Soon after I found Ray Bradbury had a Facebook page and my friend request was approved I sent him this message. I wasn’t entirely expecting a reply, assuming he probably gets a regular deluge of messages from all sources. There’s no direct evidence that I can see that he even looks at his page often, perhaps a helper manages it for him.

Anyway, I thought I’d share what I wrote here, in the hope there are others out there with similar stories who might add theirs:

I grew up in Beach Park, Illinois, just north of Waukegan where Ray grew up. In the early to late 1960s I was a small boy who roamed across a great expanse of fields, woods, streams and abandoned railroad tracks. Just a few minutes from my front door I entered a world where I could catch toads and turtles, chase water striders and search out wild strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. I discovered and explored the remaining foundations of old houses buried and forgotten deep in the thick stands of trees. On occasion I came across small clearings of tall grasses that I would flatten into a bed and watch the clouds sail across the sky.

As I began my journey into my teenage years in the early 1970s I began to discover the joy of books, science fiction in particular. Fortunately for me, “Dandelion Wine” was among the first I read. I didn't realize at the time that the stories were influenced by his experiences growing up in Waukegan, but the adventures of young Douglas resonated with me. Later when I found out more about him and the book, I was pleased to imagine that I had crossed paths with his trails of long ago. Later on I realized that I hadn't, but it was a nice little fantasy.

A few years ago I made a trip up to Zion to attend my 30th high school reunion. Along the way I went through Beach Park to see my old childhood home. It was still there, mostly the same as I remembered. However, all of the woods, fields of grass and ponds were long gone. Streets and houses covered forever all the paths of my youth.

Earlier this year I picked up his book “Quicker Than the Eye” at a garage sale. I have to admit it was the first time in many years I had read any of his books. I plan on revisiting some of them again in the near future. When I found he was here on Facebook I was delighted for the opportunity to thank him for the many hours spent reading his delightful prose.

Hi Doodlerjeff, and welcome.

Ray has a known dislike (hostility!) of computers and the internet, so is unlikely to ever look at Facebook. I hope I'm not shattering any illusions here!

Various folks have shown him things on the web from time to time, and he has been known to answer questions raised on these forums. We like to think that anything important that crops up on here will find its way to him.

Yes, welcome, thanks for sharing and you are so lucky to have experienced those things. BUT--what Phil said. It took me long enough to convince Ray these forums even existed. He learned after people started printing things out from them and bringing them to his attention. I haven't checked his Facebook page and don't know who started or maintains it.

Thanks philnic, dandelion...

I'm surprised to hear about his hostility to computers. From whence did this come? Normally you would assume such a far-sighted science fiction author would embrace them.

I noticed his facebook page says he currently lives in Waukegan, though other sources say elsewhere (old info?). I saw the link to the website for his biography here(http://www.bradburychronicles.com/) but when I checked it out it redirects to a Wordpress blog about Motorbikes for sale. Very strange...

I think it comes from his being, er, an older gentleman. As I understand it, Ray progressed from manual typewriters to electric typewriters, and when personal computers came along he saw them as nothing more nor less than just another typewriter. (There are published interviews around - some of them quite recent - where he says something like "why would a need a computer? I already have a typewriter".)

He also sees the internet as one of life's great timewasters, saying that we should be doing something creative with our time rather than just slumping in front of the TV or the internet. And much though I love both TV and the web, he has a point there!

I think we also need to make a distinction between what an author uses in his fiction and what he uses in real life.

As for his location, Ray left Waukegan when he was a child. He's lived in California since the 1930s! Don't believe everything you read on Facebook!

You also shouldn't believe everything you read on Wikipedia, but it's a good place to start in getting an overview of his life story:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_bradbury

The author of THE BRADBURY CHRONICLES, Sam Weller, has a more recent website linked to his second Bradbury book:

http://listentotheechoes.com/

I guess someone stopped paying the rent on bradburychronicles.com and a new tenant moved in.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
I think it comes from his being, er, an older gentleman. As I understand it, Ray progressed from manual typewriters to electric typewriters, and when personal computers came along he saw them as nothing more nor less than just another typewriter. (There are published interviews around - some of them quite recent - where he says something like "why would a need a computer? I already have a typewriter".)

Good Gawd, my dad was two years older than Ray and that's exactly what he said when we went to computers in 1986. We couldn't convince him of the difference or that the computer was worth learning.

quote:

He also sees the internet as one of life's great timewasters, saying that we should be doing something creative with our time rather than just slumping in front of the TV or the internet. And much though I love both TV and the web, he has a point there!

Again, there's that whole "hand in glove" debate and the central concept of to what are you exposed on TV and online, and how do you use it. If a comedy touches your heart and changes your life, it is as valid or moreso than a tragedy. If you are really learning and growing from your entertainment, it is not mindless or destructive as it turned for Peter and Wendy in "The Veldt." This just hit me last night.

One very interesting item is that Ray has no problem with audiobooks (which you can see going back to the tradition of radio and sound recordings) but is violently opposed to ebooks and has told off ebook publishers interested in his works in the most blunt and outspoken manner, mincing no words. (I mean stopping just short of swearing--depending on what you consider swearing.)

Is the address information old? Not unless you consider 1934 OLD! It's recent in geological time.

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