Hello everyone, I have been out of touch for several years, spending sixteen months living abroad caring for my mother as she died of cancer, then returning to America and dealing with life challenges, etc.

Ray was a great inspiration to me, both personally and as a writer. I have been writing since childhood, and it was a wish of mine to deliver to Ray my first published book. Unfortunately, Ray passed away too soon for that.

I wanted to post something here in memory of him. Recently, I published my first book, and dedicated the preface to Ray. Some of you may remember me from events where Ray appeared, or from my postings at this website, and I just wanted to share with all of you who remember Ray, how Ray touched my life, as I am sure he also touched yours, and encourage you to carry on in his memory.


Best Regards

Chris Mechling

"Do what you love, and love what you do." Ray Bradbury



PREFACE

In preparing to publish Peter: The Untold True Story, I am reminded of the influence Ray Bradbury had on me as a writer. My first introduction to Ray Bradbury was a short quote placed prominently on the back of one of my favorite books- Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach. Ray’s comment was, “Richard Bach with this book does two things: he gives me Flight, he makes me Young.”

Over the course of my childhood, I became acquainted with a number of Ray’s books and short stories- Fahrenheit 451, A Sound of Thunder, The Pedestrian, Zen in the Art of Writing, Dandelion Wine, the Martian Chronicles and others. I liked his work, but it wasn’t until I met him in 2005 that I really had the opportunity to get to know him.

I had been aware of Ray coming to San Diego to give lectures on the Art of Writing for several years, and had wanted to meet him, but circumstances hadn’t worked out. When the opportunity came in 2005, my grandmother Annie and I were both interested to attend, so we went together, and listened as Ray shared his life experiences and philosophy.

One of the central themes of his lecture was to, “Do what you love, and love what you do,” and that was certainly a maxim he lived by. Ray’s loves included comic books, movies, science-fiction, dinosaurs, Egypt, Mars, libraries and librarians, etc. But how had he begun his path in life?

During the middle of his talk, Ray related the following adventure from his childhood: In 1932, when he was twelve years old, Ray visited a carnival and met a man who called himself Mr. Electrico, whose act involved sitting in an electric chair and being “electrocuted”. At one point in the performance, Mr. Electrico reached out with a sword and touched Ray on the brow as a king would knight a young man, and the contact gave Ray a jolt. “Live forever!” Mr. Electrico shouted.1

Ray’s uncle had recently passed away, and so the suggestion of living forever was quite provocative to his young mind. The next day, while driving home with his family from his Uncle’s funeral, young Ray looked out the window and saw the colorful pitched tents of the carnival down by Lake Michigan. “Stop the car!” he exclaimed, with such emotion that his father did stop. But Ray did not have the words then to tell his father what was in his heart, he could only leap out of the car and run away from Death, to the carnival, to find Mr. Electrico. His father called after him to stop and come back, but Ray just kept running, and so the family drove on without him.

Ray found Mr. Electrico sitting among the tents of the carnival, and wanted to speak about what was troubling him. Mr. Electrico appeared almost as if he had been waiting for Ray. However, faced with the opportunity, Ray didn’t know where to begin. How do you ask someone to teach you how to live forever?

So, instead, Ray pulled a magic trick from his pocket and asked Mr. Electrico how to do the trick, and Mr. Electrico taught him. Then he invited Ray to meet some of the other members of the carnival. Beating the side of the tent, Mr. Electrico called out to those inside to clean up their language, and then led Ray inside to meet the Skeleton Man, the Fat Lady, the Illustrated Man, the acrobats and other characters who would in later years haunt Ray’s imagination.

Mr. Electrico and Ray ended up sitting beside Lake Michigan talking about life. In Ray’s words, “He talked about his small philosophies and let me talk about my large ones. At a certain point he finally leaned forward and said, ‘You know, we've met before.’ I replied, ‘No, sir, I've never met you before.’ He said, ‘Yes, you were my best friend in the great war in France in 1918 and you were wounded and died in my arms at the battle of the Ardennes Forrest. But now, here today, I see his soul shining out of your eyes. Here you are, with a new face, a new name, but the soul shining from your face is the soul of my dear dead friend. Welcome back to the world.’”

First Mr. Electrico had told Ray to live forever. Now he told him that he had lived before. Ray’s mind was filled to overflowing.

Mr. Electrico gave Ray his card, and said Ray could write to him, if he wanted. As he left the carnival, Ray felt that something strange and wonderful had happened to him. He went home, and the next day left for Arizona with his family.

