The Charlie Brown of the Google Age.

I dreamt I was in that Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man.

The Kanamits, an advanced alien race, arrive on Earth. They’ve come, as the title of their book says, “To serve man.” They share their technology freely. End hunger. Cure disease. Everyone is happy.

Except me.

In my dream, the hero Michael Chambers mysteriously disappears... and I take his place. I become the skeptical code breaker.

The Kanamits are up to something. I can feel it! I don’t trust their technological wonders. If only I could translate their book!

Finally, I give up. What can I do? I can’t break the code, and the world is jumping on the Kanamits' bandwagon.

Finally, I accept their technology. It’s making our lives better, right? I even agree to visit the Kanamits’ homeworld.

As I’m going up the ramp to their spaceship, someone shouts my name. I turn and see Alice holding up the aliens’ book, To Serve Man.

I expect her to scream, “It’s a cookbook!” like in the TV show. They’re just fattening us up! We’re on the menu!

But no. In my dream, she holds up the book and shouts, “It’s Blogging for Dummies!”

That’s when I wake up.

I stumble to Chip’s room. He’s at the computer, of course. I tell him my dream.

He says, “I have Blogging for Dummies,” and offers me the book.

I stare at him a minute. I know I’m beat. I take the book--

And wake up again. Now it’s 2:30 AM and I’m wide awake for real.

My face-to-face, hands-on world has been invaded. That’s what the dream was about, wasn’t it? Everyone thinks technology is at our service. Everyone is on the spaceship, my son is the pilot, and here I stand, watching them go.

My stomach hurts.

​Either I’m hungry, or I’m the Charlie Brown of the Google era.

Comments

Chip: I don’t know. I just watched To Serve Man online. It really freaked me out. Is this how my dad feels all the time? I need to take him camping or something.

Media Jean: Ask him to help you build something you don’t need. He loves that kind of stuff. Remember that time you asked him to build a tree house?

Chip: Great idea! I’ll ask him to help me build a transistor radio. He had one of those when he was a kid.

Media Jean: Wow, he’s that old? I guess that’ll help him forget all about the Twilight Zone dream. Wish I could say the same. I’m hooked!

Chip: Me, too! Let’s stay up all night and have a Twilight Zone marathon!

Media Jean: My parents won’t let me sleep over on a school night so we’ll have to do it online.

Chip: OK. Funny how parents think if you’re in your room, you’re in your room.

Media Jean: Yeah. Maybe that comes from growing up in a world where everything was in a box. Like transistor radios.

Chip: I’m glad we’re growing up today, not yesterday.

Media Jean: You said it. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, that’s my motto.

​Have a thought for Bob? Write to us at [email protected]