NEWTON'S LAW: LESSER LIGHT ON WORLD STAGE HAS LASTING PLACE IN OUR HEART

We have dark moments from time to time. The worst ones put us in a George Bailey frame of mind. Forget this as an homage to the late, great Frank Capra; it just fits the description. Sometimes you wonder if your life has meant anything.

George, of course, had a guardian angel to point out that "it's a wonderful life" and that your time on this Earth is well spent if you have friends. Only cinematic angels can peddle this syrup. Without Clarence as a guide, we must weather black moods on our own.

In the grand course of human events, some people can't help but be noticed. Through effort or dumb luck, they land in the middle of things.

Certainly, no history of the Americas in the 20th century will be written omitting Fidel Castro. His impact on Cuba and this hemisphere has been profuse. Even with communism staggering worldwide, and even in damaging his credibility by doing the wave at the Pan American Games, he remains a towering figure.

Not as much can be said of Bernard Castro, a lesser light on the world stage but something of a guru in the domain of overnight stays.

Bernard Castro died last week at age 87. In a smaller way, his life would have been remarkable had it only been for his emigration from Italy at age 15. Like so many people who arrived on American shores the early part of this century, he came looking for opportunity.

Ultimately, he found it.

Bernard Castro was an upholsterer by trade. By whatever turn leads a mere craftsman to the level of genius, he hit upon the idea of developing a sofa that could easily be turned into a bed.

Entrepreneurship depends not only on one's willingness to follow through on an idea but on one's ability to reach a certain audience. After World War II, many Americans found themselves in cramped apartments. The sofa-bed was compact on one hand, functional on the other.

Bernard spun all cherries on the slot machine of life. More than 5 million sofa-beds have been sold.

Is this significant in the broad scheme of things? Well, Fidel and Bernard will not be mentioned in the same breath by many historians. But Bernard's impact on the lives of visiting relatives, apartment dwellers and college students was considerable.

To be sure, sofa-beds are wonderful products. They hold up a long time ... boy, do they ever. They are not built, however, for, A.) light sleepers, or, B.) mobility.

Surrounded by metal workings, a sofa-bed will often catch a restless snoozer with a sharp, unexpected nudge. If your arm strays off the edge, cold steel reacquaints you with your funny bone.

If you have a hangover, escaping a sofa-bed is only slightly more difficult than transporting one down a narrow set of stairs.

On a muggy moving day, a sofa-bed seems to weigh no less than a bank vault. Its bulk is inflexible to doorways and its convertibility seems only to exhibit itself when the divan is being maneuvered through a tight squeeze.

There are few curses more sincerely delivered than the ones volunteered by movers battling a sofa-bed whose mattress has sprung to life.

Thus, Bernard Castro has worked his quiet way into our memories. His invention has given us room to move and a place to rest, if not always comfortably.

Even though we never knew him, at least not until his death notice hit the wires, he will not be forgotten. For Bernard Castro, it must have been a wonderful life.