One HB wish and 4,000 well-wishers for RB:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6605515.htm

This is a cool story. I wish I could have been there. I've never read the Burrough's Mars stories. I guess I'd better get off my butt and get reading!

I just want to wish Ray a tremendously Happy Birthday! I am one of those kids who was reading "The Martian Chronicles" under the covers with my flashlight back in 1975. It is only fitting that Ray's 83rd birthday is also on the same week that Mars is the closest to Earth for the next 60,000 years. Ray, thanks for all of the wonderful stories over the years. You are one of the top awesome people in my book!

[This message has been edited by Hathaway (edited 08-26-2003).]

The party continues for U.S.S. Bradbury:
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/ENT/article/2347.html

Beautiful write-up with photos:
http://planetary.org/html/news/articlearchive/headlines...thday_mt-wilson.html

Green Shadow:
Great! Thanks for posting this.

Aaaannd... here's one back...
http://www.the-signal.com/News/ViewStory.asp?storyID=3019

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 08-26-2003).]

Enjoyed both articles. I'm forwarding them on to friends. Thanks for posting.

Thanks guys.

I liked the Signal the most.

Schwarzenegger!!!

Nard,
Great interview...thanks!

For the record:
Ray was on a local radio station uesterday, being interviewed by KPFK on the telephone, I believe. He gave many of the same answers that were in the Signal item above. One of the interviewers had lost her sight, was blind now, and discussed The Braille Institute, in LA. Ray mentioned that he had been asked to visit them years ago and was frightened because of a doctor that had tested his eys when he was a child and told his parents that he likely would be blind in his old age. He said that he finally did go and then saw a black fellow who was blind and thought he recognized him, asked him who is was, and found that he had been a porter on the Super Chief for many years, which Ray used to ride across the country. The rest of the visit was then a joy to Ray and all fear was gone. I loved the story.

[This message has been edited by patrask (edited 08-27-2003).]

I too liked the Signal article. I was leaning toward schwarzeneger, but now it's for sure!

These articles are great. I've posted a few links you guys have been kind enough to share at my writing site and it got heavy traffic, particulary the Bradbury birthday message link.

Terminator all the way! Heck, it is LaLa Land right? Where else can an former Austrian Mr. World with a morally-straight personna and a politically-linked wife win a major state election?

Has Ray ever said what was wrong with his eyes and what was believed to have caused it? Probably this information, if known, will appear in the biography. It was obvious from seeing him in person that his vision is almost gone, but neither that nor the impairment of his right hand by a stroke appear to slow him down any.

Dandelion:

Ready for this one?:::

Let's go back about 25 years ago, and it was then I heard Ray say thusly about why his eyes are so bad...

He said he saw so much evil while growing up, that he believes he just shut it out , as if some sort of inner mechanism made his eyes go bad because of that reason....

Thanks, Nard, very freaky. In my own history, we come by it honestly enough: everyone on my mother's side of the family had bad eyes. Her mother was legally blind, and her own eyes were damaged by measles. I wonder, though, if Ray is the only one in his family that way.