Sci Fi Radio 89-09-10 (01) I'm Scared

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Sci Fi Radio 89-09-10 (01) "I'm Scared"
Date: January 3, 2026

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Overview of the Episode

This episode of Harold's Old Time Radio features the debut installment of the "Sci Fi Radio" series, titled "I'm Scared." Adapted from a short story by Jack Finney, the program is a suspenseful science fiction radio drama exploring inexplicable incidents where time seems to slip, merge, or rewind. Through a series of vignettes and eyewitness accounts sent via tapes to the fictional radio host, James Edward Kerr, the episode considers whether mass longing for the past could destabilize the very fabric of time.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the Mystery

• [01:07]–[02:49]
  • Jack Fitty insists a skeptic listen to a recording he’s made—one that seems ordinary at first, but he swears it was captured live on his radio the previous night, despite being an old broadcast.
  • "You must think I'm out of my mind. It's just an old radio show. ... But what you don't understand is that I recorded this on my own radio just last night." – Jack Fitty [02:49]
  • He raises the issue: Are these isolated weird events or signs of something larger and more menacing?

2. Host's Framing and Listener Tapes

• [02:13]–[05:46]
  • Host James Edward Kerr receives a series of tapes from an anonymous, distressed source (Jack Fitty), asking them to be broadcast for public awareness before "it's too late."
  • "Well, I... do think you deserve to hear them. Then you can judge his story for yourself." – James Edward Kerr [04:14]

3. The Case of the Painted House

• [07:01]–[09:25]
  • Lewis Trachner (coal and wood dealer, Danbury, CT) relates inexplicable painting incidents:
    • First, he finds a gray stripe painted carefully across his house; months later, after repainting, a matching stripe of old paint appears—seeming to swap places in time.
    • "Suppose for a moment, that something had happened on each occasion to briefly disturb the orderly progress of time" – Jack Fitty [09:25]

4. A Pattern of Disturbed Time

• [09:25]–[11:59]
  • Jack Fitty catalogs more occurrences: a man receives a phone call from the future, a check is deposited before being written, a letter travels instantly across the country—all suggesting time anomalies.
  • Collecting these stories becomes an obsession for Jack.

5. Julia Eisenberg’s Lost Dog

• [11:59]–[15:08]
  • Julia Eisenberg, an office worker, recounts two dog episodes:
    • First, a mysterious dog clings to her for days and disappears.
    • Years later, her own grown-up dog vanishes—and she comes to believe she herself sent her own dog away before it was even born.
    • "You may think I'm crazy, but that was the same dog. ... I chased my own dog away two years before he was born." – Julia Eisenberg [14:28]

6. The Kirch Family Photograph

• [16:25]–[18:17]
  • Paul B. Kirch, an amateur photographer, discovers that his final family photo shows his family wearing entirely different clothes, his son appears older, and an unknown woman is present.
  • His wife speculates: "I think that photograph shows how things will be a couple years from now. I think that woman is going to be your new wife after I’m gone, either divorced or dead." – Paul’s Wife [17:57]
  • The couple is shaken; Jack suspects the photo to be a glimpse of the future.

7. A Case from the Morgue: Rudolph Fence

• [19:06]–[23:35]
  • Police Captain Rem shares a bizarre case:
    • A man in outdated Victorian garb is killed by a cab in Times Square. On him: only coins and bills from the 1800s, and a receipt from an 1876 stable.
    • Captain Rem uncovers a missing person’s report from 1876 matching the man’s description.
    • "You think this guy walked off into thin air in 1876 and showed up again more than a hundred years later?" – Captain Rem [23:21]

8. Broader Implications of Escapism on Time

• [24:19]–[26:41]
  • Jack Fitty offers a chilling theory:
    • The world's obsession with escaping the present—the popularity of nostalgia, science fiction, and fantasy—is exerting mass psychological pressure on time itself.
    • "I'm completely convinced that this terrible mass pressure of millions of minds is already slightly but definitely affecting time itself." – Jack Fitty [24:19]
    • He suggests that these incidents are occurring more frequently, and may presage a catastrophic breakdown of temporal order.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On skepticism and the unknown:

