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Time Enough at Last

May 18, 2020

I don't know about you, but I thought the quarantine would be a lot more fun.

If all we had to do was stay home to stay safe, I could watch a few seasons of Community and chow down on some Ellio's pizza for the good of the world. But as we're all finding out, flattening the curve does not mean life is going back to normal right away. And the Internet can't keep us content forever.

I started this week with the idea of writing about the meaning of life. You know, simple stuff. But then I got stuck thinking about a particular Twilight Zone episode - "Time Enough at Last".

Spoiler alert: I'm about to talk about a Twilight Zone episode from the 1960s. If you want to watch it, it's on Netflix right now. It's a twenty minute masterpiece. I'll wait.

henry_bemis

Okay, if you didn't end up watching it, this is how the story goes - Bespectacled bank-teller Henry Bemis loves nothing more than books. Enough that it distracts him from his job and makes him the ridicule of the bank customers, his boss, and his wife.  But then, one day, as he steals away, inside the bank vault to read on his lunch break, uninterrupted, a nuclear bomb turns civilization, as he knows it, into toast. He crawls out of the rumble to find silent chaos. When he finds a gun among the rubble and starts to realize how utterly alone he is, he slowly puts the gun to his head. But then he notices the demolished library nearby. With such a disaster, Bemis realizes he has nothing left but time to enjoy the books his old life never let him read. Until suddenly he stumbles and shatters his glasses. Our poor Bemis is left, in solitude, screaming into the void, "It's not fair!"

I feel you, buddy.

Like any good Twilight Zone episode, there is plenty to read into here. But what I'm taking from it is how Bemis had no one to share with. We're left with no clue how he bagged a wife who hates his hobby and his guts, or how he landed a job that required him to work with numbers instead of words. All we know is Bemis loves reading and no one understands or cares.

In one particular scene, Bemis' eyes light up behind his coke-bottle glasses when his wife, uncharacteristically, asks him to read some poetry to her from one of his books. Only when Bemis cracks open the book, he finds that his wife has scribbled all over the pages. (Enough that you can imagine it took her quite a ridiculous amount of time to do.)

Because of Bemis' misfortune, I'm starting to see more than ever that life is not about the things we dream of doing, but how we can share our time with others. Consider it for yourself - If you could do all the things you ever dreamed about, but never share the experiences or the memories with anyone, would you?

I don't think I could. It strangely doesn't feel worth it. If you're thinking that's a bit of a no-brainer from a guy with a weekly blog, you're right. But it's one of those hard truths that always requires a reminder. And unfortunately for now every day delivers.

We all miss the people we're lucky enough to love. And since we can't be around them enough to share our time, we stay home and turn on the tube. But the world is only so entertaining until you smash your glasses.

What I think I'm trying to say here is that we're not going to entertain our way out of this. Life as we know it is being challenged. I don't know how we can be around each other safely just yet, but it's worth a shot. We need to be thoughtful so we can be together.

And hey, I guess, in the end, I did write about the meaning of life after all.

Now, that we've settled that, let's check out what cool stuff fell in front of my face this week:

  • One of my favorite bloggers, Mark Manson, is not putting out some high-quality video. Check out his latest: Why We Do Things We Hate

  • Last Week Tonight's did a piece of why the United States Post Office is so integral and awesome for our country. It's worth the watch.

  • I went back and listed to Joe Rogan talk with entrepreneur and angel investor Naval Ravikant. He's a serious thinker and drops some heavy knowledge on how to get rich, fit, and happy.

  • We're all wanting for some actionable advice in this pandemic and professor Erin Bromage delivers some specifics in a clear, concise way with The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them.

  • If you caught the sensation that is Parasite, you might enjoy Lessons from the Screenplay's latest video - Parasite vs. Sunset Boulevard — The Disillusionment Arc.

  • Hilarious - Everyone is doing social distancing wrong except me

Until next time...

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