If I could travel in Time, I would …
This is the Friday offering of the Loose Bloggers Consortium, a list of the members with links to their blogs on the left. We write on the same topic each Friday without knowing in any way what the others have written. This should be VERY interesting to see what the different members come up with and I want to personally thank Judy Harper, the Creative Writer in Progress on the left for such a delightful suggestion.
How many of you have seen the Will and Grace show when Jack met Cher? This clip is so funny, because Jack always imitated Cher – and you will see by the end of it how it fits in with our time travel theme.
If I could turn back time … what the heck would I do with it?
I put this together with certain assumptions. First, I assumed that I would not be visible to anyone in the circumstance, would not be able to interfere, just observe. Second, I assumed I could not be harmed by events or the environment. Third, I assumed I could place myself anywhere in space as easily as I could in time. In other words, I would be kind of a ghost!
Then I decided to just start free associating. My interests are always so eclectic, as anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows. I knew that if I had this ability, I would have a large number of interests that would be continually changing. In fact, what I can’t actually put in place here is how my next target would change depending upon the experience at the current and last place.
Also, note that none of my travel is to the future! I would only want to learn things from he past … but I wouldn’t want to screw up my present by knowing anything of the future. Besides, I think that any future would be a probable outcome anyway.
So, enough with the prelims. Here is the list of times / places that flowed out of me. And, let me tell you, this list would just grow and grow and …
- Go back to see how the pyramids were constructed!
- See if I could find Jesus, Joseph and Mary, John the Baptist, the Disciples.
- Check out the events surrounding Moses at various points!
- Check out the first humans at Olduvai Gorge.
- Go see the Founding Fathers, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin.
- Go to the School Book Depository in Dallas to see if Lee Harvey Oswald really did do it alone. Also, I might have to multiply locate to the Grassy Knoll.
- Visit Einstein in his study at the point that he boiled the essence down to E=mc2
- Return to the Renaissance and watch Michelangelo at work on David, on the Sistine Chapel.
- Go to the moon to watch the first landing, the first steps.
- Watch Mozart and Beethoven compose.
- See how Shakespeare wrote and directed some of his plays.
- Watch Krakatau explode and Vesuvius erupt!
- Watch DaVinci painting the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
- Watch Babe Ruth and Satchel Paige, each in his prime.
- Watch and listen to Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address.
- Watch Orson Wells and crew create War of the Worlds for the radio.
- Go to China and observe the life and surroundings of Confucius.
- Go to old Tibet, with one of the early Dalai Lamas – or, at least the Dalai Lama in early incarnations – at the Potala.
- Check out some of my early ancestors in Germany and see, in about 1630, where Barthold Hake came from. He lived in Hemeringen, ten miles from Hameln, but … before that we do not know.
And on and on. Where would you go? What would you want to see?
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Tags: Imagination, Time
Well, I had thought of the first two…I love the idea of Olduvai Gorge…. and Moses, I think I’d have to sit on Oswald’s shoulder in Russia etc..
An interesting list that!
Gives something to think about…like why I wouldn’t bother with Leonardo da Vinci or Mozart…I might go and meet Leonardo of Pisa or Handel or the Bach family.
What about recording Buddy Bolden?
http://www.answers.com/topic/buddy-bolden
Magpie 11´s last blog ..Time travel……
Being more of a traveler, I would probably want to join up with T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) as he covered 20,000 miles on camels. Or perhaps Marco Polo. Did he really make it to China? Following Jonah would be fun too.
Looney´s last blog ..
I’d follow Conrad to all his places.
Wow, Magpie. Grannymar brings me Erte and you bring me Buddy Bolden in the same day. I count that as two great additions to my awareness!
Bach! Ah, there you would find me in rapt awe of genius.
Looney, I almost had Marco Polo on my list! But, I hadn’t considered Jonah.
I like the way your mind works …
A great list and I as I was about to type that I would follow you. I looked up and saw bikehikebabe had the same idea. So you may well have a whole gangle of people following you. However, I would add :
Meeting Mother Mary Jones and the child-workers on the outskirts of New York City
A small time spent with St. Francis of Assisi with his special abilities and kindness.
And could we stop by to visit with Albert Schweitzer in Africa, I would like that.
bhb, we’d have a great time, wouldn’t we?
Ah, Maria, are we family or what? I had considered St. Francis – what a truly fascinating man – and we visited the basilica built above his burial chamber in Assissi! The reality the Franciscan Monk who took us on the tour related to us was absolutely fascinating. And we were able to walk the streets he walked and see where so much happened in his life.
