I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Bradbury in the basement of the Smithsonian, after hours. In the shadow of the Mastadon, with the echoing click of heels on terrazo, I made my way to hear Ray Bradbury give the best talk I have ever heard on any topic, at the exact right time for me to hear it, and I have never forgotten it.

Gusto! Zest! YES!

Afterwards I stood in line for quite some time to get an autograph, and in the excitement of meeting a kindred spirit I blurted out in the most presumptious way "Oh, I love you!" and he didn't miss a beat and reached up to me saying "Aren't you sweet!" and gave me an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek. I knew that I had received just a little spark transmitted through the conduits of consciousness from Mr. Electro himself!

I have a copy of "Zen and the Art of Writing" which I reread anytime discouragement clouds my mind, since it summarizes much of that night's wonderful talk. For anyone who wants to do anything that takes a little courage, I can't recommend it highly enough.

So, thank you again Ray. Your work continues to be a positive influence on my life, even if we only met for an electrifying moment in time.

Best wishes, (and yes, love!)

--Catherine--*
www.llamagraphics.com
Creators of Life Balance software
for Palm OS, Macintosh and Windows.

Now there is a post Mark Jonas, the RB critic laureate, needs to read.

Great comments CEW!

It was certainly better received than this story:

my dinner with ray... - Ray Bradbury Discussion Board http://www.raybradbury.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000040.html

I just realized that it is "Zen in the Art of Writing" and Mr. Electrico.

As Ray points out, the rewrite/editing process is a completely different sort of experience. :-)

Best wishes to all!

--Catherine--*

Dandelion:

Ah, but I challenged ...Peter1a... if all those claims made were legitimate, or a bunch of hooey... Peter1a, instead, decided...'Why defend, just drop out....' Have any of us heard from him again?

When I think of Ray, I see that ...'talent', "Great Talent", wonderfully guided and directed, goes far to create a great soul, an 'endearing' person. Talent, large talent gone to seed with pride and 'self', deteriorates and infuriates the holder of the 'gift'...

Nard...

Just out of...curiosity...what's with...all the...dot dot dots?

Greg

Think of it as Morse code without the dashes...

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 04-15-2003).]

Does morse code without the dashes provide an actual communications tool?

Mr. Dark:::
Do many actually use Morse Code nowadays? I remember couple years back when Maritime took themselves off the Morse Code. It was an event on C-Span.

Greg Miller:
Actually, I use the dots as a sort of an ...intellectual pause....sort of a 'give me a moment of breath' type of thing, a measured pause. That's the aim, not necessarily the effect. Anyway, I've been doing it for so long that its habit.... See, I did it again.

[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 04-16-2003).]