Bradbury Friday: There Was an Old Woman

What better way to spend Friday the 13th, than with a little Ray Bradbury!

This next story was one I remember quite well, although it wasn't one that we often asked to listen to. There Was an Old Woman is a short story that can be found in Ray Bradbury's The October Country.

In There Was an Old Woman, we meet Aunt Tildy, an elderly woman, who is happy to live her life. So much, that she has decided that she does not believe in death. But on this particular day, a tall, dark young man comes into her home. He does not say anything to her, but his face conveys the conversation she has with him. Accompanying the tall, dark man are four men with a wicker basket. What do they intend to do with it? Aunt Tildy wonders aloud. After a while, the men leave and Aunt Tildy bids them never to return. The look on the face of the tall, dark man says he never intends to.

This story is a strange one. What if you could truly choose not to die? Would you want to live in this life forever? Aunt Tildy doesn't even get married because any man she meets believes in death. She can't bear the thought of living with him 30 or 40 years and then have him die. I, personally, see death as a new part of life. I believe there is more after this life. I wouldn't want to miss out on it. Besides, don't you think Aunt Tildy's life would be sort of lonely? She'd have to meet all new people, make new friends ever 50 years or so. She would end up losing all the people she cares about, just so she could keep on living.

Find out what happens to Aunt Tildy in There Was an Old Woman. What do you think? And, as before, There Was an Old Woman is available on mp3 for purchase at twilightzoneradio.com. Just click on the Bradbury 13 link and you can choose any of the stories. (You won't be disappointed!)