Ray Bradbury (1920–2012)

I was sad to hear the news that Ray Bradbury passed away on Tuesday. I first encountered this author's stories in middle school with The Martian Chronicles. In high school I read and loved the short story "All Summer in a Day," about school children living on Venus, where the sun shines only once every seven years. It wasn't until last year that I finally read Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451, about a dystopia where firefighters exist for the sole purpose of burning books—a powerful, frightening book.

In 2010 I had the pleasure of attending a panel featuring Ray Bradbury at Comic Con International in my home town of San Diego. He looked very old, and he couldn't hear very well, but he seemed happy, and what he had to say was interesting and thought-provoking. He talked for a while about space exploration, and Mars in particular (the colonization of which is the only chance for the survival of the human species), and writing, and life, and learning, and happiness. I had my notebook with me that day, so that I could write down interesting quotes and facts from the panels we went to. I have three quotes from Ray Bradbury's panel that I still think of often. Firstly,

"When I was twenty-six years old, I graduated from the library."

Bradbury couldn't afford to go to college, so after he graduated from high school he educated himself at his local library, going there several days a week for four hours at a time. I just think that is so cool, so empowering. We so often get caught up in the idea of formal education that we forget that we can (and should!) educate ourselves. There's really no excuse for ignorance—at least not if you have access to a library (and the time to use it). This is especially true for those of us with the privilege of an Internet connection. Which brings us to the next of Bradbury's quotes; in response to the question, "Ray, what do you think of the Internet?"

"The Internet is one great big, goddamn, stupid bore!"

Which, you know, as a blogger/Tweeter/Facebooker/Skyper...I sort of have to agree with. A little bit. In some respects. I mean, I think the Internet is great for so many things, like meeting other people with the same interests as you, and talking about books, and keeping in touch with friends and family who live eight time zones away. But there comes a time when we all need to remember the real world and real experiences, and that they happen whether or not I remember to update my Facebook status. Meeting up with friends in real life, taking the dog for a walk, making dinner—there are so many great things about life that cyberspace (do people still call it cyberspace?) just can't compete with. Which brings me to the third quote I scribbled down that day in my notebook:

"I've had a pretty goddamn good life!"

You can't say fairer than that.

Rest in peace, Mr. Bradbury.