Sunday, January 7, 2018

Spur of the Moment

You may or may not know, but every New Year’s Eve the SyFy channel has a Twilight Zone marathon. I make it a habit to watch at least one episode, my favorite episode, Spur of the Moment. For those who haven’t seen this 50 year old classic, I’m going to give you a spoiler alert right now. Spur of the Moment is about 18 year old Anne who is torn between marrying the man her wealthy father has chosen or instead defy dear daddy and marry her childhood sweetheart. Well like any good romance writer (and reader) I rooted for true love and hoped Anne married her blond sweetheart—at least the first time I saw the episode. And she did. But like any good Twilight Zone, things aren’t what they seem. Poor Anne, despite marrying for love, has actually made the wrong decision and in middle age has lived to regret not marrying her father’s choice. In fact, she’s literally haunted by her younger self and even though time after time she tries to right her wrong, there’s nothing she can do and must live with her decision. Moral of the story, watch what you ask for, you may get it. Or, don’t marry for love, it might not be a good idea. Or even, don’t marry at all, you’ll be miserable. None of these morals should seemingly appeal to someone who loves to write and read about happily ever afters. Perhaps it’s not a moral but simply the poignancy of not being able to keep one’s younger self from making mistakes, that I love. In the end, the moral or why it appeals to me doesn’t matter, next New Year’s Eve I’ll search out my favorite Twilight Zone and watch as Anne makes the wrong decision again and foolishly chooses love.