Memories of Ray Bradbury

Independence Day 2012 has now come and gone. This time of year reminds me of Ray Bradbury and his beautiful prose. The wonderful descriptions of small town life in the Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes. The buzzing of bees, the twinkling of fireflies, the searing summer heat, and the tinkling of ice in glasses of lemonade are all reminiscent of a Bradbury story. He lived a good long life and made so many people happy with his richly described characters and his fantastic imagination. 

My neighborhood in Chicago held its annual 4th of July parade yesterday, going from one neighborhood park to another. The scene was nostalgic: the small children waving American flags, the brightly painted antique cars, the red Chicago fire engine with its siren blaring, and the tossing of penny candy to the people who lined the streets......again, reminders of Bradbury to me. 

I drew so much joy from his books as I was growing up, and have re-read them many times as an adult. His writing influenced my writing. I followed his lead, and I try to be as descriptive as I can when I write, yet also use words sparingly and clearly. Bradbury painted a vivid picture with each story. He brought the sparkly night skies to life. He perfectly described the dry red ravines of Mars. He nailed the portraits of lush green foliage in small towns in the summer; towns full of children bursting to have adventures and succeeding while experiencing the everyday monotony yet miraculous distinction of their summer days.

Ray Bradbury, I miss you already, yet I truly appreciate the joy and inspiration you gave to me and others like me for many years. You truly made your mark in this universe, and it is lasting.

The death of journalism in my lifetime, and the birth of ....?

I never thought that the profession of journalism would die during my lifetime. It is really amazing to me that it has had such a quick demise. I always dreamed of being a reporter, telling the truth about what was going on in my community, my country and the world. I have two journalism degrees and when I went to school, the concept of the "fourth estate" was taken seriously. It has been 40 (!) years since Watergate, an event that inspired me, and lots of others, to imagine themselves as crusaders in the foot steps of Woodward and Bernstein. But what do we have now, 40 years later? The Internet, which I love, enables "citizen journalists," an oxymoron if I ever heard one. Anyone can write anything online and it becomes the "truth." What in the world ever happened to fact checking? No time for that I guess. Reputations are gained....and lost....in a day, an hour, a moment today. Is there hope for this, for optimism? I hope so. There is a long trajectory of learning and experience that the Internet and social media is on. It is a journey and we are at the beginning of it, really. What will be next? What will happen as the medium matures? It is fascinating and I look forward to experiencing, witnessing and participating in it!

Resuscitation Annie, NSGW, and more......

I keep seeing the phrase "high school hijinks." I believe it is because it is the end of the school year and lots of kids are graduating and hijinks are being discussed. What hijinks did you do in high school? Mine are more numerous than I can fully relate, but here is a sampling: 1) Orchestrated the kidnapping of "Resuscitation Annie," the doll we used to practice CPR on. Donna and I lured the health teacher to the office by sending in a note that an urgent phone awaited her in the office (this happened well before cell phones). One of us was in the courtyard while the other hoisted Annie out the window. We hustled her to a secure hiding place in a washroom. Oh, yes, and we left a ransom note demanding all the sex ed videos (film strips?) from York High School. Needless to say, the teacher was not amused but we somehow returned the doll without ever being caught. 2) Painting the courtyard of said York High School. Who knows if a courtyard exists there anymore? The school has been made over at least once since then. But back in 1976, the Bicentennial year, Beth, Matt and I drove my mom's Oldsmobile 98 to the scene of the crime, spilling red, white and blue paint in the trunk - but successfully entering into the courtyard and painting over the traditional York green and white with the patriotic hues of the bicentennial. What a mess but the patriotic paint lasted well into the next school year. 3) NSGW. Donna and I talked this up for weeks before its arrival. "NSGW is coming!" "NSGW is arriving" and so on. What was it, people wondered. On the infamous day, Donna and I sneaked to the front of York High School and unfurled the banner so the arriving buses would see it: "National Squirt Gun Week" had arrived. Squirt guns for all! The administrators were not amused but we had a lot of fun with it. Elton John parties, York Dukes homecoming float parties, Elves crashing sock hops - yes, we did this and more. Lots of fun, and maybe you call them hijinks.

What a great day!

We had a great day in the San Francisco area. I began the day by taking a morning walk from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf and back. The weather was perfect and it got the day off to a good start. Next up was a visit to Muir Woods. The majestic redwood trees always help put my life I perspective, and walking through the quiet foliage makes me feel at peace. I make sure to see Muir Woods every time I visit the Bay area. It is nice that there are well marked trails, and it is impossible to get lost. While some people may think the trail at Muir Woods is too commercial, it is perfect for people like me who want to experience the magnificent trees, but aren't able to rough it in the real woods. We had a fabulous lunch at Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. The place always has a positive vibe and when you sit outside and look over at the San Francisco skyline, it is bliss. Especially on a beautiful day like today, the day ended in North Beach, at the appropriately named North Beach restaurant. It is one of the best Italian restaurants around, and the veal dish I had was the best veal I ever had. It was a perfect way to end the end perfect day - lots of exercise, food, and good conversation with Ed!

The emotional memory lane

I always seem to post when I have an emotional connection to writing. Today would have been my mom's 83rd birthday. Seems like a long old age, except when I think that that she has been dead for 22 years. Then it seems like she died too young and it has been way too long since I have seen her. I got a wist of sentimentality today and went to the cemetery. It had been too long and I was worried that something bad might have happened to her burial place. With all the issues around cemeteries in the Chicago area, I was worried. But I went to the cemetery and the mausoleum where she is buried seemed in better shape than the last time I was there. Ed went with me and we visited his grandparents' graves and my grandparents' graves also. They are all in the same graveyard. We couldn't find my grandparents' graves but went to the office. The people there were kind and looked up the plots. It was interesting because they pulled old handwritten documents from the files in which my grandparents' handwritten notes were in the files. We eventually found the plots and they are very close to where the circus people are buried - the "show folks." It was time well spent and I am glad Ed went with me to the cemetery. The drive down there was interesting - down Mannheim Road - and we also decided to drive around Ed's old neighborhood in Westchester to see the house he grew up in. He will report back to his parents tomorrow about the graves and the old house. Definitely a trip down memory lane today.

My Winter Walk

A flash of red against the snow.
The friendly chirp of the cardinal sings.
They brighten up the winter sky.
Spring cannot be far behind.

The bobbing white of the tail of the deer.
The graceful leaps over the fallen brush.
The contrast between their fur and the snow.
Seeing them makes my walks worthwhile.

End of the year thoughts

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. I am thankful for my friends and family, and for good health. I am also lucky that I have a job that challenges me and enables me to help small businesses around the country, as well as other places in the world. I recently was in the U.K. speaking at a conference connected to the office products industry. It was great to see long-standing business friends there as well as get a chance to meet new people. The problems and challenges that businesses have here in the U.S. are similar to that in the U.K. The resellers I met were very appreciative and were very eager to learn what they could about the marketing and other business best practices from here. The company Spicers, was holding their big customer customer event, and it was interesting to see how the manufacturers displayed their booths at the show. I learned some things that we can use at our shows here. I hope the economy improves and that we all have a more prosperous 2012!