"Will we ever stop being afraid of nights and death?"
"When you reach the stars , boy, yes, and live there forever, all the fears will go, and Death himself will die."
When I was a kid, my parents used to take my brothers and me to the video rental store (you don't see so many of those anymore... but hey, it was the 90's) and let us pick out something to watch. I can't tell you how many times we chose The Halloween Tree.
My obsession with this movie adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book rivaled even my love of the Peter Pan Disney movie -- and that's saying something!
On the surface, it probably looks like a silly kids' movie, but as an adult I still think this cartoon is amazing. Ray Bradbury, the author of The Halloween Tree, narrated this movie adaptation of his book himself (he had a great voice!), and it's full of actual lines from the book. Ray's writing is vivid and poetic, and I love the spooky, mysterious story he crafted about one of my favorite days of the year -- Halloween. Most of all, I love how Pipkin's friends sacrifice years from their own lives to bring him back to life.
My brothers and I still watch this movie together every Halloween (and sometimes in between) and quote parts of it at each other all the time.
And then there's the book. Probably needless to say, it's wonderful.
Ray Bradbury died today at age 91. He lived a long life; I hope it was a happy one. I'm so glad that he lived, gave the world Pipkin and made Halloween seem so magical for us (and many other children, I'm sure).
I think the special thing about the death of a writer, any writer, is that even after they're gone, their books are still here and continue to capture people's imaginations and hearts. I'm sure there are many people who will discover and enjoy Ray's work in the future. Well, I'm happy not only to have discovered his writing, but to have shared the world with such an amazing person for a while. :)
Here's another great quote of his:
"Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there."
What are you remembering about Ray Bradbury today? Do you have a favorite from his works?