If You Could Escape into the Past . . .

by **Heineken** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 00:09:51

Which past would you choose? Assume you can pick any past (and associated place) you like out of a vast library, and go there, never to return.

(With apologies to an old "Star Trek" episode I liked.)

Or, would you choose to flee into the future---without any guarantees of what you'd find there, since the future is unwritten.

Staying in the present is not an option in this game.

by **Cornelian** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 00:43:28

Oh, Oh, I love this ... English country house, mid-19th century. Absolutely, definitely. Enough land to sustain myself, enough (happy! LOL) servants to keep me in the manner to which I'd like to become accustomed. Nothing but gentle tea (laced with rum) parties, long walks with the vicar, and the chance to indulge my antiquarian self.

That age fascinates me, and to be honest I have mostly recreated it as much as I am able in this life.

I've never found the right vicar, though ...

Website · by **roccman** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 00:44:38

I think to live in the time of the Dogon would be interesting.

by **frankthetank** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 00:50:09

1500...

Machu Picchu...

I'd have to learn the Inca language, however. Might have to sacrifice to the "sun" god or something, so that might not be good.

by **worrier** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 01:02:33

Depends on if I could choose what type of person I could be. If I couldn't choose I'd go to the 1920's in New Zealand. Still the hang over of the old world with the promise of the new. If I could choose I'd like to be middle/upper class man from Britain in the 19th century and be at the apex of an empire.

by **Plantagenet** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 01:06:27

The 1950s in the USA.

--The economy is booming.
--The dollar is strong and travel is cheap.
--All the the great modern conveniences have been invented (airplanes, cars, movies, bikinis).
--The country isn't filled up yet.
--Skiing and surfing spots aren't crowded.
--land is still cheap
--Buy IBM stock and get rich. Buy Exxon stock and get rich. Buy GM stock and get rich. etc. etc.
--Except for a few communist spies and professional outside agitators, everybody is still patriotic and loves the USA.
--The US is #1 on the world stage and still beloved by the hoi polloi of the various countries we liberated in Asia and Europe.

by **perdition79** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 01:33:11

Florence, Italy, 1480's. The Renaissance had always fascinated me, as a time when a little knowledge could go a very long way, and when people really valued thinking, learning and creating.

by **Revi** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 01:41:02

I think I'd like to live in the late 1800's in the American West. Spend a little time on a riverboat, maybe some pioneering out in Montana. It just seems like it was an exciting time. And the money was real. Those Morgans were minted out in Nevada thanks to the discovery of the Comstock Lode. That was a time of expansion.

by **Heineken** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 01:59:19

Tempted as I am by parts of the past, I'd pick the chance to see the future, even if it cost me my life or many years of it.

I would have myself projected forward 250,000 years, with a full survival pack, guns, and a huge box of ammo.

Assuming the atmosphere was still breatheable and I didn't die straight off, I'd start exploring the ruins of a long-dead civilization and the foundations of a recovering biosphere.
It would be worth it to me to see how it all turned out.

by **TheDude** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 03:37:20

Ditto Revi. Funny you'd mention riverboats, I've been listening to these old recordings of Captain Pearl R Nye all day.

I'd go back to 1841 Champoeg and cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of the Oregon Territory becoming part of the UK instead of the US. That'd make for interesting history.

250K AD? Good luck with that, you damned dirty ape!

by **TheTurtle** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 10:34:56

I'd head back to around 10,000 BCE and live a paleolithic nomadic life.

by **vision-master** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 10:58:55

To be born in about 1935 and live as the greatest generation has. To be about 20 in 1955 sounds pretty cool. 32 by the time of the summer of love & to miss being drafed into Nam. I think those peeps in their mid to late 70's now, have had the best life possible.

by **MrBill** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 11:25:35

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'T')he 1950s in the USA.

--The economy is booming.
--The dollar is strong and travel is cheap.
--All the the great modern conveniences have been invented (airplanes, cars, movies, bikinis).
--The country isn't filled up yet.
--Skiing and surfing spots aren't crowded.
--land is still cheap
--Buy IBM stock and get rich. Buy Exxon stock and get rich. Buy GM stock and get rich. etc. etc.
--Except for a few communist spies and professional outside agitators, everybody is still patriotic and loves the USA.
--The US is #1 on the world stage and still beloved by the hoi polloi of the various countries we liberated in Asia and Europe.

by **eastbay** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 12:28:26

During the rise of Sumeria... no question about it. Everything was in its place safe and sound... a land of plenty, warm all year and all around very nice.

by **Heineken** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 12:39:13

BTW, comrade eastbay, do you notice a certain parallel between our avatars?

by **eastbay** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 12:48:28

ahhh... yes comrade. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Be careful about sharing this with the others. You never know.

by **kpeavey** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 12:50:58

1800 in the area of Washington County Maine.
Energy was wood and horses.
Transportation was limited to sea travel as there were no roads connecting the settlement to the rest of the world.
Localized economy, but money was not needed, it was neighbor helping neighbor.
Good soil, ample game.
Politically stable.
Healthy, independent people.

Except for asphalt roads and electricity, the place has not really changed that much.

by **Tanada** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 15:10:53

If I were going to enjoy my retirement in a few years I would pick 1919 in the USA, probably live out my retirement in the 23 years before WW II starts for the USA.

If I am going to change things I would pick the same year, but I would entice Hitler to move to the USA from Austria, get him a good job working as a painter at the Ford factory or something similer and buy his 'art' painings for good money to prevent him from becoming a bitter SOB.

edit !@#$%^& typo's!

by **SpringCreekFarm** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 16:01:07

I would pick the early 1900's to be in my mid-20's having grown up as the middle son in a farming family.

Simple times that required lots of hard work to get by, too old to be caught up in the wars.

My location would be the Canadian side of the Great Lakes but in an area with sandy loam and pine trees. I'd love to be married to the prettiest, yet toughest woman in the neighbourhood.

Oh I could go on all day.......

I would die happy sometime in the 1950s.

by **threadbear** » Mon 17 Dec 2007, 16:06:53

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