Palm Springs Celebrity Encounters: Ray Bradbury

I've met many celebrities over the years. But few have been as generous, captivating, inspiring and funny as Ray Bradbury.My first encounter with Ray happened a long time ago. He was the keynote speaker at my High School Graduation: Palm Springs High School, Class of 1983. I remember two things about Ray from that night.1) He told the story of a time traveler who returned to his present time and informed his colleagues about the future which was perfectly ecologically centric, outer space adventurous, and culturally rich for every citizen. When the present timers finally lived to a ripe old age and had built the future the time traveler had witnessed, they all gathered at the exact spot the aged future historian had long ago transported himself to so they could witness the reappearance of his younger self. The clock ticked past the allotted arrival time, where they politely waited, then grew anxious. Finally, well past the expected moment of his arrival, the old scientist tur
ned to those gathered and admitted, "I lied."2) The second thing I remember about that night was the ASB President bragging about how they got Ray Bradbury to be the keynote speaker: He owned a home in Palm Springs and didn't charge them to come.Years later, I found myself a book store owner in Palm Springs. I'm in my early thirties and the landlord has forced a name upon my store in wanting to create a Hollywood theme for the block of store fronts he is trying to rent. My store was called celebrity Books and I'd collected a large selection of Biographies and was trying to grow an Autographed Section in keeping with the theme of the store. It was at this time that I remembered the ASB President's words: "Ray Bradbury owns a home here."Now the internet was a growing thing in the early 1990's and I discovered Ray was going to be at a first ever grand book fair up at UCLA and I was determined to talk to him. I did, and over the din of the crowd making it virtually impossible to
hear, he signed my book and added his phone number to the title page.I called and he came. Ray showed up in an old wood sided station wagon turned taxi cab by a man who I learned had been his personal driver whenever he came to town - since Ray didn't drive - for over thirty years. During the event, Ray got thirsty and asked for a chocolate milk shake and a toasted cheese sandwich. I sent a runner to a nearby restaurant. We ordered off the regular menu and obliged him. We sold more books than I ever had in my life in a single day. My small, sadly worn and unglamorous, almost entirely used merchandise, store was host to many hundreds of patrons, clients and fans. That day, Ray Bradbury transformed my store from an interesting second hand business to a Palm Springs landmark.The next year came and I called Ray again. This time we couldn't schedule an appropriate time for maximum effect and he finally suggested, "Just put together the books you can and I'll stop by and sign the
m." The day came when he was supposed to show up and I had other things I had to do. My employee at the time was an old friend who had just moved out here from the east coast and he was reluctant to believe that Ray Bradbury was going to show up and sign this huge stack of books for me and not want a thing. As I was trying to explain the situation to my friend, Ray showed up, and with few words signed every book in the store he'd written - instantly turning the nice but standard priced pile of books into a valuable pile of literary gold. My friend called home (saucer eyed) to his mom and told her who he had just run into.I had the store for ten years and Ray showed a half dozen times. Each time he was generous with me and the crowd, and he was personal and intriguing to every individual. Many of his fans talked fondly of the first time they'd ever met him. Ray spoke about writing what you know and not letting rejection make you stop. He spoke about chasing your dreams and no
t letting life get you down. He was larger than life, and still is. He aged over the years: going from a mature man at my graduation in his late fifties or early 60's to his 70's and then 80's.One of those times when he was in town and couldn't meet the store schedule, he invited me over to his house to sign a few books. I considered this a real glimpse into the life of a living legend. His place was nice but not ostentatious. He had a housekeeper who opened the door. Inside there were a considerable amount of books on counter tops, night stands and the like. But it wasn't until he asked me to grab him something from the garage that I saw his real treasure. Ray had been a book man all his life; a lover of everything published - especially science fiction, which he hoarded - and I think he kept every item he ever purchased stacked in this garage. There were old Amazing Stories pulp magazines going back fifty years. There' were books stacked higher than a man stands tall. One
of them was even signed by some other luminary of sci-fi to ray himself. I had found the dragon's treasure of science fiction fans. When I asked him about the plethora of books and urged him to let me sell them for him, he simply said, "Eric, I have grandchildren." My lunatic thoughts of six figure commissions were dashed. But it also showed me that ray cared about family.Another time, Ray Bradbury couldn't come do a signing because he had limited time, so he offered to just drop by the store and sign a few books for me. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be at the store, or so I thought, when he was due. A friend of mine, Kevin Hooper, was working for me then and I explained to him the situation and showed him what I wanted signed. Kevin did not believe that ray Bradbury was going to just show up and sign this large stack of books. While I was reiterating his duties while affirming Ray's intentions, Ray showed up. Kevin was in shock that he got to meet Ray Bradbury in person a
nd how nice he was to sign a huge stack of books for free.The last time I had Ray for a book signing was at the Palm Springs Villagefest. We'd scheduled it months in advance. All my regulars, who had grown in numbers, were looking forward to his arrival. But when the night came, the weather was awful. It was cold and rainy - a horrible night for an outdoor book event. Only a handful of vendors, out of the normally hundreds, were even going to set up: the hot dog guy was nearby and one or two other vendors way down the block. No one else was going to do business on such a miserable night. I called my Dad and asked him to bring by our pop-up canopies reserved for swap meets and we quickly spread out in the street. We set up the books, which was a huge sprawling mess of tables covered with literally thousands of Ray Bradbury classics. Ray showed up driven by his regular driver and without hesitation asked, "Where do you want me?" and then quickly planted himself under the canop
ies outside, inches from the falling rain.Compared to a normal event at the street fair, few people showed up, but for those who did, they were pleasantly surprised to find a literary Science fiction giant sitting outside under tarps signing books and regaling the crowd with his good humor and presence. Ray mentioned the cold, so I bought a heater and we ran the extension cord through the rain. Thankfully Mother Nature was gentle on it and the device warmed up my aged friend without incident. He got hungry and we sent for food but he declined the milk shake and instead asked for a glass of wine. "My wife doesn't normally let me drink," he confided. I again sent a runner and this time came back with a toasted cheese sandwich and a large soda cup with lid and straw. Apparently the restaurateur didn't want to be found sending an open glass of alcohol out onto the street. Ray was thrilled and became more and more joyous with each refill.Ray's still writing and signing books. He'
s in his nineties now and barely slowing down. As I got to know him over the years I surmised that he was a guy who got to reap the benefits of doing what he loved for a living for a long long time. God love him.Eventually I sold the store and the ladies who bought it closed it down after a few hard years. My friends reverently think of Ray Bradbury when they mention the 'good old days' of the bookstore. I haven't seen Ray in five or seven years now and last I did it was at the same book fair at UCLA where I first got his phone number. He remembered me and we talked briefly. He was congenial, gracious and authentic; as always. I thanked him for a few more autographs and released him to the blockbuster crowd in line behind me.

View this post on my blog: http://www.yourgamebook.com/palm-springs-celebrity-encounters-ray-bradbury.html