  • "Try telling your friends that you heard a radio show that hasn't aired for years and see what reaction you get." – Jack Fitty [05:46]

• Linking events to a wider phenomenon:

  • "Suppose... that something had happened on each occasion to briefly disturb the orderly progress of time..." – Jack Fitty [09:25]

• Personal anguish of the witnesses:

  • "He couldn't have disappeared like that. He just couldn't. But he did." – Julia Eisenberg [14:28]

• On mass escapism and its consequences:

  • "The present was a glorious time. But they talk that way now. I believe this is the first time in history that people are desperate to escape the present." – Jack Fitty [24:19]

• Doubt and fear of officialdom:

  • "I hate this case. I hate it, and I wish I'd never heard it." – Captain Rem [23:22]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:13] – Start of "Sci Fi Radio" series with James Edward Kerr as host
• [04:14] – Reading the anonymous letter that launches the investigation
• [07:01] – The case of the painted house begins
• [11:59] – Interview with Julia Eisenberg about her uncanny experience with the dog
• [16:25] – The Kirch family photograph anomaly
• [19:06] – Rudolph Fence: the man out of time
• [24:19] – Jack Fitty’s theory about mass escapism affecting the flow of time
• [26:41] – Wrap up and credits

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Tone

The episode maintains a tone of mounting unease, curiosity, and intellectual suspense, blending everyday dialogue with unsettling science fiction concepts reminiscent of classic radio plays. Voices are natural and earnest, with an undercurrent of disbelief giving way to deepened fear and urgency as each case unfolds.

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Conclusion

This immersive audio drama uses a series of mysterious, interview-based stories to steadily escalate the stakes, suggesting a metaphysical crisis rooted in humanity’s desire to flee the "now." It concludes with a warning: mass nostalgia's side effects may soon tear apart reality itself—and only awareness and appreciation of the present might halt the impending disaster. Fans of classic radio mysteries and speculative fiction will find this installment an atmospheric, thought-provoking journey into the nature of time and memory.

Transcript

[Jack Fitty]

Oh, I'm sorry, but I've got something I really want you to hear.

[Lewis Trachner]

It'll.

[Jack Fitty]

It'll just take a moment. Not that you'll believe it, of course, but I've just got to tell somebody. Even if no one can do anything, people still ought to know.

[James Edward Kerr]

There.

[Jack Fitty]

That ought to do it. Now.

[Kevin Singer]

That's a song entitled Layers. Kevin Singer here, and glad that you could join us. You've been listening to the music of Ron Diulio.

[Jack Fitty]

You might be a little more familiar.

[Kevin Singer]

With Ron's solo work in the field of computer and electronic music. Here Ron was joined by guitarist Buddy Whittington for a rare duo performance. And with that performance, we'll conclude our program for this evening. Now we invite you to stay tuned for a new dramatic series, Sci Fi Radio.

[James Edward Kerr]

Good evening. I'm James Edward Kerr, and I'm your host for tonight's show, the first in a series of adventures through the imaginary worlds we call Sci Fi Radio. Picture a strange and alien universe.

[Lewis Trachner]

Benny Goodman and the orchestra. Fascinating rhythm. That's the same Benny Goodman and the.

[Kevin Singer]

Orchestra that you had a chance to see out at the Avalon ballroom last week in one of their all too infrequent appearances in our area.

[Jack Fitty]

Well, what do you think? What's the matter with me? You must think I'm out of my mind. It's just an old radio show. You're thinking right, but what you don't understand is that I recorded this on my own radio just last night. There was this new radio show I wanted to hear, but I had to go out. I went to a school reunion. Wanted to see how many familiar faces were left, you understand? Anyway, I set my recorder up with a timer to tape the new show. And what I got is what I just played for you. Now, now, please be patient and hear me out, because I'm convinced that this is only one of a series of occurrences which must be recognized for what they are or the world will soon be plunged into a nightmare.

[Lewis Trachner]

There.

