Time Enough at Last
you’ll have to read my previous post before this one. I posted back-to-back
ok, so then i read Free Range Librarian’s response http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/08/29/on-gentleness-and-librarianship-and-20-ish-ness-and-they/ to the Annoyed Librarian’s post. I dig her. She’s way more real-life. She doesn’t like the whole ‘they’ thing. ‘I’m fine with it but THEY don’t want it.’ She rags on AL’s they-talk. Good for her. AL is a little strident. And off the point, I think. FRL remembers the days when she worked with librarians who didn’t want change or felt overwhelmed with what was already on their plate. She welcomes the 2.0-ers. While still not becoming a cultist.
I saw an episode of The Twilight Zone (the old one) when I was a kid about a man (Burgess Meredith) who is the last survivor of a nuclear war. It’s called “Time Enough at Last.” You probably know it. He works at a bank and reads during his lunch hour every day in the vault. He is berated for being ‘a reader.’ When the bombs come, he is safely inside the vault. He comes out to find he is the only survivor. He walks around, finally finding a library - a big one - and starts going through all the books. He finds the one he wants to read first, perching himself precariously atop a huge pile of books and debris. Of course, he stumbles. And his glasses break. The fade to black is of him, crying.
Now, folks, I have to say .. this was the worst TZ I ever watched. It just stayed with me for days.. I couldn’t imagine not being able to read if I wanted to and had all the time in the world. Horrific doesn’t cover it. Years later, when I found out I had diabetes, my first thought was of losing my eyesight and not being able to read. I just can’t think of anything worse. Nor would I wish it on the least man. This just made me value reading and the gift of being able to give that to others, even more.
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