You're Traveling Through Another Dimension

Michelle and I got to go out on a date last night. We decided to use our yearly Disney passes to visit California Adventure (Yes, I'm gloating just a little bit--both about our passes and the fine weather). One of the better known rides there is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Michelle let me go on it alone (I tried to sneak her in too but she couldn't get by the pregnancy detector).

As I went into the hotel room, the lights went dark and Rod Serling's voice came over the room. A television in the corner turned on. Everyone in the room (there were about 40 of us) got giddy.

Now you need to understand, I'm a dedicated fan of the old Twilight Zone TV Series--maybe even one of the most dedicated. I've spent most New Year's Eves and July 4th's since my teenage years watching the episodes during the Twilight Zone Marathon--first on WIBX in New York and then on the Sci-Fi Channel. I've long since come to know most of the episodes by heart, and I'd stay up late into the night and early morning (often with friends) watching and waiting for my favorites.* I'm not sure my parents ever fully understood or appreciated my affinity with it, nor did I entirely. It was a unique interest that I claimed as my own, and perhaps for that reason I clung to it.

That interest finally came full circle today as I purchased on Amazon a used copy of the entire Fifth Season of the Twilight Zone Definitive Edition (on DVD). I now own every single episode.

Perhaps you can understand, then, why I found it a bit ironic to be in that room with a bunch of mothers, kids, and crazy teenagers all chanting along to Serling's opening: "You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop: The Twilight Zone."

Suddenly, the Twilight Zone had become cool. I wasn't prepared for that, and I certainly wasn't ready to share it. I think I was half expecting the attendants to give me a special seat, present me with an award, or ask me to make a brief speech. Since they allowed me none of those things I decided instead to spend my time feeling smugly superior to everyone else on the ride.

That seemed to be enough :)


*My top three episodes: 1. "A Simple Game of Pool"; 2. "The Howling Man"; and 3. "To Serve Man."