Michael Crichton

Seventh grade was a great time for me. It was my second year of public school and I wasn't the outsider that I was the year before. I made new friends and the year provided the opportunities for more of my classmates to get to know me better. Besides the social networking that I did that year I had an English teacher who would start the day with a simple assignment. Bring in a book and read for 15 minutes or so. After that 15 minutes you would write in a journal what you had read. Simple and easy, possibly a good way to kill a chunk of the day without too much brain power. But that reading time was more than just an assignment or a "school thing." That short amount of time allowed me to delve into worlds and mysteries that only I could understand and enjoy.

The author that I spent most of the year reading was Michael Crichton. When Jurassic Park hit the movie theaters some years before I went and saw the film with my mother and enjoyed the excitement but for some reason I wondered about the book. The book was a hard read, lots of science and at the time I was just entering sixth grade but I managed my way through the book. Then I read another Chrichton book, Eaters of the Dead. The tale was a little more adult for me but I read it and didn't think twice. Then there was Sphere. I remember holding the paperback in my hands and looking at the thickness of the pages and thinking, "yeah right, I'll never finish this book." I started reading, and kept reading each page flowing into the next. The story, the characters and the world that was portrayed pushing me to keep reading. My eyes would blur and tire but the story would resonate in my mind. A little rest and then I would jump right back into the book.

I never thought that a book could have such an impact but it did. The impact was great because I had the crazy thought that I would write a book. I wrote my story which stole ideas from Sphere and eventually I finished writing. There weren't many pages but to write my own story was exciting. I would write more stories over time, each page a reflection of the author that inspired me. That seventh grade year I would read A Time of Need which Crichton used a pseudonym, Jeffrey Hudson. The story was very adult but I latched onto the story and was gripped by each twist and turn. Terminal Man led me into a twisted world of medical science gone awry at the same time Five Patients brought the real life experience of medicine to my mind.

After reading Congo, Travels, The Lost World, The Great Train Robbery, Airframe, Rising Sun, and Andromeda Strain I caught up to Crichton and had to wait for new publications. Each time a new hardcover hit the racks I bought the book, not with the same excitement as my seventh grade year. The stories continued to intrigue and open my mind to new stories of imagination.

Michael Crichton passed away on November 5th at the age of 66. As someone who continues to create stories and write screenplays I know that without Michael Crichton they just wouldn't be the same. Besides being a writer he was a filmmaker, he was even considered to be in one of my favorite movies The Man Who Fell to Earth. The literary world has lost a unique storyteller but his stories will continue through me and maybe to any kids that I might have.