Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY

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February 25, 2010

Losing the ability to be astounded

By JIMMY LOWE For the Daily Times

GLASGOW — I’ve never had an urge to howl at the moon. Yet, back mid-way through the past century, I once saw fellow do just that.

Sometimes after what I felt had been a hard day in elementary school, I would come home to relax with an afternoon movie on Channel 5’s “The Big Show.” The black and white TV screen would entertain me for an hour or so back then with a variety of programming. It seems that the shows frequently offered science fiction fare.

That’s where I first met Lon Chaney Jr. as “The Wolf Man.” There I also encountered “The Mummy,” “The Invisible Man,” Frankenstein,” “The Incredible Shrinking Man” and assorted other odd characters. 

I realized, even during the 1950s, that much of what I saw on television would always remain fiction. Occasionally, though, there would be content in some of those old science fiction films that provided possible glimpses into the future. As a child of Jules Verne and a little brother of Ray Bradbury, I was intrigued.

Now yesteryear’s future has become today’s present. Sure enough, some of what was fantastic fiction then, is ho-hum reality today.

Rocket ships have gone into outer space. Mars has been explored. Man has walked on the moon.

Computers now solve our problems and talk to us.

Robots go where man can’t (or doesn’t want to) go and perform deeds that man can’t (or doesn’t want to) perform.

While they once only existed in tales of science fiction, now tracking devices, cell phones, web cameras, microwaves and the such, are commonplace.

From areas of medicine to the military and to so much more, advances have been accomplished in recent years. Some of these advances have even exceeded the visions presented in those earlier science fiction scenes.

After observing so much in real life, I’ve lost some of my child-like ability to be astonished by the astounding. I’m less motivated to watch science fiction and fantasy movies these days.

I haven’t seen another transformation of man into wolf since Chaney’s film portrayal. I guess I could now see the remake of “The Wolf Man,” which is currently making a first run at the cinemas.

Perhaps it would still be fun to see a fellow howling in the moonlight.

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