“Let me see if I have this right, Ashton. That is your name if I understood you correctly. Your accent is a little odd.”
“Yes, you got it right, it’s Ashton.”
“Okay, Ashton, you have created a time travel machine and are using it to come here from the year 2025 to observe how we live life in 1920.”
“That’s correct, sir. We have books and old pictures, but nothing beats the real thing. Now, if you will please stand with your wife I’ll take your picture.”
“That tiny thing is a camera?”
“Oh, it’s much more than that. Everyone in the future has one. We can call people all around the world, look up information simply by talking to it, read the news, and much, much more.”
“Call, do you mean phone call? My boss has one of those contraptions on his desk, but it doesn’t look anything like that. It has wires attached to it and he needs to spin a dial to talk to what he calls an operator, and she somehow connects him with the person he wants to speak with. That sounds amazing, son! You say everyone in the future has one of these gadgets. How about a little demonstration, Ashton.”
“I wish that were possible but it’s not. This phone needs to be connected to a system of high frequency radio waves called the internet which won’t exist for another seventy years give or take.”
“So, what you’re telling me is you brought a contraption from the future that should be able to do all these wonderful things but can’t because it needs something that won’t be invented for another seventy years. Do I have that right, Sonny?”
“Well sir, I never thought of it that way. I suppose you have a point.”
“Damn straight I have a point. Logical thinking appears to have become a lost art in the future. Maybe it’s time for you to get back into your time machine and go back to 2025 so you can teach people how to be logical. Oh, and take that dumb gadget with you.”
“I’m sorry to bother you sir. I’m leaving now.”
“Earl, don’t you think you were a little harsh with the boy? He was only trying to show off his new toy.”
“Maybe I was a tad ruff on the kid, Martha, but it’s obvious parents in the future forgot to teach their children how to think logically. It appears they rely on gadgets instead. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to future generations. What a stupid gadget!
About the Creator
Mark Gagnon
My life has been spent traveling here and abroad. Now it's time to write.
I have three published books: Mitigating Circumstances, Short Stories for Open Minds, and Short Stories from an Untethered Mind. Unmitigated Greed is do out soon.
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Wild Card Weekend Recap: What Happens Now?
I think I figured out why I love Wild Card Weekend so much. It's because it's the first playoff anything of the calendar year. The NFL season starts in the fall, and once upon a time, the champion was crowned either on or slightly before New Year's. The evolution of the NFL schedule has resulted in the playoffs starting just into the New Year, and currently, the final week of the season falls on the first weekend of the New Year, with Wild Card Weekend coming a week after that. So yes, chronologically, the NFL's Wild Card Weekend serves as the first playoff anything of the calendar year.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsa day ago in Unbalanced
Comments (11)
I don't know what's going on, but none of your comments are showing up except for the one on Unmitigated Greed.
Not me, reading this on my stupid gadget 😬
Mark, this sounds just like the conversations that people from the 1920 era would have. Common sense...where has it gone? Loved this
This is *fantastic* Mark!!! Oh my goodness, this is so creative and poignant while remaining light-hearted and fun. You executed this masterfully.
You’re preaching to the choir Mark. Double entries, for same story, getting extra reads well done, nice touch 😉
I was so confused then I read your replies to MC. It's a shame AI frauds get instant approval but we gotta wait so long
Hi Mark - How Dick Tracy~ish wrist phone of you - I truly never thought the 'Fantasy Phone' would become a reality. btw; The L.A. school district is now not allowing students to have their phones on - they lock them up (even during lunch) - Grades went up immediately as well as interactions with one another. J.in.l.a.
Ha! Poor Ashton! Damn Earl was savage! Great story Mark.
great story
I could have sworn I read and commented on this earlier? Anyways, great story
A time travel story about logical thinking. It is a lost art! I’ve met a great many morons who can’t think logically. Wonderful