[James Edward Kerr]

Hello. My name is James Edward Kerr, and I'm the host for the new radio drama series, Sci Fi Radio. The tape I just played for you was mailed to me by an obviously very disturbed gentleman who neglected to sign his name. He enclosed a letter with the tape that said. Wait, I'll.

[Jack Fitty]

I'll just read it.

[James Edward Kerr]

Mr. Kerr, your interest in science fiction and other wild tales of the imagination leads me to hope that you will listen to this tape and the others I will send you. Please listen and believe you must. And then you must play them for all Your listeners to hear before it's too late. Well, I. I won't say that I believed all I heard on these tapes, but I do think you deserve to hear them. Then you can judge his story for yourself. I'll have the next tape queued up in just a moment.

[John Williams]

Hello, I'm John Williams, president of Astral Projections Records. I'd like you to hear the title cut from our latest cd. It's called Space Time Peace. Space Time Peace is the latest creation of the Sidemen, who combine electronic wizardry and subtle acoustics into a unique musical experience that we're sure you'll enjoy. That Space Time piece by the Sidemen on Astral Projections Records, now available at finer record stores everywhere.

[James Edward Kerr]

It's ready now. Here's tape number two.

[Jack Fitty]

What do you do when the apparently impossible occurs? Well, try telling your friends that you heard a radio show that hasn't aired for years and see what reaction you get. It doesn't do any good to say that you've got it on tape. Everybody knows that old shows exist somewhere on tape. They think you're trying to put one over on them. More than once I was asked if I'd listened to Jack Benny lately. There were joking references to my crystal set radio. But then at a lodge meeting the following Thursday, one man listened to my story with utter seriousness. When I finished, he told me that he had a strange little story of his own. As he related it, I was puzzled by what seemed to be a connecting link, a common denominator between his story and the odd behavior of my radio. I took the trouble the following day to make a two hour drive out to his home in the country to verify that story firsthand. I took my tape recorder with me, of course, and here's what he told me. Lou, will you state your name, occupation and address just for the record? Sure.

[Lewis Trachner]

Lewis Trachner, coal and wood dealer, RFD1, Danbury, Connecticut.

[Jack Fitty]

Thanks, Lou. Oh, yes, your age too, please.

[Lewis Trachner]

54.

[Jack Fitty]

Should I go ahead now? Yeah, yeah.

[Lewis Trachner]

Well, as I told you last night, it was. Well, it was in July last year when the first thing happened. I don't recall the exact day that it was, but it was about 6 o' clock in the morning because I had walked out on the front porch.

[Jack Fitty]

To get the paper.

[Lewis Trachner]

You never know where the paper's gonna be, you know. So I just turned around. I couldn't believe my eyes. I mean, running right across the front of the house, up near the eaves there was. Oh, come over here, I'll show you. Right about There, there was a streak of gray paint and it was still damp. Now, it was about the width of a 4 inch brush. And it looked like hell on this house. I mean, it's white. I figured some kids had done it at night for a joke or something, but you know, if they did, they had to get a ladder up there to those eaves, and you wouldn't figure they'd go to that much trouble. Wasn't smeared either. Real careful job. Nice even stripes straight across the front of the house. Anyway, I got a ladder and I got it cleaned off with turpentine. But as I was telling you yesterday, that wasn't the end of it. I mean, the next thing that happened about three months later when I decided the whole house could use a new coat of paint. You know, that white hadn't held up so good this time. So I just decided to try to paint. I got the front finished last and about 5:00 clock one Saturday afternoon, and the next morning I come out and would you believe it, I saw a streak of white paint across the front of the house. Well, first thing, I figured, it's the damn kids again, because it was in the same place as before. But when I looked close, I saw it wasn't new paint. It was the old white paint I'd painted over. Somebody had done a nice careful job of cleaning off the new paint in a long stripe about 4 inches wide right across the front of the house. Now, who in the hell would go to that much trouble? I just can't figure it out.

