Into the Future

Inspired by "Welcome to the Future" by Brad Paisley, a country artist of epic propotions and master guitarist.

I watch as my little brother played his Xbox.  It was one of those war games, a first-person shooter, he calls it.  I roll my eyes and go back into the kitchen where my mom is still washing her dishes by hand.  There is no room in our house for a machine, so we have to do it the “old-fashioned way”.  I pick up my rag again and dry off a bowl from the dish rack.

 

“What’s he doing in there?” she asks while I put the bowl in our cupboard.

 

“One of those shooting games.  Something about aliens, I think,” I tell her.

 

“When I was younger,” my mother sighs, shaking her head, “Centipede was cutting edge.”

 

“Those were the days,” I grin.

 

“Hey, it was a good game!”

 

“No, I hear you.  It was simple,” I agree.  “You had left, right, and fire. You didn’t have to push A, A, X, up, right, down, down, A to pass, you know?”

 

“Exactly,” she huffs, moving on to a pile of forks.  “Oh, did you check your bank account?”

 

“Yeah, I need to put in a little bit,” I tell her, “Or my next card payment won’t clear.”

 

“You shouldn’t use credit cards anyway,” she starts again.  “You’ll only end up deeper in debt.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

 

“My grandfather used to tell me how the Depression started out just like these days.  If you don’t learn from history, you’re doomed to repeat it.”

 

I shake my head again, thinking about how everything has changed.  My mom, when I was little, would tell me about the 8-track tapes she had grown up listening to.  I only used CDs and MP3s.  She would talk about needing a bottle opener to get the pesky lids off of glass Coca-Cola bottles, while I drank effortlessly from a can of Diet Pepsi.  She still loved to watch our old VHS tapes, even though the blue-rays were much more reliable and easier to use.

 

I close the door to the cupboard and dismiss myself.  Then I go to my laptop computer and look at the changes in the last thirty years.

 

In 1980

Gas was only $1.25 a gallon, and a stamp cost $.15.

“The Dukes of Hazzard” was the third most watched TV show.

The cordless phone was first beginning to sell.

 

In 2010

Gas now costs about $2.75 nation-wide.  A stamp is $.44.

American Idol has the most viewers in the nation (though 1 million do not watch the Wednesday reveal).

4G Smartphones have begun to dominate the minds of our youth.

 

I got to thinking about the future.  I am only eighteen.  I just started college two months ago.  With the trends these days, what is coming that has not yet arrived?  I watch the news and hear about these hydro-electric cars they work on.  I wonder if we’ll even need gas anymore.  I hope not.

 

I want so much for my kids and my grandkids.  I don’t know if I’ll have any, but I would really like to.  I want them to live in a world where school isn’t cancelled on occasion due to the air toxicity levels.  I want them to love playing outside in the rain, unafraid of pollution or reckless drivers or tsunamis.  But most of all, I want them to be happy.

 

I want to see them grow.

 

The average lifespan of a healthy human is only increasing.  I think that I might be able to do it.  I might be able to see the future.

 

I hope it’s the best.

 

 

B. Ott

Based on the song:

“Welcome to the Future”

By Brad Paisley

Author's Note

Be absolutely brutal. I love you guys, and I want to do Mr. Paisley justice here.

Link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Yg9wjctRw

Reviews

[Krystal Nicole]

I liked it and I think you did Brad Paisley's song justice. Great job!

[Eli Blayze]

That was enjoyable(:! I really liked how you had the prices from back then and now, although today where I live, gas is still more then 2.44. Haha. Anyways, I think Mr.Paisley would really enjoy it sweetie, (: Keep up the good work!