Thursday 7 June 2012

The smell of bees



“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.”

Dandelion wine. {1957}

“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.

It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away. The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”

Farenheit 451. {1953}

Quotes from the work of Ray Bradbury who died on Tuesday.  Reading his book Farenheit 451 in class when I was about 13 was an eye opening experience that I'll always be grateful for - even though we were made to do it.

He was a gardener. I hope his words continue to grow.

See you later.

Listening to:


1 comment:

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

I liked some of his stories, especially the martian Chronicles.

My favourite quote (I think it was Fahrenheit 451)
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. "

He'll be missed.

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