Another good program. The owner of a company that operates an assembly line hires a female psychologist to determine why so many of his employees don't show up for work. She focuses on one employee - a man named Oliver Townsend who in 8 years has not missed a single day of work, despite the repetitive and mundane work that he performs. She decides to see what it is that makes him tick and why he is so dependable. After talking to him, she finds out that he is fixated with a particular Civil War battle - the Battle of Shilo. It seems to be his hobby. He invites her to visit his house. There, he has constructed an amazing model of the entire battle scene. Upon learning this about the man, she is left to diagnose just how deep his connection with this world really is.

A psychologist examines a factory worker who has not missed a day of work in eight years to find out what makes him such a good employee. She finds out that it is his obsession with the Civil War --- specifically with the Battle of Shiloh --- that keeps him focused on his mundane assembly tasks.

Really interesting story of an unusual man who seems to enjoy his grindingly dull factory job because he is more connected to his other life as a soldier at the Battle of Shiloh. A good one.

When a production company starts experiencing a rise in absenteeism, the boss calls in a psychologist to determine the source of the problem. She decides to focus in on one individual who has never missed a day, and who seems capable of handling the monotony of the assembly line. He proves to be a Civil War enthusiast who devotes all his free 'brain-space' to the hobby. But this hobby is far more encompassing than anyone realizes.

A couple of thoughts on this one. I enjoy good psychological stories from time to time and I liked the psychologist’s line about all of us having an “other self”. I think this is true … one that we readily allow people to see and one that we conceal for one reason or another; or many reasons – depending on the nature of the “other self”. This story reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode entitled “Miniature”, with Robert Duvall. It’s the story of a young man (Duvall) who escapes from his physical reality into a dollhouse in the museum; one of my favorites

Really enjoyed this episode for many personal reasons.... When I was 12, I visited Gettysburg on a family vacation. They had this huge display with thousands of miniature soldiers on a highly detailed battlefield. That's what I envisioned, when they were describing Oliver's recreation of Shiloh. When I returned from Gettysburg, I took a whole bunch of miniature (HO scale) Civil War soldiers I had (Only @ 100) and set up my own display among my Father's train set. I used cotton balls for explosion just as they had at the museum, etc. So, this episode brought back all these memories. Plus, I've always been a wargame aficionado. So, I could imagine trying to recreate a battle as it really happened-- maneuvering the individual units along the same "Paths of Glory" as Oliver was. Also, as mentioned in the previous post, we all have that "Fantasy World" we inhabit. I'm a free-lance artist and part-time art instructor (mostly after school programs). I mostly teach elementary -- sometimes junior high kids --cartooning and comic book art-- so I've always been creating my own super-heroes and fantasy worlds which I definately inhabit from time to time. For all these reasons, this episode struck a chord for me. My only complaint is the story seemed to run out of time-- It ends so abruptly. But, then again, it made you really wonder-- Did Dr. Heckman call him back in time? Which world finally claimed him? Ambiguous endings, which challenge you to interpret what happened next, really are the strongest. By the way, my War's: WW1 (My grandfather fought in it-- we have a bunch of his medals, maps, equipment, etc.-- so it's always made it very personal for me)....I could drive you crazy.......Well, I have to get going. My nephew and I are playing one of my boardgames right now (The batlle of Verdun) and I can hear Col. Driant calling me to help defend the village of Haumont! Until next time.................................

Joan Lovejoy and Joan Shay (the latter doing her patent "Frumpy old woman" voice, kind of like the "hoarse Irish cop" impersonation by Lloyd Battista) in the same scene...I LOVE IT!

You know...this isn't my favorite RMT episode, but I liked the ending. DaSilva had the voice to portray a man who was suffering from inner conflict and pain, and quite frequently his characters (in episodes like "Come back with me", "Night shift", "The doppelganger") would meet a sad fate. It wasn't the easiest story line to follow (Dann usually did a bit better in that department) but it was still a nice choice. Thanks!

I wasn't too keen on this one. I've listened to a few now featuring Howard DaSilva, enough to get the sense that, with that voice, he seems to play a fair amount of tortured souls. Some stories I can take it better than others. This one...I was tired when I listened to it so that didn't help. By the time he was going on and on about the wrong rifle I was starting to lose consciousness.

Joan Lovejoy and Joan Shay (the latter doing her patent "Frumpy old woman" voice, kind of like the "hoarse Irish cop" impersonation by Lloyd Battista) in the same scene...I LOVE IT!

You know...this isn't my favorite RMT episode, but I liked the ending. DaSilva had the voice to portray a man who was suffering from inner conflict and pain, and quite frequently his characters (in episodes like "Come back with me", "Night shift", "The doppelganger") would meet a sad fate. It wasn't the easiest story line to follow (Dann usually did a bit better in that department) but it was still a nice choice. Thanks!

I wasn't too keen on this one. I've listened to a few now featuring Howard DaSilva, enough to get the sense that, with that voice, he seems to play a fair amount of tortured souls. Some stories I can take it better than others. This one...I was tired when I listened to it so that didn't help. By the time he was going on and on about the wrong rifle I was starting to lose conciousness.

I enjoyed this story and you do see those people who are in their own world while doing repetitive/monotonous tasks. Perhaps some are like us and listening to stories to get them through the day, others (as in this story) make up their own world to get away. It's a good thing for the main character that the psychologist came along when she did.

Another journey on the kush carpet with Sam Dann to Shiloh!