Our present and past are the framework for our future.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2010


Our present and past are the framework for our future.

I have to look to my grandmother that came over from Ireland as steerage on a ship to get a grasp of this concept. Grandmas could not teleport over on a return Marconi transatlantic radio beam or take an airplane flight. She beat both of those things by several years. She was a young girl and depending upon who you ask, she was either six or twelve. Jane went on deck to see the Statue of Liberty before she went to Ellis Island for processing. Then she and her mother, sister and brother joined my great grandfather who took an earlier trip, found a job and was already in Queens.

The "Wizard of Menlo Park" had invented the light bulb but their house was still lit by gas and kerosene lanterns. Electricity really didn’t get down all of the side streets of New York’s boroughs until after the turn of the century. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma’s house had converted fixtures well before my first visit.

Grandma saw major innovation in her years besides the illumination from those Edison patented electric light bulbs. She heard about the Wright brothers and man's first powered flight in the news or possibly on the radio. She saw Lindberg take off from Roosevelt Field for his history making transatlantic flight. Jane had a radio that predated his crossing in her living room near the player piano. That old radio had more bands behind the glass faceplate than marched in the Fourth of July parade down Main Street. I was out of grade school before I was taller than that console.


The oak art deco radio stood right next to the cabinet where the tulip telephone stood on the Irish Lace Doily. It broadcast Roosevelt's December 8th, 1941 speech about "a date which will live in infamy". It told of news about the retribution, the Atomic Bomb and the end of war as we knew it.

Jane stayed up late clutching her rosary in front of an old black and white television in the mahogany cabinet at the other end of the living room watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. Unfortunately for Buzz Aldrin, he would have had to climb over Neil to get to the door. Instead of remembering his words we saw him come down the ladder second. Radio beams came from the moon instead of ‘just’ across the ocean. Grandma heard the historic ‘giant leap’ words as fast as they could get home to her Zenith from the Sea of Tranquility. A lot of things during Grandma’s lifetime are part of our present and past. Many things that were being worked on, regrettably, are still a part of our future.

Grandma used to tell us to be careful what we wished for. As far as technology is concerned she could not have been more wrong. I am waiting, albeit not so patiently, for all the promises made in my youth to become the reality of my old age. My Highlight’s magazine made some immense promises, things that were supposed to occur decades ago. I will keep watching Discovery and the Science Channel, National Geographic and the Sci-Fi channels to see what is possible and when we will find some of those promises that still remain Hidden Pictures©.


If we keep looking we might make our present and past the framework for our future. I will ask Michio when it is going to happen. Twenty-five years ago Marty went back to the future; we're still waiting.

Inquiring minds want to know and DakotaDawg is interested too. We have had enough small steps for man. It is time for some giant leaps.


Where is my Mr. Fusion? I’m getting too much garbage to compost all of it.





© 08.05.2010 steven d philbrick SR+ DakotaDawg

POSTED BY SRPLUS AT 11:20 AM