Excuse me. I seem to have lost my way. How do I get to 1853?
The journey can begin in a book of by visiting an historic place. As a species we seem to have a natural desire for such time travel. A fragrance can bring on a fit of nostalgia, where for a brief moment an individual is transported to a time in their past. Standing on an historic site the same person might find that brief moment of touching the past. Some hear the past speak to them in music or the sounds that fill the space around them. The power of landscapes unchanged in hundreds of years offer special opportunities.
So much of our history has been homogenized, sanitized, fabricated, and spun for various purposes that it has lost its power. History and the places where it occurred have the power to link us with those who have come before. We learn that not only are we very much like our ancestors we also have profound differences. Continuity and change are natural states and all are part of the same process, that of time travel. In reading a history book or going to an historic place a person is offered the chance of bridging the chasms between one time and another. The high attendance at museums, interpretive sites, and historical parks/places indicate the abiding interest in breaking through that time barrier. It seems the experience gets better as the time-traveler invests more in bringing authenticity and accuracy into the process.
So, fellow time-travelers pick up a history book, a novel, a magazine. Watch a movie or documentary. Visit an historic place (you are surrounded by them). Embrace the time-travel experience. You don't need a time machine just an open heart, some knowledge, and imagination. As the Firesign Theater used to exclaim, "Forward, into the past!"
Perhaps we'll meet in 1853.
The journey can begin in a book of by visiting an historic place. As a species we seem to have a natural desire for such time travel. A fragrance can bring on a fit of nostalgia, where for a brief moment an individual is transported to a time in their past. Standing on an historic site the same person might find that brief moment of touching the past. Some hear the past speak to them in music or the sounds that fill the space around them. The power of landscapes unchanged in hundreds of years offer special opportunities.
So much of our history has been homogenized, sanitized, fabricated, and spun for various purposes that it has lost its power. History and the places where it occurred have the power to link us with those who have come before. We learn that not only are we very much like our ancestors we also have profound differences. Continuity and change are natural states and all are part of the same process, that of time travel. In reading a history book or going to an historic place a person is offered the chance of bridging the chasms between one time and another. The high attendance at museums, interpretive sites, and historical parks/places indicate the abiding interest in breaking through that time barrier. It seems the experience gets better as the time-traveler invests more in bringing authenticity and accuracy into the process.
So, fellow time-travelers pick up a history book, a novel, a magazine. Watch a movie or documentary. Visit an historic place (you are surrounded by them). Embrace the time-travel experience. You don't need a time machine just an open heart, some knowledge, and imagination. As the Firesign Theater used to exclaim, "Forward, into the past!"
Perhaps we'll meet in 1853.
RSS Feed
