Here I am speaking Oct. 8 at Western University to an intimidatingly wall-like mass of people to introduce Ray Bradbury. (Photo by Jeff Malet.)

Midway through, Muriel Spill of the Pomona Public Library came out to move me, twice, to get me in position for the video camera. In the overflow room, all they were seeing was the bare wall and my voice coming from off-camera, as if I were the Invisible Man. (Photo by Bruce Guter.)

And here is Bradbury himself a few minutes later holding forth, with his biographer, Sam Weller. (Photo by me.) You can read my account of the event in Wednesday’s column.