Here is a little poem that is in the mail to Ray:

A Birthday Poem for Ray,
On His 83rd Birthday

Birthday greetings Ray, dear old friend of mine,
Another year has gone, just a tick in the cosmology of time,
The year�s rounding finds Earth and Mars as friends about to meet,
The Red Planet comes now closest, his old friend Ray to greet,
For it�s Ray�s Birthday and the planet is all puffed up and proud,
Mars is acknowledging Ray Bradbury as the First Martian out loud.

Our telescopes point skyward to make Mar�s face better known,
As He tips his ice cap and shows just how large He has grown,
In birthday salute to his official storyteller on Earth below,
Who pointed at Mars and told us all why we should go,
So that Earthlings could become Martians and begin the long journey into space,
Seeking God in the heavens and putting a smile on His face.

Someday we will go to Mars and visit Martians in their new towns,
By spaceship this time we�ll travel and then sit us down,
It will all seem familiar, deja vu from the past,
�Cause Ray�s metaphors got there first, set the scene and the cast,
We thank Ray, the First Martian, when as tour guide, storyteller and friend,
On those adventures into the future our hearts he did send.

So, let us honor Ray with remembrance for contributions to prose,
For his books are now there on the shelves next to Collier, Dickinson, Melville, and Poe�s,
He took us to Mars with words of elegance and grace,
And shared his eternal optimism for Man�s destiny in space.

For all that, we�ll build a metaphor in stone,
And Ray will have a Martian town of his own,
We�ll call it �Bradbury City�, first on the Red Planet Mars,
And Ray will then have his name in the stars.

Happy Birthday Ray

Written by Philip Trask
August 22, 2003

I love this!

I couldn't have access to a computer on the 22nd, so I only can say : Thank you Ray for your writings! You will live forever! Happy birthday!