[Jack Fitty]

Now, Mr. Kerr and whoever else may be listening to this recording, do you see the link between Mr. Trachner's story in mine? Suppose for a moment that something had happened on each occasion to briefly disturb the orderly progress of time. Now, that seemed to have happened in my case. I heard a radio broadcast that had actually been made years before. Now suppose then, that no one had touched Mr. Trachner's house but himself, that he had painted his house in October, but that through some fantastic mix up in time, a portion of that paint appeared on his house the previous summer since he had cleaned the stripe off at that time, a broad stripe of new gray paint was missing after he painted his house in the fall. Absurd, you say? Well, I agree. In fact, I didn't really believe it myself. It was merely an intriguing speculation. And I told these little stories to friends simply as curious anecdotes. But then occasionally, I began to hear other odd stories to add to my collection. For example, there was a man on long Island. Who received a telephone call from his sister in New York one Friday evening. Later, she insisted that she didn't make that call until the following Monday. Once, at a 45th street branch of the Chase National Bank. I was shown a check deposited the day before it was written. A letter was delivered on East 68th street in New York City. Just 17 minutes after it was dropped into a mailbox on the main street of Green River, Wyoming. There are many more too. I was in a great demand to tell all these stories at parties. And I told myself that collecting and verifying these stories was just a hobby. But the day I heard Julia Eisenberg's story, well, I knew it wasn't any longer. Just that I first learned of her story from a friend who lived in her Greenwich Village neighborhood. I arranged to meet with her right away for an interview. This is case 17. I'm speaking with Julia Eisenberg. Would you mind stating your occupation, Ms. Eisenberg?

[Julia Eisenberg]

I'm an office worker in Manhattan.

[Charlie]

Thank you.

[Jack Fitty]

Now, I believe you said something strange had happened concerning a dog.

[Julia Eisenberg]

Yes, it was.

[James Edward Kerr]

It's true.

[Jack Fitty]

Would you mind giving me the details? I'd like to record them from afar.

[Julia Eisenberg]

All right. It was more than two years ago. October, I think. I went out one night to get some toothpaste from the drugstore. We have a quiet little neighborhood here, and it's just down at the corner. So I was walking, and on my way back. Not far from the apartment. A large black and white dog ran up. And it was very excited, but friendly. And I made the mistake of petting him. And from that moment, he simply wouldn't leave. And when I went into the lobby of my building. I actually had to push him away to get the door open. I felt sorry for him, poor Hound. And a little guilty because he was still sitting at the door an hour later when I looked out my front window. He hung around the neighborhood for three days. Greeting me with wild affection every time I went out. And when I'd get on the bus in the morning to go to work. He'd sit on the curb looking after me in this most mournful way. Poor thing. I wanted to take him in, but I knew he'd never go home then. And I was afraid whoever owned him would be sorry to lose him.

[Jack Fitty]

Did you try to find his owner?

[Julia Eisenberg]

Yes, but I didn't have any luck. He had a caller, but his tags were missing. And I asked around the neighborhood, but nobody had seen him before. And finally he just disappeared.

[Jack Fitty]

Disappeared?

[Julia Eisenberg]

I figured he'd find his way home. At least I hope so. I always wanted a dog for myself. But my apartment's really too small for one. You understand?

[Jack Fitty]

Of course.

[Julia Eisenberg]

Then you'll understand why I was surprised when a friend later gave me a three week old puppy.

[Jack Fitty]

When was that?

[Julia Eisenberg]

Much later. About two years.

[Jack Fitty]

What did you do with it?

[Julia Eisenberg]

I knew I shouldn't try to keep it, but I was such a darling, I just couldn't resist. And then, of course, before I knew it, he'd grown so big he ate more than I did.

[Jack Fitty]

I guess you couldn't keep him after that.

[Julia Eisenberg]

Oh, yes. He was wonderful company, you know. But one night when I took him for a walk and I.

[James Edward Kerr]

Take.

[Jack Fitty]

Take your time.

[Julia Eisenberg]

Well, I didn't use the leash. He never strayed far. And I know he was just sniffing around in the dark a few doors down. But when I called him, he. He didn't come back. He never did. I. I never saw him again.

[Jack Fitty]

I'm sorry.

