We all have daily responsibilities that must take priority in our lives. Finding the time to read any book is sometimes very difficult and frustrating especially if you're currently reading one that's a page turner. We've all been there one time or another. We just want the time to finish that book!
This thought reminded me of a "Twilight Zone" episode - "Time Enough at Last". This episode aired on November 20, 1959 during the first season. Of course, I didn't see the episode when it originally aired, but thanks to reruns, I've seen this many times and it's one of my favorites.
In this episode, Henry Bemis (Burgess Meredith) is a bank teller who is also a bookworm. He loves to read and actually does this while he is supposed to be working. Of course, he gets in trouble for this, but reading is his passion.
One day during his lunch break, he goes to the bank vault and continues reading a book. While in the bank vault, a bomb explodes and destroys almost everything! Bemis survives since the thick walls of the bank vault protected him.
Confused and dismayed at the destruction, Bemis has a thought of hope and excitement when he notices that many of the books from the library nearby have also survived the blast. Finally, he has all the time in the world to read to his heart's content!
Of course, "Twilight Zone" is known for its ironic plots and this episode is no exception. Bemis is very near-sighted and has to wear very thick glasses to see. The ironic twist in this episode is that when Bemis finally has not only the time to read and plenty of books to last a life time, he accidentally breaks the lens in his glasses. When this occurs, the despair felt by Bemis is also felt by all book lovers watching this episode.
Imagine that you could no longer read books for whatever reason. How would you feel?
I found this episode on YouTube and thought I would share it on this post. This isn't the original video, but I think it's pretty cool how the person who loaded the video has the episode showing on an old RCA TV.
