Missed It By That Much
Matthew 25:1-13
2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 9"'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' 10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.“Missed It By That Much” is episode #14 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written by Paul McCusker, and originally aired on February 20, 1988.
Summary
Middle-schooler Rachel Weaver is late for everything. But when Connie threatens to kick her off the volleyball team, Rachel tries her very best to be on time.
Plot
Rachel Weaver is always late. Everyone knows it, especially the kids at Whit's End. They're gathered there, waiting for Rachel to show up so they can leave for a roller-skating trip that Connie is going to chaperon. Finally, Connie decides to leave. She yells for the kids to hop in the bus outside. Then she tells Whit to inform Rachel that they got tired of waiting. Connie adds that if Rachel isn't on time for the volleyball tournament the next day, she's off the team. They leave, Rachel shows up, and Whit delivers Connie's message. Rachel makes all sorts of empty excuses for her tardiness, but finally realizes that it really is her fault.
At home, her father agrees and says that habitual lateness is downright rude. Later, a depressed Rachel falls asleep in front of the television and has a terrible nightmare. She meets Rod Serly and takes a trip into the Twilife Zone! There, she is late for every important event in her life — even her funeral! She wakes up from the nightmare in a cold sweat, determined not to be late for anything again — especially for the next day's volleyball tournament.
But getting there the next morning proves to be its own real-life Twilife Zone. First, her parents oversleep. Then, her dad's car won't start. Rachel takes off on her bicycle and gets a flat tire. She cuts across a neighbor's backyard and is chased by a ferocious dog into the woods, where she falls in a creek. Just then, Whit drives past. Rachel hops into Whit's car, but when he steps on the gas, it, too, dies!
At the school, Connie is just about to boot Rachel from the team when Rachel walks in — wrinkled, disheveled and soaked, but ready to play volleyball! The kids cheer. Later at Whit's End, the team has a grand celebration. Rachel's team lost — but more importantly, she showed up on time.
Discussion Questions
- Why is it so rude to be late?
- What could Rachel have done to break her bad habit of always being tardy?
- Read Matthew 25:1-1 How does Jesus feel about tardiness?
Cast
Notes
- Trivia
- This episode introduced The Twilife Zone.
- The portion of this episode containing Officer Harley can be heard in the Gold Audio release of The Adventure Begins.
- The title of this episode is a reference to Maxwell Smart's famous catch phrase in Get Smart: "Missed it by THAT much!"
- This episode would later be remade into #119: “Better Late than Never”, which replaced Rachel Weaver with Robyn Jacobs and omitted the character of Officer Harley entirely.
Quotes
Connie Kendall: Okay, everybody on the bus!
David Harley: Alright children, we don’t want a riot here. Let’s have a little orderly dispersal: I want everybody to line up alphabetically according to their height!
Connie Kendall: We're waiting for Rachel!
John Whittaker: Rachel Weaver?
Connie Kendall: Who else?!
Frank Weaver: You need to learn to be—
Rachel Weaver: Punctuated! I know, Dad. Mr. Whittaker just talked to me about it.
Resources
- Episodes in The Officer Harley Collection
- 1988 Season Episodes
- Episodes sorted alphabetically
- Episodes sorted chronologically
- Episodes hosted by Chris Anthony
- Episodes written by Paul McCusker
- Episodes directed by Phil Lollar
- Episodes produced by Bob Luttrell
- Episodes with sound design by Bob Luttrell
- Episodes with music by John Campbell
- Episodes recorded at Unknown
- Episodes engineered by Bob Luttrell
- Episodes executive produced by Chuck Bolte
- Episodes in Odyssey USA
- Episodes with Object Lesson intro
- Episodes with Whit's Invention intro
- Episodes with Story intro
- Episodes with Story Conclusion wraps
- Episodes with theme of Lateness
- Episodes with references from Matthew
- Episodes directed by Steve Harris
- Episodes produced by Phil Lollar
- Episodes produced by Steve Harris
- Episodes with promos
- Episodes with samples
- Episodes on AIOHQ
- Episodes on the Odyssey Library
- Episodes on the Odyssey Scoop
- Episodes on the Soda Fountain
- Episodes with Connie Kendall
- Episodes with John Whittaker