In The Year 2000....

What is the future, anyway?

When I was just a young lad, the future was the stuff of science fiction movies and comic books. A land of moving sidewalks, flying cars, sneakers that tied themselves and weekend trips to Mars aboard a shiny silver rocketship. Things would be eaiser, things would be grande... but it wasn't imminent. It was way off in the distance.

Days passed, weeks passed, years passed and I found myself in my late teens, being forced to make decisions about the future. Not decisions about what kind of flying car I'd drive, but real plans about a real future that was creeping up on me with alarming speed. "What are you going to do with your life?" Geez, I don't know. I was kind of hoping I could just sit here on the couch watching The Jetsons. But no, the future had come to collect on those idealistic years of childhood. The future was now, and it was pressing me.

As with all things, that pressure passed eventually. I've made decisions - whether good or bad, only time will tell. A job, a career, whichever. But there's still a future looming bright. The sidewalks might end up moving - not everywhere, but at least at the airport. My car might end up flying - if not in the air, then at least down the highway to a familiar place. My shoes - they don't tie themselves, so I just wear sandals. And that whole thing about a rocketship.... I'll settle for a lazy weekend, laying down & watching a movie. Boring? Perhaps, if you compare it to that little boy's dreams way back when. The only difference between the two is that this dream is coming true right in front of me.