Author: Robert Dagnall

  • Missing Lost

    Missing Lost

    Cheryl lay in the dark of her room, in a heap of stuffed animals, thinking of her missing friend. The thought of him out there, alone, scared, maybe hunted, brought a mix of cold dread and hot tears back, and she fought them down again. She thought about the MISSING LOST CAT poster she had…

  • For Ray Bradbury’s Centennial: the Impossible Birthday Card

    For Ray Bradbury’s Centennial: the Impossible Birthday Card

    I once received a birthday card from a Neil, postmarked from England, and while I thought that was very kind I didn’t know any Neils, and certainly not any from England. Inside was a kind note and some drawings in pen, and then it dawned on me that I was holding a birthday card sent…

  • My first job: Submarine Captain

    My first job: Submarine Captain

    An old resume includes: Captain in the world’s 13th largest submarine fleet. Led “voyage of exploration through liquid space,” including a course beneath the polar icecap. Demonstrated conspicuous bravery and sound judgment in rescuing 32 civilians from surface storms, the Graveyard of Lost Ships, and attacks by giant squid. Spearheaded underwater archaeological expedition; located the…

  • Meeting Ray Bradbury

    I sat down years ago to make a list of Remarkable Things I Want to Do in My Life. #1 was “Tell Ray Bradbury how much I love Dandelion Wine.” Shortly after, I moved to San Diego, and read that Ray was going to teach a seminar for writers. Right down the hill from my…

  • Buying Fireworks

    A friend on Facebook: “You can learn everything you need to know about someone just watching them purchase fireworks.” One summer, my best friend and I were too poor to buy fireworks, but we loved window shopping at the firework stand. The dudebro attendants noticed us and offered us a deal: take stacks of their…

  • Bradbury, on Halloween, in the Library

    Bradbury, on Halloween, in the Library

    The day before Halloween some years ago, Ray Bradbury was appearing at a Los Angeles public library to drum up support for the institution–to remind people of the library, and its importance, and the books there for the asking. I found out about the event on short notice, and sped north from San Diego. First…

  • For Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary

    I grew up watching Star Trek with my parents, and it played a particular role in bonding with my father. A 10th-grade dropout, a mechanic, a contractor and engineer with little regard for standards, measurements, or straight lines–nonetheless, my father was fascinated by the ideas in the show. Long after we’d watch a rerun of…