RIP to Ray Bradbury

Ray died last night. I don’t know how many others of you out there got turned on to science by first getting into science fiction, but he certainly steered me in that direction. He also started me off on my lifelong fascination with the planet Mars. So here I was, thinking, well, Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, got his ashes strewn through interplanetary space by some ship or other, and Brother Ray deserves to have some of his buried on the Red Planet by the next probe.

(Of course, that’s assuming his family has him cremated, instead of buried whole in Waukegan or in LA.) But I’ve already been in contact with NASA’s PR people today, and they liked the idea, so who knows? I just wanted to be the first person to suggest it. If they don’t opt for cremation, maybe a lock of his hair, or an old pair of eyeglasses, could make the trip. Whatever works. I’d like it if they’d take one of my fingernail-parings too, so part of ME could be on my second-favorite planet forever. I hope to hear a sound of thunder sometime today. Listen for it.