[Julia Eisenberg]

Our street is a solid wall of brownstone buildings on both sides with locked doors and no alleys. He couldn't have disappeared like that. He just couldn't. But he did. I hunted for him for weeks afterwards. Put ads in the paper and all. And there wasn't a single trace. And then one night I was getting ready for bed. And I happened to glance out the front window down at the street. And suddenly I remembered something I'd forgotten all about. I remembered the dog I chased away over two years before. Now, you may think I'm crazy, but that was the same dog. I know it was. I chased my own dog away two years before he was born.

[Jack Fitty]

I don't think you're crazy, Ms. Eisenberg. It was at that moment, Mr. Kerr in Ms. Eisenberg's living room. That I realized fully that the consequences of these odd little incidents could be something more than merely intriguing. That they might quite possibly be tragic. It was in that moment that I began to be afraid. I've spent the last 11 months tracking down these strange occurrences. And I'm astonished and frightened at how many there are. I'm astonished and frightened at how much more frequently they're happening now. And, well, I hardly know how to express this. At the increasing power to tear human lives tragically apart. On my next tape here I have an example of the increasing strength of whatever it is that's. That's happening in the world. Tape three, case 34. I'm in the apartment of Mr. Paul B. Kirch in the Bronx. Mr. Kirch is an accountant. He and his wife are in their late 20s, and they have a boy about 6. Mr. Kirch.

[Paul B. Kirch]

Yes?

[Jack Fitty]

You said your story has something to do with some pictures?

[Paul B. Kirch]

Yeah, that's right. I'll get them for you. Here they are. Now, I want you to know I'm a pretty good amateur photographer. I even got a darkroom set up in the kitchen.

[Paul's Wife]

Tell the man what happened, will you?

[James Edward Kerr]

I am.

[Captain Rem]

All right.

[James Edward Kerr]

I am.

[Paul B. Kirch]

It was two weeks ago and we were all down in Central Park. It was a nice day, so I.

[Jack Fitty]

Took a whole roll of film.

[Paul B. Kirch]

Pictures of all of us, the kids. Grandmothers have been pestering us for pictures, you know. Anyway, I set the timer on the camera to snap the pictures automatically. So I had time to get around into each picture myself.

[Captain Rem]

All right.

[Paul B. Kirch]

These are the first ones I took. As you can see, I'm wearing a light business suit. Now, my boy there is wearing a dark suit with knee length pants. And my wife has on a dark.

[James Edward Kerr]

Dress with a cloth coat.

[Jack Fitty]

I see.

[Paul B. Kirch]

Now, I'm going to show you the last picture which I took exactly like the others. Just minutes later, we agreed on the pose. I set the camera, walked around in front and joined my family. Monday night I developed the whole roll. Look what came out on the last negative.

[James Edward Kerr]

Hmm.

[Jack Fitty]

This is odd. You're wearing an entirely different suit. Your son has a different outfit on, too. And he looks like he's taller.

[Paul B. Kirch]

And what else?

[Captain Rem]

Well, who.

[Jack Fitty]

Who is this woman?

[Paul B. Kirch]

I don't know. I've never seen her in my life.

[Paul's Wife]

So you, sir.

[Julia Eisenberg]

It's true. I don't know who she is.

[Paul's Wife]

Well, I do. I think that photograph shows how things will be a couple of years from now. I think that woman is going to be your new wife after I'm gone, either divorced or dead.

[Paul B. Kirch]

Look, that's a crazy idea.

[Paul's Wife]

Then you tell me what that picture does mean.

[Jack Fitty]

Well, I. I think I better be going. Thank you for sharing your story.

[James Edward Kerr]

Yeah.

[Paul B. Kirch]

Get out of my house, will you? I didn't ask you here.

[Jack Fitty]

Anyway, I don't know what you and your listeners think about this story, Mr. Kerr, but I have no doubt that Mrs. Kircher was right about that photograph. Now, if you'll indulge me just a few more moments, I've saved what I think is the most ominous episode for last. I was lucky. I guess you'd call it that in being in the right place at the right time. I was at a mid city precinct of the New York Police Department. I check in there regularly in hopes of picking up new cases for my collection. But on this particular Night. Well, just listen to my final take. I'm talking to Captain Rem of the New York Police Department. Yeah, Captain Rem, if you'd just like to.

