"You are so rare, Cori, so forgiving, compassionate, and easy going" . . . LOLOL!!!  

I try to be, but you might have changed that opinion a couple of days ago, had you heard me railing on the phone first with Sprint, and then with HughesNet.  Let's just say that I was something less than the kind, patient and forgiving self I strive to be.    ;-)

That said, Marianne Williamson once said that, in the workplace, we should seek to be a blessing to those around us, and I took that to heart.  So that is my goal, to be a blessing to those I come into contact with, even though, as a fallible human, I sometimes fail miserably at the task.

But, bottom line, we're all in this together, and whether you take in the sages of the major philosophies and religions, or the theoretical physicists, in the end it all comes down to one thing, literally:  there is only, ever, one of us here.  

Anything we do to or for others we are, by definition, doing to or for ourselves.  So being nice benefits us every bit as much it benefits those we are being nice to, every time.  

And being not-so-nice comes back to bite us.  Every time.

As for fictionalizing my take on Bradbury, that hadn't occurred to me, but I could definitely have some fun with that.  

Though Chris Moore kinda sorta got there first, with his "Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove," which I've always had a sneaking suspicion might have been inspired by Bradbury's "The Foghorn."  

And if you haven't read it, you simply must; it is the second book in his Pine Cove trilogy, which are all hilarious, but I read it first, and it stands well on its own. His characterizations are fabulous and wonderful.