December 7, 2012

Foreshadowing the Future

Just for laughs the other day I was paging through a scrapbook filled with clippings of columns that I penned for this newspaper in 1990.  I titled my column "Smelling the Roses" and tried each week to expound on some of life's simple pleasures as well as lend my own philosophical commentary on a plethora of issues. 

In one particular column, dated January 3, 1990, I took leave from the traditional looking-back-at-the-past-year and presented some of my own predictions for the approaching new decade, the 1990s.  Read on if you want to see how close to reality my crystal ball gazing actually came:

-Advances and new discoveries in the medical world are inevitable.  Just imagine how wonderful it will be and how many lives will be saved when doctors discover the cure for cancer.  On the same line, treatment and a cure for the devastating AIDS virus will spare many of those enduring the horror of that disease.

-As drug education becomes more widely spread, the next generation will understand the danger of chemical abuse and avoid using drugs.  In the same token, smoking cigarettes will be virtually non-existent and a swing to the unacceptable rather than the "norm".

-Politics will see a drastic transformation as well.  The reforms seen recently will be carried forth and people all over the the world will be able to enjoy the freedom that we as Americans have known most of our lives.

-The increasing stress of big city life will prompt some to give it all up and migrate to smaller, rural cities.  This will obviously give the troubled, shrinking towns a boost and alleviate some of the pressures in the more heavily populated areas.

-As protection of the environment becomes an inevitable fact of everybody's lives, recycling will become accepted by people everywhere.  Recycling centers where raw materials can be processed will be located in every county.  These goods will in turn be sold and transported to various locations where competitive rates will be paid for them.

-Communication will continue to leap ahead at a mind-boggling rate.  The use of fax machines will be common place in most of our homes and businesses, placing a strain on the United States Postal System. This will play a bit part in the postal rates remaining the same throughout the decade.

Although these are but glimpses of what the next ten years may provide, we can only hope that some of them come true.  We are beginning a new era that will hopefully be dedicated to correcting some of the wrongs that our society has so long been plagued by.  We have much to look forward to in the nineties and hopefully we will all make the best of the remainder of the century.

So there you have it, my attempt at foreshadowing the future.  As I read what I wrote 22 years ago, I am somewhat amazed that I wasn't too far off the mark on a few of my comments. Certainly I had some fails.  

But there were a few kernels of wisdom that I somehow pulled out of my hat as well!  Was it wishful thinking or just a positive attitude? You be the judge.   So, do I dare dig out my crystal ball and declare some new predictions for the year 2013?