him. If Neil Armstrong is indeed a Bradbury fan, I'll be surprised, but then still waters do run deep.

There is far more to this man than the written words and the infinite kindnesses extended to his fans and friends! This has become clear to me, in the past year or so, in reading passages offered here by people from all over the world and from all walks of life. What other author has influenced young and old alike as uniquely as has Mr. Bradbury!?

Consider this from an earlier post: http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000094.html

He may very well be channeled to (I believe he is) the spirits he writes about, forsees, recalls, and interprets for so many people in so many different ways. The likes of Edgar Cayce, for instance, only in a literary manner!! At least this is what I have noticed and experienced in my own encounters with Mr. Bradbury, written and personally.

With these thoughts in mind, I read Icarus Montgolfier Wright the other night. Mr. Bradbury seems to have been on the Sicilian cliff, in the French countryside, and on the Tarmacs that offered up the wobbly flight at Kitty Hawk and the first rumbling blasts of Canaveral.

The story may be told through the eyes of the first rocketman; however, it is the author's spirit which first flew the flight long before any ship, powered by fuels and fire, ever left earth !

"Live Forever" & "Journey to Far Metaphor" - two themes that would keep any philosphy course busy for a very long while. "Great Stuff!"

Hmmmm!

Do I hear the "ghosts" of Shirley McClaine here!?

Ray is not the "cousin" of Edgar Cayce, either. He is, simply put, gifted. But a person can be gifted and not understand the meaning of his gift, or its birthing. They see their gift as nothing other than being normal.

Proud people "naturally" inflate themselves with the knowledge of their gift, so that there is no room for them to understand someone else's deepest emotions. They are not ready...to catch the insights into situations that truly relate to the soul of others. And if the "Giver" of their gift even permits them this "moment" amidst their pride, it is simply mercy upon the soul, and is also easily removed.

Ray is a man with simple definitions:

"...God has thumb-printed Thee. Be not another!"

Remember that poem? I heard him tell it years ago, but can't recall where it is in print. If anyone knows where it is, please post it.

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-05-2002).]

I am FAR from a McClainian!! Edgar Cayce was a very humble and gifted man. That's my whole point. Ego has never played a role in RB's success or in being accepted by his readers. He struggled and perservered when the "Nay Sayers" vastly outnumbered the early fans. I am merely saying his gifts are extra-ordinary but not trumpeted, a la the current mass-media publications or tv studio audienced "step beyond" episodes.

His appeciation of the poetry and essays of Girard Manley Hopkins reflects, I believe, his understanding of life, art, metaphor, and human nature. And for that matter, its purpose. Being "in tune" takes many forms. I am not speaking for Mr. Bradbury, that would be foolish. I am only saying, I see his ironies running deeper than figurative writing and catchy symbolism. That is the beauty that eminates from what he writes.

That last paragraph was beautiful. I must be feeling a bit sentimental tonight, or something. I completely agree with what you wrote. Bradbury is amazingly gifted.

He HAS touched an entire range of people and continues to fascinate, and hold spellbound, new generations. I love reading the entries from young people just discovering Bradbury for the first time. I can feel in what they write, the very things I remember feeling when I first became aware of his touch with language and the human heart. I also love hearing from the veterans out here, people who have met him and actually worked with him on various projects.

Coming to this site both engergizes me and humbles me. I appreciate all the thoughtful input you folks put out here. I learn a lot at this site.

FJP::
Gee! This speaking of Edgar Cayce and Bradbury...in similiar breath...just doesn't sit well...

Exactly what was Cayce's gift? In a nutshell. (Oh oh, what am I starting?)

Cayce considered Jesus as being Adam, the first Adam...thru whom everything became tainted with death. I remember Cayce as being "spooky" with his reincarnation talk.

Oh yes, Mr. Electrico did say Ray was someone he personally knew .. who died on the battlefield in France, in his arms. And now here Ray was again, a young lad. Now that's pretty impressive talk to a young lad like Ray (who has spoken of this in such a manner). But I see Ray as being so influenced by Mr. Electrico, that "...why, yes! I believe that"...he might say,,,but because he loves Mr. Electrico, not because he would believe in it otherwise.

