It's another old picture I found while rummaging through the picture box. The writing on the back identifies this man as Great Grandpa Long, born mid-1800's. Isn't this great?
If old pictures could talk, I wonder what this one would say.
G-Grandpas face is hard to see, no expression gives away what he is thinking. I imagine he's tired, he may have been working hard from the looks of his clothes. And how about that ride? Did everyone in the late 1800's have a buggy like that? What was the horses name? Where were they headed? Did they just return from the nearest village or the neighbors home?
What would he say if he could see us NOW?
I suppose every generation believes that it alone has experienced the greatest changes in the history of the world. Then again, we know that there is nothing new under the sun, just new ways of conveying what's always been happening, I suppose.
Grandpa's social interaction would have centered around this horse and buggy, no doubt. It would have carried him and his family to the neighbors, the nearest town, the local barn dance or the raising of the same. It took some effort on his part to connect with folks.
Not so today! We are CONNECTED to the world via cyberspace. Events transpiring on the other side of the world are viewed almost instantly from the devices in the palms of our hands. We can spout off our views whether we know anything about the subject or not, play games with people we don't know or ever expect to know, SEE each other in real time across hundreds of miles, or share the most intimate details with the world with just a click or two. Yep, it goes without saying, times have truly changed. At a whirl-wind pace, I might add.
Don't you wonder what he would say if he could see Phil, Willie, Jase and Jeb sporting HIS type of beard? Do you think his eyeballs would pop right out of his head if he could visit the high fashion runways of NYC or Paris? What would he think of our car dealerships or lower Manhattan during rush hour?
How about Smart TV, the Iphone, or the Ipad? Would he be brave enough to ride an escalator at the mall or a 747 through the skies?
Time moved on but Grandpa Long didn't.
I wonder what future generations will say about US? I wonder if they will sympathize with our "old-fashioned" ways when they discover our pictures, DVD's, cars, computers, or movies on YouTube?
While I am at it, could someone please explain "live-streaming" or the obsession with the "hash tag?"
It DOES take some effort to keep up with progress, doesn't it? (There are days I want to climb in my buggy, hitch up old Nellie and ride off over the plains.)
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