Hi there. I am a new member of the RAy Bradbury Message Board. In truth, I just finished reading Fareheit 451 a couple minutes ago. I had wanted to send Mr. Bradbury a letter to show my appreciation, but I have heisitated for a few reasons.

1. Mr. Bradbury seems to be somewhat angry at some of his readers, and as a new fan, I wouldn't want to upsert him.

2. As I saw on your message board, Mr. Bradbury doesn't seem to be in the best of health, and therefore wouldn't read my letter, and therefore it would be a waste of time.

3. I'm really nervous!

I hope that you reply to this letter to help me out. You all seem like extreme,y interesting people and I would love to get to know you all, even if it is only by a computer!

Hey, if there are any new members, please feel free to reply to this page. I'm new as well, so maybe we can get to know each other.

Welcome, maverixboarder11. But, uh, you're kinda at the wrong place. This place where you are now, is what the Ray Bradbury board used to be. This is pretty much an abandoned site now, except for a few of us who return, misty-eyed, to haunt once in a while.

You need to go to the new message board. Go to raybradbury.com, and click on "message board."

Also--I'm curious why you would say that Ray "seems to be somewhat angry at some of his readers. . ." He's one of the most gracious people out there when it comes to fans.

Again--WELCOME!--don't be nervous. But you'll probably get more responses on the new board.

Well put Ravenswake!

Hello, maverixboarder11. Welcome aboard. The book hit me like a ton of bricks when I first read it in the 9th grade. It probably changed my life more than any other book I've ever read and Ray Bradbury has influenced me more than any person I've never met, with Jacques Cousteau running a close second.

[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 08-16-2006).]

Don't forget Fred Rogers and Felix the Cat and the Cat in the Hat and Maurice Sendak and....

I was more influenced by "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson than Jaques Cousteau. One of the most dramatic musical TV themes ever, too.

I really loved SEA HUNT also. FLIPPER, THE FUGITIVE, GENTLE BEN, THE RIFLEMAN and virtually any "Quinn Martin Production". It's funny how depending on where you lived growing up and what those regional TV stations chose to air influences your life, adding to our individual uniqueness. Today, with cable TV, we all basically see the same shows. Be interesting to see how that affects future generations. I don't have cable TV and sometimes I wonder if that hinders my kids socially.

Be of good cheer.
I don't have cable either, but, apparently, my kids have social advantages rather than hindrances having grown up without it.

[This message has been edited by Braling II (edited 08-17-2006).]

I'm thinking along the lines of my kids not being able to relate to what the other kids are talking about when the topic is SPONGE BOB or some really hip video on MTV or some other related item only viewed by those with cable TV. Imagine if SEA HUNT and THE FUGITIVE and GUMBY and SCOOBY DOO and THE FLINTSTONES were only on cable when we were young. Well, we wouldn't know what people meant when they made references to "the one-armed man" for one thing. And "Scooby snacks" would also go right over our heads. All in all I really don't regret not having cable, I just wonder what my kids go through in those kinds of situations. Seems to me that even without cable TV and all those influences my 14 year old son is suddenly only interested in movies about violent men. He spent the summer with Ex-spouse... who DOES have cable TV. Hmmmm... coincidence?

[This message has been edited by grasstains (edited 08-17-2006).]

I have read a great deal of different books. I love Gary Paulsen, he's pretty cool. His Dark Materials series is a total mind screwover, and it has awesome battles, too. The best of two worlds!

Some friends of mine from the bookstore where I work have been raving about that series. Last week, I was able to get all three. I can't wait to read them.