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-05-2002).]

NK: Mr. Dark's last post concisely reads between my lines and their intent. I am only commenting on uniqueness, a one of kind in the past century, and how he has touched so many with more than words...

And you must admit, he is "in tune" with the genius of ages past and present.

So I just enjoy and appreciate all of his works and marvel at the parallels. No more, no less. Make of it what you will!!

FJP: "in tune"...

Gee, "someday" remind me to tell you about a job I held years back with the Graham Rockley Institute for Motivational Studies, in Prospect Hgts, Illinois. I was hired as a writer. After a short stint, I was fired because...." I had de-tuned."

So you can use the word light-heartedly, or seriously....and probably everything in-between.

But getting back to the Original Topic:

Ray's Legacy... How "positive" an effect was there on the reader. And what the reader winds up doing with that experience. You sense a beauty of life... and of the present... that is very difficult to explain...Very! And you never forget him once you get lost in his prose. It's the mystery of great art, and it is very great right here.

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-05-2002).]

Yes, the particular change in perception brought about by Bradbury is the reason I'm still around.

Ray...is turning out to be a
"Great Athlete"
...a Long Distant Runner. Running thru the ebbs and flows of his creative powers, Ray has ultimately not let anything snag his intended run.

I remember talking with Ed Hamilton years ago about Ray. Hamilton, a huge SF voice in the 40's, knew Ray from the time he began writing. And he feared (now this is around 1972-73)... that Ray's creative juices about had it. Ed was up there in years and had considerably slowed down. (He passed away a few yrs. later.) I think if he looked at Ray and his powers since all those years passed, even unto today...he would be a lot more than just amazed. His heart would be invigorated!! Ray has talked about how he would love to visit the great writers at the time of their depressions, or near suicides, or when they thought all was lost forever...from Oscar Wilde to Edgar A. Poe and many others...and say, "...look, look at the great things you have done." And show them their works that were reprinted and re-read by great armies of readers in the future....and tell them "Rejoice!"

Ray was able to demonstrate a lot of love for his friends then. But, for sure, would even now love to give his great friend a great hug, and say, hey, Ed, look at this... and this, and this, Green Shadows, and White Whale, and Quicker Than the Eye, and look, New Screenplays, and even Great New Editions of Poetry. Ray takes great joy in the success of others, most certainly...and bringing a happiness to his friends who truly loved him.

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 09-10-2002).]

Yes, that is the spirit of which I have commented. Also, RE: Past authors post from "Inspired By RB": This is evident in "The Parrot Who Loved Papa" ("Nevermore"-indeed!) and most recently (One More For the Road) "The F.Scott/Tolstoy/Ahab Accumulator." It seems he (RB) wishes to protect the legendary status of Hemingway, (...Wells, Poe, Laura and Hardy, Melville, the Keystone Cops, The Phantom of the Opera, Dickens, Stevenson, et al).

In a day and age where prominent universities allow English majors to cut their teeth on the most contemporary of authors and topics (which is fine in and of itself), too often the greats that got us here are exiled, shelved, or allowed to drift uncared for into the discard bin. Mr. Shakespeare included.

As long as students (generations) are coming along who read the likes of Mr. Bradbury, and have a knowledge of those he so deeply respects and their timeless works, exchanges like those occuring on this site will continue to have a significance. It is a part of the man's importance to us and a key element of his "live forever" philosophy.

NK: "A Long Distance Runner" - one who is in a class all his own!

Ray Bradbury is the "Buck Rogers" that had dropped oh so many dimes in a pay typewriter in the basement of the UCLA Library, to keep a flame lit under the collective concience of mankind. His works have had timeless impact, and an international effect. I feel he is an observer with a shrewd eye for the uncany human detail of the tender heart. This is in my opinion why he is able to remain fresh, and viable is living life 110%, and constant writing.
His obvious appetite for life is so abundant it is contagious, a pure celebration. When I met him at one time I had felt, and still do that he has a very young and vibrant spirit. All I can say is still... Live Forever, Ray

[This message has been edited by uncle (edited 10-08-2002).]

[This message has been edited by uncle (edited 10-08-2002).]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

Got a letter from Ray today. Sounds like he's doing fine.