August 22nd was Ray Bradbury's 89th birthday and he invited all of his fans to the Bookfellows Book Shop in Glendale, CA. I figured that this would be the best time to finally get him to sign at least one of my books. Unfortunately, I hadn't been in Glendale in awhile. It turns out that the only place to find free parking is in the mall. So naturally everyone wanted to park there. In order to get something signed, we had to make a purchase at the bookstore. So, I had limited funds and had to choose over a signed book by Bradury or getting my car towed away for not paying the meter.
Needless to say, I had to leave empty handed, without even a piece of cake to show for (check out my other blog to see why). However, it was cool that it was a giant pumpkin cake. It wasn't a pumpkin flavored cake. It was sculpted in the shape of an actual pumpkin! Maybe one day, I'll get him to sign something, but it was nice to even see him today. And even nicer to see that there was a modest crowd gathered for him. It's tough to find anymore Bradbury fans.
He was one of the first authors that got me into science fiction. And as Sam Weller (his autobiographer) pointed out at Comic-Con, he was one the first authors to write what he wanted despite what the so-called "intellectuals" said. He wrote on subject matter that was considered "childish" and still earned acclaimed success both commercially and critically.
Hopefully, I'll actually get to talk to him one of these days. I've always had this idea that I'd get published one of these days, he'd read my book, ask me to have lunch with him, and we'd talk about movies, Mars, and old books. Maybe I can write it in my memoirs. But until then, I've got this blog. Happy Birthday, Mr. Bradbury! Next stop: Mars.
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