Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Looking Back: Brian Kelley's 'A Ray Bradbury Moment' April 2002

Brian Kelley
Library Learning Resource Center Director

His personal story  about ‘Ray Bradbury Moment’!


Near the end of the first Read Together Palm Beach County program our director Brian Kelley was approached to set up an afternoon ‘live’ interview with 81 year old Ray Bradbury.  This event would be via a remote call from our Duncan Theatre at Palm Beach State College, [formerly PBCC] to his home in Los Angeles. Radio personality Renee Montagne from NPR Radio was hired to conduct the interview. The stage was set with a large screen, a comfortable overstuffed chair, a green end table and a microphone.  There were over 400 attendees quietly yet anxiously waiting for this event to begin. [April 2002]

Mr. Kelley is telling me this story in his office at Palm Beach State College not too long after the passing of Mr. Bradbury on July 5th, 2012. He tells me that he has told this story numerous times at library events whenever the book Fahrenheit 451 or Ray Bradbury is mentioned.



Mr. Kelley continues...

"The fun began 20 minutes before the interview started."  Renee Montagne made the initial contact to Los Angeles.  Mr. Bradbury is on the phone talking with Renee and he made the commitment to begin the interview in 20 minutes. They did a sound check and both Renee and Mr. Bradbury agreed to set their phones down until it was time to begin the interview.  The stage is set.  Behind Renee the big screen has a larger than life picture of Mr. Bradbury and the spotlight is on the chair.”  Mr. Kelley is very pleased with the turn out as he looks out towards the audience.








Quote from website: Read Together Palm Beach County  "In 2002, Renee Montagne of National Public Radio hosted a two hour public discussion of Fahrenheit 451 at the Duncan Theatre. The event included a telephone interview with author Ray Bradbury, in Los Angeles, who answered questions from the audience in Lake Worth." Image Credit: http://pbcliteracy.org/general.php?category=Programs/Read-Together-Palm-Beach-County




Mr. Kelley continues...

“Around five till, we pick up the phone and say, ‘Mr. Bradbury are you there’?  We didn’t get any answer.  At this point the program is supposed to begin. 10 minutes after the hour we are still not hearing a voice from the other side! We thought something must have happened. He must have forgotten that we called but we’re still on the line.  Or he didn’t realize he had put the phone down and thought we were calling back.  But at this point we don’t have another phone number or contact for him.  He didn’t have a cell phone.  2002 was ‘pre-everybody has a cell phone’ era.  He’s not the kind of person that would have a cell phone even today."

 
"Because we are having difficulties contacting Mr. Bradbury, we make an announcement to the audience that we are having some technical difficulties and we are currently trying to get Mr. Bradbury on the line. All those involved in the set up for this event are in a cold sweat.  We are panicking and thought 'maybe he took ill'. What should we do? Call the police in Los Angeles? Should we call the library in Los Angeles and have someone go over to his house?"

 "Someone thought of this idea...‘what if we got a cross reference directory on his phone number to find out his street address and find the nearby address and call those numbers?" 
That’s exactly what they did!
When your guest author has wandered away from the phone,
who you gonna call? A librarian! Of Course!


The end of the story goes something like this...
“We called the City of West Palm Beach Library. Their librarian looked up Mr. Bradbury’s phone number in a cross-reference directory for Los Angeles, and found his address.  The librarian looked up his street and found a few neighbor's phone numbers.  We called a couple people, and one of them walked over and knocked on his door, who in turn found Mr. Bradbury outside.  The neighbor told him to go inside and pick up the phone and that’s what he did!”

Mr. Kelley said the interview was a success and went surprisingly well after the difficult delay.  The program began around 15 after the hour instead of the top of the hour. Mr. Kelley also said that this was the longest 15 minutes waiting and wondering what they were going to do if they couldn't reach Mr. Bradbury with 400 people in the audience patiently waiting.

Mr. Kelley continues: “To this day, I can’t ever hear the name ‘Ray Bradbury’ without thinking of that whole incident!  Everything was perfect after that."
 
It was definitely a ‘Ray Bradbury Moment’!
Librarians save the day!


This story was written from a recorded interview with Mr. Kelley
via our library Flip video device by Library Technician Colleen Shaffer
Palm Beach State College
Lake Worth, Florida
 
Ray Bradbury August 22, 1920 - June 5, 2012
 

 




 














Monday, July 25, 2016

Strawberry Moon & Summer Solstice 2016

Summer Solstice

 “And now for the kiss of the wind,
And the touch of the air’s soft hands,
With the rest from strife and the heat of life,
With the freedom of lakes and lands.”



---------- Paul Laurence Dunbar, “In the Summer”

      This year, the annual Summer Solstice fell on the same time as another lunar event, the Strawberry Moon. The Strawberry Moon is a full moon, noted for its bright, red tinted color. Stunning pictures of the solstice show the strawberry moon overlooking a clear night sky.


       The Summer Solstice also has many literary traditions. It has represented mythical thought, natural beauty and harvest seasons and several writers have used the symbolism of the longest day of the year to speak of the human experience. Their writings, collected within the library in several anthologies, show that the fascination that people have held with this astrological event has not waned since it was first discovered, many ages ago. It coincides with many significant constellations that hold much meaning for those that are interested in astrology. It is celebrated in different cultures all across the globe, from Midsummer festivals in the States to sky-watching ceremonies at Stonehenge.

http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/wp-content/uploads/summer-constellations.jpg
           
Besides its historical and literary significance, the event of a summer solstice falling on a strawberry moon is a rare lunar event. Scientists state that this event only occurs every 60 to 70 years. There may be only one sighting a generation!

 As Jessica F. writes for Nature World News: “Some say that the strawberry moon is rarer than the blue moon, and the last one occurred 68 years ago. A strawberry moon is a celestial event when the summer solstice occurs at the same time with a full moon. Legends say that the named was derived from older traditions that when a summer solstice and a full moon occurred at the same time, it signals the start of the harvest season of the fruit[…].”

     If you missed the event, don’t worry! There are still plenty of events planned to happen in the night sky. On August 11th and 12th, the peak of the Perseids meteor shower will take place, dazzling the sky with dozens of shooting stars. Additionally, a lunar eclipse will take place on September 1st, but will only be visible on the eastern coast of Africa.

We, at the library, hope everyone who is reading is having a great summer and are enjoying the beautiful night skies! We look forward to seeing you in the Fall.

Submitted by Samantha MacLaren
Library Technician 1
Palm Beach State College