B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

He walked to the podium cautiously. His steps were less than secure.

For a man who had fearlessly traveled territory that other mortals only

dreamed of exploring, the ravages of time on the body of this brave

soldier of humanity were only a reminder that we are all ultimately

destined to an equal plane of existence.

Ray Bradbury, the mid-twentieth century mind-expanding author of “The

Martian Chronicles,” reached the microphone at the Sutton Place Hotel,

Newport Beach and suddenly, instantly, his painful and slow walk to get

there was forgotten.

Bradbury, 80, opened his mouth to speak, his eyes twinkling with

delight at being part of the crowd and still in the game. His brilliant

mind, crisp, playful and eager to impart ideas, hushed the crowd of some

300 Orange County advocates of public television who had come to share in

the 2nd annual Aristeia Awards organized by KOCE-TV.

And then he told the audience, “We can’t find solutions to our

problems because we have made every important issue political. None of

the answers to our challenges can be found in a political position.

None.”

For Bradbury, best-selling author, screenwriter, urban planner,

teacher, dreamer and visionary, the world is an evolving human experiment

in which he has played the role of instigator for most of his life. His

ideas have challenged the norm and forced others to open doors previously

shut.

Bradbury dreams of his grandchildren inhabiting Alpha Centari. He sees

planet Earth as a place where peace reigns and good prevails. And he

challenges those who refuse to open their minds to possibilities to stand

aside and get out of the way.

“Why are we so afraid of nuclear power?” he demands of his audience.

“We have the ability to solve our energy crisis, yet we are paralyzed by

unfounded fears of nuclear disaster. We have the technology to prevent

disaster, yet we do not expand the use of our nuclear power to advance

humanity. It’s insanity.”

A planned 10-minute keynote address lasted nearly an hour as one of

the brilliant minds of our time hit the hot button issues of the day.

“Whatever you do, do not watch any local news on television. It is

demeaning, demoralizing and worthless. A litany of car crashes, murders

and shootings, the end result of which brings down mankind, sending a

message of hopelessness and futility. It is no wonder our nation, our

world, suffers from a collective negative psychosis.”

The applause broke the silence in the room. Ironically, the masters of

ceremony for the evening were KOCE’s local news anchors Ed Arnold and Ann

Pulice, who had made a very clear distinction over their roles on KOCE’s

“Real Orange,” compared to commercial news coverage on television,

earlier in the evening.

Bradbury was invited to Orange County by his friend Mary Lyons of

Newport Beach. Lyons, an ardent supporter of arts and education in

Newport-Mesa, was a former high school teacher who first had the pleasure

of meeting Bradbury many years ago when he would come to Newport Harbor

High to talk with students.

“He is a truly unique man,” she told the crowd. “There is no one else

quite like him.”

As he finished, the audience rose to its feet to send the message that

it had shared in an hour of mind-expanding human contact. Sadly, Bradbury

ended by sharing the realization that mankind had not developed as far as

he might have hoped during his lifetime. Yet, he confirmed his lifelong

attitude that it is far better to swim upstream and fight the current

than to give in to mediocrity.

The evening was organized by Gloria Gae Gellman and Peggy Goldwater

Clay, and in addition to Bradbury, featured an address by KOCE chairman

Mel Rogers on the state of television. Rogers began his address using an

anecdote from an early script for the series “Lassie” and then moving

forward to illustrate how times have changed.

Awards were presented to community leaders Bernice Hird, Jack Peltason

and Arnold Beckman. The 101-year-old Beckman, alegendary scientist,

appeared on stage at the very end of the evening to accept his Aristeia

Award as the crowd once again gave up a rousing standing ovation.

More than $130,000 was raised from donor support and contributions

collected from a live and silent auction featuring, among other items,

the exceptional work of Laguna Beach artist Robert Schaar and a generous

travel pass valued at more than $16,000 provided by Delta Airlines.

Spotted in the crowd were community leaders Betty Belden Palmer, Dean

Corey, Jim and Lynne Doti, Irv Gellman, Janice Johnson, Meredith

Khachigian, Leon and Molly Lyon, Sharon McNalley, Eric and Lila Nelson,

Al and Trisha Nichols, Anne Nutt, Essie Pinsker, Elaine Redfield, Mary

Roosevelt, Ken and Donna Iglesias and Garth and Marian Bergeson.

To compliment the high powered intellectual tone of the evening,

entertainment was provided by the Hutchins Consort, a renowned group of

players on acoustically matched violins led by local musician Joe

McNalley.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.