I have been writing since grade school--a habit that I did not need Mr. Bradbury to inspire. His inspiration came into my life much later. I had read Fahrenheit 451 in high school, and though I loved the book I did not pick up anymore of Bradbury's writing until college. What began on that fateful day in the library when I took home a volume of assorted short stories was quite beautiful. I would pick up the volume and thumb through anytime I needed guidance, inspiration, or just to feel better about the day. I called it Bradbury therapy, and it reached its pinnacle when I, unsure whether or not I should get on the plane to Northern Ireland where I would be staying for months and had not yet found a residence to lodge in for more than a night or two, landed on the introduction of the collection. In it Mr. Bradbury talked about life and experience. He described his as an Irish police report had once described him: Drunk, and in charge of a bicycle. This is also what the introduction is titled, and though I still cannot remember the name of the volume, this has always stayed with me. You see, he didn't stop there, he went on to describe the affair as being like life in that it was exactly one half terrifying and one half exhilarating. I got on that plane, and the only thing I regretted from that summer was that I got back off of it in the United States two and half months later. Slainte Mr. Bradbury, and thank you for several lifetimes worth of inspiration, love, healing, and nostalgia. I have found all of these things and more in your writing and have often said to my friends that you could always make me feel nostalgia for places I had never been and things I had never experienced. Only a master can create experience with his words, though maybe my imagination did have a bit to do with it. Keep writing, I know I will.

I still have the locket, too.

Very well said, April!
I, too, frequently take the Bradbury Therapy.

His Irish stories appear in several books; check Philnic's site.

They were collected in "Green Shadows, White Whale".

We should all have such a locket.

We do go for the Bradbury Therapy...He has got the best knowledge in bringing the words so worth to listen.

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

When I need a little therapy....I grab a book off the shelf (of several hundreds) and start reading (invariabily..and I don't know how it happens)..I end up with Bradbury Book. So Bradbury is kinda my therapist at large!!!!!!
Which works well for me...