Something Wonderful This Way Comes

When I was rather young, I saw a special on tv entitled Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was the film version of Ray Bradbury's story and had been adapted into a television movie. It's a story about a carnival that comes to a small Midwestern town and some very strange and spooky things start happening when it does. That film scared me, particular the things that happened to those who came under the spell of Mr. Dark. Despite my fright of that particular story, I was never actually scared of carnivals. As a kid, carnivals were wonderful places filled with bright lights, good food, and exciting rides.

I still like carnivals, but more because of the excitement and joy they bring to others. When you reach a certain age, they don't let you ride kiddy rides anymore unless you're someone's parent or guardian and much of the magic and excitement of a place transformed disappears when you aren't young or don't have people in your life to share it with.

This weekend (Aug. 17th & Aug. 18th) is the Sorento Homecoming: the weekend when the carnival comes to my hometown. If you're in the area (zip code 62086), drop on by. Watch the parades, buy a raffle ticket, play some bingo, and eat a funnel cake. Just be sure you don't make any deals with anyone whose last name is Dark.

Madness Calling: On the Death of Ray Bradbury

When people ask me where I get by imagination, I simply lament, "God, here and there, makes madness a calling."

--Ray Bradbury

I first became acquainted with Ray Bradbury when I was probably in the first grade and watched the Disney television special Something Wicked This Way Comes. I loved that movie, but it also gave me nightmares: Mr. Dark was so evil. Bradbury was a prolific author and it wouldn't be until I was in the 8th grade that I actually was introduced to one of his stories ("The Sound of Thunder"). I was fascinated by the tale and wanted to read whatever I could find of is. Sadly, at the time the only Bradbury book my school carried was Fahrenheit 451 (I wasn't sorry they had that book, just sorry it was the only Bradbury book I could find). Years later I would go on to read other Bradbury stories.

I believe when I was in high school there was a tv show called The Ray Bradbury Chronicles that aired on Saturday afternoons. I tried to watch as many of those episodes that I could, but since it was on Saturday mornings on Channel 11, I often wasn't around.

The thing I was most impressed about Bradbury was his passion. His views on topics would change over time, but he was always passionate about whatever it was he was talking or writing about. I read a book of essays he wrote where he tried to predict inventions that would be created in the future. He was really off on many of them, but even the ones that were completely outlandish, he was passionate about.

Personally, I liked Bradbury's nonfiction writing the best. He's known for sci-fi, horror, and fantasy, but I think he really shined in nonfiction. Take for instance the narrative voice in Something Wicked This Way Comes. That's a novel, but the narrative voice is dripped in the historical and biographical details of Bradbury's youth. If you read a lot of his nonfiction writing, this becomes clear. The narrative voice in that story is voice of Bradbury.

He lived a good life and I look forward to reading some of the posthumous stuff of his that will be published. However, in a few years there will be no more original and new Ray Bradbury stories and the world will be a less joyful and passionate place because of that. Here's to the stars, madness, and the future. Thank you, Mr. Bradbury.

From Ray Bradbury

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."
--Ray Bradbury