Infinity & Jelly Donuts

I remember a time when KMA radio filled the airwaves with more than just the Elephant Shop, Kitchen Klatter, Billie Oakley, and RFD960. They also featured an eclectic mix of music that spoke to every listener, young or old. KMA wasn’t just background noise—it was a soundtrack to daily life, bridging generations with its mix of talk shows and timeless melodies. The words to several songs remain familiar even now, but one in particular is etched in my mind: ‘If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I’d like to do is to save every day ‘til eternity passes away, just to spend them with you.’

Considering Jim Croce’s song came out when I was just a toddler, I suppose that memory dates back to me being only single digits old. Yet even then, the idea of preserving precious moments resonated, perhaps because it was woven into the fabric of our simple, yet cherished routines.

I also remember a time when I was old enough to stay up late on Saturday nights and watch The Creature Feature with Dr. San Guinary on KMTV-3 out of Omaha. Bundled in a blanket on the living room floor, I’d watch in wide-eyed wonder as the opening credits rolled. My mind soaked in the eerie scenes and spinning wheels, especially when H. George Wells pushed the crystal-topped lever forward on his machine and ventured thousands of years into the future.

Authors and Hollywood have continued to bring forward countless stories and visualizations of traveling in time. Emmett “Doc” Brown utilized the ingenuity of the flux capacitor to catapult himself and Marty McFly back and forth on the time continuum in an iconic DeLorean. Early in our marriage, Beth and I looked forward to each season of the television series Sliders as we watched Jerry O’Connell’s character try to return to the comfort of his basement while he and his traveling partners visited parallel dimensions in time. The Time Traveler’s Wife shed light on the journeys of a librarian with a genetic disorder that caused him to randomly time travel while balancing life with his wife, whom he had met when she was a little girl. My favorite is About Time, where the men in a family are able to travel only back in the timeline of their own lives; the story builds on the strong connection between a father and his son.

Simply put, the idea of traveling through time is a concept that has intrigued me throughout time! While there’s a curiosity about the future, the thoughts of witnessing a treasured moment in history resonate most with me. The thought of being "the fly on the wall" to witness key moments in history, as well as quiet, cherished times from my own life, is deeply appealing. But perhaps what time travel stories really teach us is to value the present—to hold tightly to the moments we’re living now, before they, too, slip into memory. After all, time has little to do with infinity and jelly donuts, and everything to do with how we choose to spend the days we’re given.

Tom Brand, a native of Hopkins, Missouri, and director of the St. Joseph Community Alliance, believes “time has little to do with infinity and jelly donuts.” When not reflecting on the people, places, and traditions that shape our lives, he still dreams about the day a time machine might make dreams of exploring the past—and future—a reality.