Schweitzer is a great addition as is Mother Mary Jones. You know what would happen on this trip, don’t you? We would keep finding new destinations, events and people that we were hungry to know of.
I had no hesitation about wanting to sit beside Erté as he worked, but now thanks to you Conrad, I have a long list to explore.
Grannymar´s last blog ..Thursday Special ~ Country Living
I would like to go back and see where my family roots began and then walk alongside them up until I was born. I missed out on any grandparent because I was born late in my Mothers life.
I know little snippets from an older sister who dabbles in family history but there is so much we don’t know and much of it seems almost romantic. I bet though it wasn’t all the time!
What is was like when some new machine was invented…like those adverts you see that now are such common place items.
Did the people really want to have these new fangled things..
Live with the poor and live with the rich and see how different their lives were….was one better off (not monetary wise) than the other in what they had or didn’t have.
Cathy in NZ´s last blog ..New Semester Week + other things
GM, think how cool it would be if we could manage some of this!
Cathy, you make some great choices there! I love the approach you are taking to learn more about what makes us humans tick. That is kind of the idea I had, but you put a great point on the pencil.
By the way, we will be in your country this next month. My daughter is studying in Albany right by Auckland and we will be visiting her for two weeks in April. We are planning the whole trip right now. Do you have any “must see” suggestions??
Conrad – If we ever managed to hire that bus, who knows which way we would go!
Grannymar´s last blog ..Thursday Special ~ Country Living
Firesign Theater in the late 60’s/early 70’s had an album title “We’re All Bozos on This Bus” and there were a bunch of clowns (honking their noses at appropriate intervals) who were on a bus descending into the Grand Canyon. What they found was that as they descended to the level of different geological strata, they were literally going back through time. It was hilarious – but, being a Bozo myself, I might be able to find THAT bus and we could try to get it started!
I live in Auckland to. But on the other side as such – out West. My University that I am studying at it is in the Learning Quarter of the central city – The University of Auckland
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/
You should definitely check out the Museum in the Domain – it will give you a better understanding of many things NZ along with other countries. They have a Maori type welcome event everyday (I have never been though) http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/ – I did an essay on a couple of Maori treasures from the this museum last year
(music instrument and a couple of spears)
also in the Domain a short walk away from the Museum are the hot houses – gorgeous plants etc – gosh they are in Wikipedia!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Domain
the Voyager Maritime Museum in Downtown Auckland just got a new centre to do with Sir Peter Blake – lots of other interesting things in there. I haven’t got to the new part yet…
http://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/
if you want to touch base with me personally (if you have any spare time) then that is possible as well. Early april is both Easter and my mid-Semester break (have essays/test afterwards but still more flexible)…if later still no problem have flexiblity M-Tu-W this Semester…
Cathy in NZ´s last blog ..New Semester Week + other things
Cathy, that is incredibly nice and very cool! I have printed it for us, sent it to my daughter (who is at Massey University) and will definitely keep all of it in mind. Thank you.
Oh Conrad-You did such a great job! I had such a limited focus. I now want to go back and add visiting the Pyramids, talking with Jesus, plus ask Agatha Christye where she went the days she was missing. And so much more!
Judy Harper´s last blog ..LBC-If I could Travel In Time, I would…….
What about that night at Mitchell Brothers???
The Him being Conrad, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqp89bkFe8k
Rummuser´s last blog ..If I could travel in Time, I would……..”
Judy, we’re working on getting that bus! Your seat is reserved!
Don, we aren’t talking about things we’ve already done! LOL
Ramana, I went to bed tonight after watching this, just fading into a Cheshire Cat grin …
I so much look forward to the day when we all can become tourists travelling back and forward through time and space. And I believe that that day is not so far away…
gaelikaa´s last blog ..If I could travel back in time, I would…
Gaelikaa, you do not know what you are asking for! You will keep aging and getting younger over and over again and your metabolism will simply not be able to handle that!
Rummuser´s last blog ..If I could travel in Time, I would……..”
hmm… I don’t know how well that would work, except in spirit, gaelikaa. However, I don’t have Ramana’s reservations, because I think you would simply carry with you your own reference frame and age properly within it.
Then again, I may be full of temporal bologna on both counts!
Conrad, your interests in history truly reflect the intellectual I have known you to be. Once I complete my time machine, you will be the lucky one to use it first, good day
Ashok´s last blog ..If I could travel in Time, I would……..
Ashok, I look forward to it! Or, backward, depending upon its temporal location.
I think the trip with you will be/ has been a delight.