Shortly after his arrival in Arizona, Ray began writing. He loved the works of writers such as L. Frank Baum, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, and had dreamed of becoming either a writer or a magician. Now, ideas poured from his hand to the page. From that time onward, every day for the rest of his life, Ray wrote.

Ray became a master of storytelling, and filled many volumes with his prolific writing. But along the way, he transcended his medium. Ray compared writing fantasy and science fiction to the means by which Perseus confronted Medusa. We look at the monsters in our lives indirectly, through the mirror of our writing, and in this way we take aim and strike.

By the time I met him, Ray was advanced in his years. His glasses were very thick, and he was obliged to sit in a wheelchair. However, his spirit was strong enough to keep an audience of several hundred people spellbound for over three hours as he spoke. The many stories he told, from that early experience with Mr. Electrico, through all the wonderful adventures and challenges he faced in his life, illustrated how he had taken the things he loved and built a life with them.

Listening to Ray, I felt that much of what he said tallied with things in my own heart. During intermission, my grandmother who, like Ray, was in her eighties, said she wanted to ask Ray to sign a copy of Dandelion Wine for her, and so we went together to the front of the room to join the line of people waiting there. On an inspiration, I took my sketchbook with me.

When it was my turn to meet Ray, I showed him my sketchbook and told him about the unpublished series of novels I was working on. At that time, I had written several thousand pages in a science-fiction epic. I asked him if he would sign my sketchbook. He looked at me with interest and asked what my name was. I told him and he wrote, “Chris! Good luck,” then signed his name, returning my sketchbook with a smile.

I thanked Ray and then wheeled my grandmother back to where we were seated. For the rest of the lecture, I held the sketchbook with Ray’s inscription in my hands, full of emotion. I had not come expecting this- I hadn’t known what to expect. I’d only read a few of Ray’s stories before, but now, I felt I knew him, and more than that, he knew me.

It was as if he had taken Mr. Electrico’s place, and I in turn was the young man in the audience. At the end of the lecture, during the question-answer period, I stood up, said, “…Well, I just wanted to say thank you for signing my sketchbook. I am working on a series of novels, or you could say a series of stories, it really is a collection of short stories in a way. I find a lot of what you said today very inspirational, and I wrote you a note; I’ll read it. It’s basically just- Mr. Bradbury, thank you for signing my sketchbook and wishing me luck, I expect my series of stories will be finished in a few years and I promise I will send a set to you. You are a great inspiration, and I am grateful to have heard you speak. May you live forever!”

“Ah!” Ray said, as everyone joined in applause, “…thank you- thank you.”

It should be noted Ray touched not only my life, but many lives. As we stood up after the talk was concluded, many audience members began speaking amongst themselves and to me about their own sense of being inspired by Ray’s lecture. Among those people was a woman who came up and spoke with me. She admitted she had been contemplating ending it all, but had been given new hope that day. Without a doubt, listening to him speak changed the course of her life. With all the lectures he had given, and all the copies of his writings that had been circulated around the world, how many people had he helped?

I left the hall charged with a sense of great purpose. I felt I had been touched, as Mr. Electrico had touched Ray. I can still hear Ray’s voice when I read his writing. He was one of those rare individuals who are more than the sum of their parts.

In the years that followed, I continued writing, and took opportunities whenever I could to go to events where Ray spoke, at lectures in Pasadena, at the Comic-Con, and later at the playhouse where his plays were staged. I wrote a number of letters to him also.

On opening night of the stage production of Fahrenheit 451 in Pasadena, Ray and I talked. He remembered me, and asked if I was published yet. I told him no, because I wanted to write out the complete series first. He urged me to get something out there- even if it was just a short story for a magazine.

Ray’s specialty was short stories. The science fiction project I had taken on was a very large one, which I felt obligated to see through to completion. But I took his advice to heart, and began to work on several smaller projects also, to introduce myself as a writer.

Along the way, life threw some unexpected obstacles at me. My grandmother passed away, then my mother was diagnosed with a serious cancer. I spent sixteen months traveling around the world with her, seeking the best treatments available for her condition. The therapies helped improve her health and quality of life dramatically, so that she was able to take long walks, sing and dance, and focus on positive living. Eventually, however, she had a stroke, and passed away peacefully a few weeks later, surrounded by friends and family.

I am glad for every day spent caring for my grandmother and my mother, as they are now cherished memories. Since my mother passed away in 2010, my brother and I have been putting our lives back together, rebuilding our businesses, and refocusing ourselves. Through all this, I continued writing, but my pace was slowed.

