Ray Bradbury was scheduled to be on the Barbara Simpson radio show today (April 1st) but for some reason she was not able to connect with him. She said there may have been a problem with the telephone line and also that Ray was hard of hearing because of his age. It would be unfortunate if he could not hear her as she did try many times to connect with him and kept saying "Mr. Bradbury are you there?" "Hello Ray Bradbury?" etc. Her show is on KSFO San Francisco 4-7pm local time every Sat and Sun. She did say that she will try to reschedule the interview so perhaps he will be on tommorow. Here is the link to listen to the live stream.
http://www.ksfo560.com/showdj.asp?DJID=2364

Also I forgot to add that Barbara told a very compelling story about watching a tv show based on a Bradbury story. She was a news anchor, I believe for PBS in San Fran, and was on the set preparing to go on the air for a newscast. The program before hers was broadcasting the Bradbury story which was about a world in which it rained continuously except for one day every year. On that day the children would run outside and play after being cooped in for most of the year. There was one child, however, who the rest of the children did not like and were very mean towards. On the day when it did not rain they tricked this boy and locked him in a room, or something to that effect as I can't remember every detail off the top of my head. Barbara was watching the show on the monitors at the anchor desk, at first only half watching but as the show progressed she said she became more and more involved in the story. At the end when they tricked the boy they didn't like she began to cry right there on the set and was surprised at how much it moved her. She also remembers reading the story as a child but was not sure of the title.
The show was obviously a repeat of a black and white series. Barbara could not remember exactly which show it was or what the story was called.
I checked the Bradbury media site at http://www.bradburymedia.co.uk/ and I think the show may be an episode from the CBS tv series "Suspense" called "Summer Night" which aired in 1952 from the story "The Whole Town's Sleeping." Perhaps someone out there has seen this episode or read the story and can verify this. Thanks.

Its called All Summer In A Day. Its a little girl they lock in the closet on the day it stops raining, I beleive on Venus. I think its in S is for Space or R is for Rocket.

Thanks for the info. I checked another Bradbury website and you are correct, the show was called "All Summer In A Day," based on the story. According to the website it was broadcast in 1982 on PBS. I thought I heard Barbara say it was an old black and white show but it appears it was an original showing when she saw it. Here is the link for the show info.
http://www.raybradburyonline.com/bibliography/bradalmo.htm

Kaluga,
It’s not uncommon to see the phrase “began to cry” associated with “All Summer In A Day”, one of Ray’s most memorable stories. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you get a chance to. – Best

I have not read the story but I have spent part of the evening looking over Bradbury's bibliography to see where I can check it out. I hope to read it soon although I don't have any of the collections which contain the story. It does sound fascinating, especially after hearing Barbara Simpson's description of it.

On the subject of crying over "All Summer in a Day," this https://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3791...631020011#7631020011 and forum members' reactions to it, bears repeating.

What the heck IS it with Ray and evil children, anyway? I mean, the kids are often WAY more frightening than any alien or monster in most of his stories. I know children are renowned for sometimes being amoral, even cruel, but Ray's kids can be the personifications of the Dark Ones...especially in ALL SUMMER IN A DAY.

The children in that story are not an exaggeration. My heart goes out to all those people who have been bullied and tormented over the years.

"All Summer in a Day" is the most-remembered and most-discussed single short story of Ray's, closely followed by "A Sound of Thunder." Those two have struck a chord with many readers over years.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dandelion,

Don't forget that Ray doesn't forget his own childhood. Probably lots of fodder there for the above-mentioned "evil kid" theme. Other stories that come to mind without even trying hard are: "The Playground", "Zero Hour", a chapter in Dandelion Wine in which the kids are tormenting a woman saying she was never a child, and; possibly the ultimate "evil kid" tale, "The Small Assassin". Yet he captures the wonder of childhood as well; again, probably because, unlike most of us, he can actually recall those sensations.
We could probably dedicate several pages and/or a topic to Bradbury and Children!

"The Man Upstairs" is troubling even though Koberman was really asking for it.

Weird- I just read that story last night!

Let us not forget "The Veldt!"

The "began to cry" comment calls to mind, on more than one occasion, young ladies in my senior lit. classes informing me that they did just that while reading assigned passages from The Martian Chronicles. I must admit, even after years of experience with RB works, being especially captured by John Huff leaving, the boys running with glee knowing Colonel Freeleigh was happy they viewed him as a Time Machine, Montag's float across the river, Bodoni's wonderful love for his children and that rocket that never really flew, the Beggar gone from the bridge in Ireland and the rain coming down, the friendships in Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, ...

Can you name another author who evokes such emotion in his or her writing? (At least over such a long period of time and across so many forms of writing. Some of RB's poems are gems and can do the same with close reading.)

For all the evils, there are far more of those you have to love. (On many notes I have received from Mr. B, can you guess his closing comment before signing?)

Frank, on many of mine it is "Onward and Upward."