The Illustrated Man

Ray Bradbury--You Will Be Missed

On the way into work this morning, I was saddened to hear the news that Ray Bradbury--one of America's most prolific writers--had passed away last night.  He was 91 years old.

I love to read and I've always loved reading Ray Bradbury's work.  As a junior in high school, he was the author that I chose for my English project.  For a part of my classroom presentation, I brought flash paper to school that I got to ignite in class to re-enact the book burning from his classic novel: "Fahrenheit 451."  Good times!

Ray Bradbury had the goal to write something everyday.  I believe he did so for essentially every single day of his life.  He was a champion of free speech and I personally know that he did a lot that was never publicized to make available his works available (without personal compensation) so that young people could be inspired and spark their own imaginations.

Ray Bradbury never got a driver's license.  On this planet anyway.  He was proud that the people at NASA or the Jet Propulsion Laboratories gave him a driver's license for the Martian Rover on Mars.  It was a fitting tribute for a man whose book, "The Martian Chronicles", inspired many a scientist to dream of exploring the red planet.

I never met him, but I am privileged to have a personal friend that was his attorney.  A couple of years ago, my friend graciously had Ray Bradbury personally sign a copy of Fahrenheit 451 and The Illustrated Man for me.  I love short stories and Ray Bradbury was the master of short stories.  The Illustrated Man--a collection of short stories--is probably my favorite work of his.  Those two works sit proudly on my office bookshelf today!

My Office Bookshelf As it Appeared This Morning...

Ray Bradbury is now free to explore the universe that he imagined and wrote about.  He inspired generations of Americans and people around the world.  But more importantly (to me anyway), he inspired me to read and later to write about things that interested me and that captured my imagination.  Goodbye Ray Bradbury, we miss you already.