[Captain Rem]

Oh, wait just a minute. Just a minute. Hello, Rem here. What's that you got?

[Jack Fitty]

What?

[Captain Rem]

I'll be right there. I gotta see this for myself.

[Jack Fitty]

What is it, Captain?

[Captain Rem]

You're always looking for strange stories, Jack.

[James Edward Kerr]

Well, I got a good one for you. Come on.

[Jack Fitty]

Where are we going? To the moors.

[Captain Rem]

Going again?

[Jack Fitty]

Yeah.

[Captain Rem]

Okay. Charlie here is one of the interns in this place. Charlie, this is my friend Jack.

[Jack Fitty]

Hello, Charlie.

[James Edward Kerr]

Hi.

[Julia Eisenberg]

How you doing?

[Captain Rem]

Jack collects stories about strange happenings. Now, Charlie, tell us what you got here.

[James Edward Kerr]

Yeah, right. Well, I'll just.

[Charlie]

I'll roll them out and show you. See, they brought this stiff in about an hour ago.

[Captain Rem]

Cap.

[Charlie]

Huh?

[James Edward Kerr]

The report says a cab ran him.

[Charlie]

Down in Times Square.

[Captain Rem]

Hey, there's nothing strange about that, right?

[James Edward Kerr]

Take a look at this, huh?

[Captain Rem]

Young guy, maybe 30. Beard, mutton chop, whiskers. What about it?

[Charlie]

Look at his clothes.

[Captain Rem]

Well, they ain't too fashionable, are they?

[Charlie]

Right.

[James Edward Kerr]

Cutaway coat, vest with lapels, oversized bow.

[Charlie]

Tie on, a turned up stiff collar. Now, he also wore a tall silk.

[James Edward Kerr]

Hat and button shoes.

[Captain Rem]

Well, that's a little weird, all right. But, hey, I seen all kinds out there on the streets, you know.

[James Edward Kerr]

Not with this in their pockets.

[Paul B. Kirch]

What's that?

[Charlie]

Some change he had on him. Now, this nickel here, the shiny new one. Yeah, yeah, right. You ever seen a nickel like this before?

[Captain Rem]

Let's see. It's got a shield on the front, a big five on the back. Can't see as I have.

[Charlie]

Check the date, Captain.

[Captain Rem]

1876. Still must have been some kind of coin collector.

[Charlie]

Yeah, I'll say. And every other coin in his pocket is older than that. All his pennies were Indian heads. When did he ever see one of those? Even had a silver 3 cent piece on him.

[Captain Rem]

Well, how about paper money? Do you have any bills on it?

[Charlie]

Over 70 bucks, all old time bills, the big kind. Not a Federal Reserve note in the lot. That's not all.

[James Edward Kerr]

What else have you got?

[Charlie]

This piece of paper that looks like.

[Captain Rem]

A bill of sunk Lexington Avenue livery stable. Feeding and stabling one horse and washing a carriage. Total due $3. No name on this bill. Do you have any idea?

[Charlie]

Yeah, right.

[Jack Fitty]

He had some cards in his wallet.

[Charlie]

His name was Rudolph Fence, some address on Fifth Avenue. Here's the cards.

[Captain Rem]

Thanks, Charlie. It's a strange one, all right. What do you make of it, Jack?

[Jack Fitty]

Well, there's nothing much you can make of it? Apparently someone, this Mr. Fence went to a lot of trouble to dress up in an antique style. The coins and bills, I assume he could buy them at a coin dealer.

[James Edward Kerr]

Yeah.

[Jack Fitty]

Then he got himself killed in a traffic accident.

[Charlie]

He got himself killed is right. 11:15 at night in times square. The theater's a let now. Busiest time and place in the world. This guy shows up in the middle of the street, gawking, looking around at cars and signs like you've never seen him before. The cop on duty noticed he was acting strange. Report says that when the lights changed and the traffic started up, he was on the island in the middle of the street. But instead of waiting, Damn fool panicked trying to make it back to the sidewalk.

