Back to the Future

The 21st Century finally caught up with me.
One of the few things I remember from the Seattle World's Fair Century 21 was the predicted telephones where you could see the person you were talking to. No point in that, I figured, then and now. So when Skype came along, I rolled my eyes and scoffed at video chat.
Until last night. Ryanne was over and playing on Facebook when she got a 'call' from her cousin. Olivia wanted to set up a video chat line. A few computer commands later and the two of them were giggling and playing like they were in the same room. Even Olivia's cat got in the act.
It didn't take long before they dragged me into it. They made it look like so much fun that I figured I must be missing something, but still wondering if I would have to get dressed and fix my hair every time I wanted to play Farmville. I downloaded the program on my computer, and did the one thing I never thought I would do: video-chat.
So the 21st Century really did arrive as predicted. It seems to me on that blue-skied Seattle day, that the air was filled with enthusiasm and optimism. We stood in line for hours to go to the top of the Space Needle although knew then or now what a space needle is for besides eating at and attaching fireworks on to. But I guess that is good enough.
The monorail, another Century 21 dream, never amounted to much more than the original six block ride, but now that I have the opportunity to look at the person I'm talking to, I wonder what other ancient prophesies might come about. I'm pretty sure we can forget about those rocket packs that were supposed to send us flying through the air. Good thing, too. My knees couldn't take the landing.
Nancy Sherer