An Update

I still have The Scarlet Pimpernel in mind for Book Club. I've just been a bit preoccupied. And, because it is a really old book, it isn't entirely a quick read. I'm going through it, but I may need another week. Or two. If you've finished, hold on to your comments. I really want to hear your take on this. But I didn't anticipate all the stuff that just keeps getting in the way. So if you've not finished, read on. You have time. If you have, awesome! Check back soon for a discussion. Thanks for your patience.

Bradbury Friday: The Man

 

The Man is a short story that can be found in Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man and in S is for Space. Although it is not the only story that Bradbury has written with a religious theme to it, it is the only one of that category in the Bradbury 13 series. Bradbury called this story one of his "What if" stories. SO, what if you arrived on a planet just after Christ had come, ministered and gone? (Bradbury did identify the Man as a representation of Christ)

Captain Hart has been exploring space. He enjoys the adoration of the crowds, coming to greet him and celebrate his greatness, as a man from earth coming in a space ship to their planet. But on this particular planet, on this particular day, the people there do not seem to have the excitement that Captain Hart had expected. In fact, no one comes to greet their ship at all. Outraged, Captain Hart finally sends his First Lieutenant Martin out to find the Mayor and bring in a welcoming committee, or at least find out why they haven't bothered to greet the new arrivals.

Martin returns with news that the people have no interest in the ship or its crew. Just yesterday, a Man arrived in the city. He was good and kind. He healed the sick, comforted the poor, and fought hypocrisy and dirty politics. But Captain Hart will hear none of it. A boy with a crippled arm showed Hart that he had been healed. But to Hart, this was no proof, as all he saw was a healthy arm. Captain Hart is convinced that Ashley or Burton, captains of two other ships, must have been here before him. They must have arrived and fooled the entire town, using advanced technology to "heal" and "comfort" the people, making them believe that he was of infinite wisdom.

Martin, however, believes the people. He feels something that Captain Hart does not. He decides to stay behind, to retire and live among the goodness he has felt here. Captain Hart climbs aboard his ship, determined to chase down this Man, and find out who he really is, needing Him to show Himself in person.

I think the overall message is that we should be able to find Christ in the ourselves and the people around us. He works through the people. We do the work for Him. Martin saw Christ in the people and believed. Captain Hart needed to see the physical person to believe. Who will have happiness? Who will never be satisfied? Where do you stand in your life? And what if you just missed that personal visitation? Would you embrace the remaining love? Or would you run away, seeking to find Him for yourself? Are you Martin, or are you Captain Hart?

Enjoy this tale. It is also available as an mp3 at twilightzoneradio.com for $1.95.

ThePianoGuys: Harry Potter

Bradbury Friday: Kaleidoscope

"I decided one morning forty-six years ago to explode a rocket and toss my astronauts out into a wilderness of Space to see what would happen. The result was a story that was reprinted in countless anthologies and appeared and reappeared in high school and college auditoriums. Students across country performed the story in class, to teach me once again that theater doesn't need sets, lights, costumes, or sound. Just actors in school or in someone's  garage or storefront speaking the lines and sensing the passion. 
"How do you cram a million miles of interplanetary flight onto a stage forty feet wide and twenty deep before an audience of ninety-nine? You just do it. And when the last human meteor fires down the sky, there's not a dry eye in the house. All Space, Time, and the heartbeats of seven men are trapped in the words which, when spoken, set them free." --Ray Bradbury, in the Introduction to The Illustrated Man.

Clearly, Kaleidoscope, is one of Bradbury's most popular short stories. It's no wonder Mike McDonough chose this story as one of the Bradbury 13 series. It is one that has been done and analyzed and looked at for years. Printed and re-printed. In the Bradbury 13 episode, some of the characters are a bit different (through dialog and what happens to them) than in the original story. But the resounding message is the same. How would you handle the death that is suddenly and unexpectedly facing you? You cannot change what is before you, so what do you do with the time you have left, simply floating until the end arrives? How would you cope?

As a kid, I really liked this story. It's hard to pin-point why, though. It must be the abstract concept that is presented there. What do you do with your end? You cannot change what has happened in your past, and your future is certain. You must now come to terms with yourself. Are you ready to do that? Now, as a child, I certainly didn't have those thoughts, and probably didn't really have a full understanding of the meaning behind such a fate. But I was drawn to this story. And reading it, now, there is still something about it that draws me in.

I reccomend this story in any form. The written story is available in the book The Illustrated Man or in The Stories of Ray Bradbury. You can listen to the Bradbury 13 edition that I heard as a kid, avaliable for purchase on twilightzoneradio.com. And for anyone who is interested, there is also the 1951 radio version created by Dimension X, free on YouTube. Click Here for the link of that 30 minute video. 

Join me next week for another story that "almost could be, or might have been."