[Captain Rem]

Cab got him.

[Charlie]

He was dead when he hit.

[Captain Rem]

Okay, Charlie, you can put him back on ice now. Right. Thanks for the call, Jack. Let's go back to my office. Yeah. Yeah, thanks, bill. That wraps it up. I'll be talking to you. Okay, Jack, here's the story. Missing persons had a file on dispense fella. It was an old one from 1876. Seems that a guy of his name and description Went out for a little stroll one night to smoke a cigar and he didn't come back. He was never seen or heard from again. I hate this case. I hate it, and I wish I'd never heard it. What do you think? You think this guy walked off into thin air in 1876 and showed up again more than a hundred years later?

[Jack Fitty]

I don't know what to think.

[Captain Rem]

But do you? Do you have some other explanation?

[Jack Fitty]

No. No, captain, I don't.

[Captain Rem]

Well, sure as hell beats me.

[Jack Fitty]

Well, that's it, Mr. Kerr, I could go on. I could give you and your listeners Several hundred such cases, but some are just too horrible to be heard. All of these cases have happened in the new york city area alone, all within the last few years. I suspect that thousands more have occurred and are occurring all over the world. Yes, I could go on. But the point is this. What is happening and why? I believe I know. Haven't you noticed on the part of nearly everyone you know, a growing rebellion against the present and an increasing longing for.

[Charlie]

For the past?

[Jack Fitty]

I have never before in my life have I heard so many people wish that they lived back when life was simpler or when life was worth living or just in the good old days. People didn't talk that way when I was young. The present was a glorious time. But they talk that way now. I believe that this is the first time in history that people are desperate to escape the present. The newsstands are jammed with escape literature. Entire magazines, radio and TV shows, and many of the movies are devoted to fantastic stories of escape to other times past, to future, to other worlds and planets, Escape to anywhere but here and now. Yes, there's a craving in the world, like a thirst, a terrible mass pressure that you can almost feel the pressure of millions of minds struggling against the barriers of time. I'm completely convinced that this terrible mass pressure of millions of minds is already slightly but definitely affecting time itself. In the moments when this happens, when the almost universal longing to escape is greatest, these incidents occur. Man is disturbing the clock of time. I'm afraid it soon will break. And when it does, I'll leave it to your imagination. The last few hours of madness that'll be left to us with all the countless moments that now make up our lives suddenly ripped apart and chaotically tangled in time. Can anything be done to stop it? I don't know, but I doubt it. Perhaps if people only knew what was happening, if they would only come to appreciate what they have, might not be too late. That's why I've sent these tapes to you, Mr. Kerr. You must believe me. You must put them on the air. Might be our only chance.

[James Edward Kerr]

That was the last of the tapes from my anonymous correspondent. For myself, well, I really don't know what to make of them. I have tried to verify some of those strange incidents, but so far I've had no success. I also have no personal knowledge of any incidents like that. Perhaps one of you listening is aware of. Our cast starred David Kent as the narrator and featured Dale Castle in the role of Lewis. Gloria Hocking as Julia, Rick Spiegel as Paul and Charlotte Taylor as the wife. Captain Rem was played by Gary Moody, and Charlie was Ken Page. The disc jockey was Kevin Singer. The short story I'm Scared by Jack Fitty was adapted and directed for Sci Fi Radio by John O. Williams. All music and sound effects were created by Ron Diulio. The series producers are Kevin Singer and Ron Diulio. Support for this program has been provided by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And now, this is James Edward Kerr inviting you to join me soon for another venture into the imaginary worlds of Sci Fi radio.

[Kevin Singer]

Benny Goodman and the orchestra had fascinating rhythm.

[Lewis Trachner]

That's the same Benny Goodman and the.

[Kevin Singer]

Orchestra that you had a chance to see out at the Avalon Ballroom last week in one of their all too infrequent appearances in our area.

[Lewis Trachner]

Now, continuing this evening's little get together.

[Kevin Singer]

With music from the unforgettable Glenn Miller.