In 2011, my father and I discovered the story of Peter the Wild Boy, and made the connection between his life and the legend of Peter Pan. I’ve been working on this book since then. It is a story I believe Ray would have enjoyed very much, and it is the first book I have chosen to publish, to introduce myself as an author.

Ray Bradbury passed away on June 5, 2012. I regret that I was unable to complete this work before then. In reviewing Ray’s writings, I found he wrote an account in 2001 of his childhood encounter with Mr. Electrico, and concluded that account by saying, “I have long since lost track of Mr. Electrico, but I wish that he existed somewhere in the world so that I could run to him, embrace him, and thank him for changing my life and helping me become a writer.”

Thank you Ray, for electrifying me. I hope to see you again.

Christopher Mechling

How many thousands of fans did Mr. Bradbury "reach out to with a sword and touch on the brow"? I humbly admit he "electrocuted" me as a ninth grade youth...and then continued to do so long through my thirty-five years of teaching literature - to youth of those similar ages!

So, Mr. Mechling, publish you must! What more fitting dedication for your first release than to the memory of loved ones, including our inspirational friend and author from that small town of Waukegan, Illinois!

Congratulations on your book and your very good taste in dedication.

Since publishing Peter: The Untold True Story, I have received messages from many readers about my book, and about Peter Pan. I enjoy receiving these, and have been happy to respond as much as I am able.

I recently received a moving message from a reader who shared how books like Peter Pan and Harry Potter had provided an escape for her at difficult times in her childhood. As a girl, she had imagined Neverland and Hogwarts as being real places. She also shared how in growing up, it became harder for her to find that same magic in books. She now finds solace in music. When she saw my book, Peter: The Untold True Story, it sparked her interest to think there had once been a real Boy Who Never Grew Up. Her message was well-written, and while everyone’s personal trials are different, I think her experience in childhood and in growing up is more universal than she may realize. What she wrote inspired me to write a lengthy response, and I would like to share some of that response here today.

* * *

Thank you for writing to me and sharing your personal experiences. It is always moving to receive a message like this from a reader- to know how a book can impact someone's life.

From one, unimaginative point of view, writing is empty, meaningless. "Peter Pan is just make-believe. There's no such thing as magic." And yet, across space and time, the written word allows us to know that things we cannot see or touch do exist, because if we can decipher the text, if we can read what another human being has written, and if that message tallies with things we have seen and felt ourselves, then there is some truth in it, even if it is hidden in fiction. What if Peter Pan was real, and this was your letter from Hogwarts?

You seem to have some writing ability- have you tried your own hand at writing? Not for school or work, but for yourself, and for the ones you love? Ray Bradbury suggested that fantasy and science fiction are not simply an escape; he compared writing fantasy and science fiction to the means by which Perseus confronted Medusa. We look at the monsters in our lives indirectly, through the mirror of our writing, and in this way we take aim and strike.

If you love music, and Peter Pan, and Harry Potter, then don't let the world convince you that it is all just make-believe. Believe. Create. Fill your life with the things you love, and seek the truth in them. Don't give up on your dreams. Dream bigger, and be willing to put in the effort to make your dreams come true.

Life is right here, in the middle of the dust and decay of the world. If you can't find anyone else like yourself, keep doing what you love anyway- flowers don't find each other until they rise out of the dust and bloom. And if you are the only flower to bloom in the midst of a desert- what a sight to behold!

There are some things that are worth believing in, no matter what.

* * *

The reader responded and confirmed, among other things, that indeed she did enjoy writing, and had dreamed of becoming an author, but the task seemed daunting for a number of reasons, including some practical concerns from family members about career stability, as well as the artistic challenges of creating a rich fantasy world, filling it with vibrant, vital characters, and finding the magic words to transport her readers into that world. She asked me if I could share some advice for someone starting out at novel-writing, understanding that there is not one specific method, and everyone has their own techniques.

I resolved immediately to write a further response to the reader, but also reflected that other readers might benefit from this. So I will be addressing my next response not only to her, but to any readers who may hold an abiding interest in writing.

In discussing the art of writing, I can only speak from my own experience. I am posting this excerpt here because as I was writing it I was reminded of Ray and his influence.

I hope that this will be helpful to you. I have also posted this message to my blog and my Goodreads page, and I plan to follow up with several more installments on this theme.


Best Regards
Chris Mechling