20250711 - Test Post with Images

As a kid, I used to love the Twilight Zone repeats. Most were thought provoking. Some were scary, others more pensive.

If I think about the one that I *personally* consider that “sends a chill up my spine,” the answer is easy.

The 1959 episode “A Stop at Willoughby” will always have personal connections for me.

The story follows an ad man whose life appears to be spiraling out of control. At work, he is facing increasing pressure in a career he hates and has low aptitude for. His boss is unsupportive and demaniding, and he has faced a series of professional failures. Debt is closing in around him.

At home, his wife is bored and discontented with him - his economic failures have led to a perceived loss of status, and his lack of ambition irritates her. She is cold and cruel when he tries to explain his crises.

One night, on the way home, he falls asleep in the commuter train. He awakens at a stop at a 19th-century town - Willoughy - were the pace is slower. Kids play in the street and the community appears to be bucolic and ideal. The conductor asks if this is his stop, and that if he wants to get off, he best hurry.