A lifelong fan of Mr. Bradbury, I again ahd a chance to see him in person last November at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. His stories of his own beginnings and encouragements, and the exhortation to (I paraphrase) "Do what you love, and everything will come to you," lit a fire in my head.
I'm writing again and reveling in the universe of shared popular culture, at the nexus of which Mr. Bradbury sits, his typewriter before him, a tissue-thin silver book painted in hieroglyphs of black and gold at his side.
For those interested, here's my love-letter-in-progress to Ray and that shared universe:
Making progress on my love-letter to Ray and his friends, Old Mars and classic Hollywood. Stanley G. Weinbaum is here for his cameo, and Fritz Leiber is getting his head together (at the sculptress': http://www.wantedactionfigure.com/)
My friends, have you suggestions for cameo roles for Ray B., Uncle Ray and the Ackermonster? Locales include San Francisco, the Pan Am Rocket Clipper, Port Lowell, and the canals, walled towns and dead sea-bottoms of Old Mars.
Well, Fritz looks mighty fine! Lauren Bacall ("Mrs. Margaux Leiber" is ravishing as well (pix forthcoming.)
One day I want to make "Night Meeting" into a stop-motion short, and cast Mr. Bradbury as "Pop," the gas station attendant. At what click on the chronometer ought I to set his appearance? 50? 60? older?
Your paraphrase, "Do what you love, and everything will come to you," reminds me of some words by one who may be a long lost brother of Mr. Bradbury - Viktor E. Frankl. In the preface of the 1984 edition of "Man's Search for Meaning", Dr. Frankl, an Auschwitz survivor, says, "Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run - in the long run, I say! - success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it."
Ylla_1978.jpg (57 Kb, 8 downloads) sketch, colored pencil, 1978
Fritz_Leiber_chan.jpg (97 Kb, 6 downloads) 1/6-scale head of Fritz Leiber