The Venus Chronicle

As many of you may know, Ray Bradbury passed away last night. I found his death date somehow fitting, as yesterday also marked the transit of Venus in front of the sun. Bradbury would probably appreciate that he died around the same time as this rare phenomenon occurred -- he was fascinated with our solar system and our place in it, and he was a creative, brilliant "phenomenon" himself. Before I left work yesterday, a volunteer pulled me aside to tell me about the eclipse, which hadn't been on my radar (so to speak); he'd bought "eclipse glasses" and brought them with him for his shift, and I had the opportunity to step outside and put them on and stare up in wonder as a tiny black speck (Venus) was visible in the upper right part of the sun. Glorious and mysterious and magnificent! Like Bradbury himself.

We'll miss you, Ray. Thank you for being one of my biggest inspirations!