Part I
One Man's Journey Through Time
Making Ready For The Day
When Professor Winston woke up this morning, he didn't realize that he would be famous by bedtime.
He woke up at his regular time, which is 6 am, and went about his normal routine for preparing for the day of teaching young minds how to expand their horizons.
Professor Winston is a quiet, reserved man, who enjoys teaching the next generation of philosophers how to look outside themselves to appreciate other people's viewpoints, when it relates to themselves. He also happens to be a tinkerer, who has a basement full of tools, which he uses to bring his dreams to life.
Winston stands five feet, eleven inches in stocking feet, he has sandy brown hair, and he has the build of an aging, but fit, man in his 40's. He doesn't work out every day, but he does try to take care of himself with a little jogging once in a while.
The day started as any other, in that he did wake up. He brushed his teeth, took a shower, and made his coffee, and stepped out to get the morning paper.
While walking to the coffeemaker to get his first cup, he happened to glance up at the wallclock to check the time, and noticed that the hands seemed to stand still.
At first glance, he thought the battery had died, but when he stepped closer, the clock resumed, so he thought it might have been his imagination playing tricks on him.
He had stayed up most of the night working on his latest invention, which was an extremely small computer that attaches to the head with a small band.
Now, he wasn't exactly sure what the computer did, but he had dreamed of it a few nights ago, and was interested in seeing if he could make it work.
He was surprised it didn't take long to build, and the rest of the time had been spent testing it, to see what it could do. He had placed the band on his head, and turned the computer on, but didn't feel any effect's from it, so he thought it hadn't done anything. Winston thought, "Just another failed experiment." and had gone to bed.
Winston looked at the time, and realized he would be late if he didn't hurry, so he grabbed his briefcase, and his jacket, and jogged out to his car in the early Kansas morning.
He drove the quiet streets to the campus, and parked in his usual spot. He walked to his classroom, and settled in for his day.
The Morning Class
The classroom was large with stadium seating, it had huge windows that looked out onto the campus grounds, and had a dry-erase board that was 15 feet long, while being 5 feet tall. Winston's desk was set almost to the windows facing the class.
The first students began to arrive at 7 am, and greeted him with enthusiasm because he was a well-liked instructor, for those taking his class. He started the class each day by asking a question, it varied every day, but all the questions he asked had a central theme to them, in that the class was expected to make observations while away from class, and present them to the class as a whole.
His question for the day was, "If you could travel in time, what would your favorite period of time be in?" The question for yesterday had been, "How do hair styles change from generation to generation, and what can be learned about the people who have a certain haircut?"
Professor Winston looked out at the class and asked, "Did any of you make an observation on the question from yesterday?"
Marcus, one of his favorite students, answered, "I did. I noticed that a lot of the older professors have their hair cut long on top, so that they can comb it over."
Winston asked, "And what did you learn from this?"
Marcus replied, "I learned that no matter how old you get, you still want to look good for the girls." The class laughed at his observation.
Marcus was of half-Latino descent and was six feet tall, with black hair and a wide chest, while his girlfriend, Jeanette, was of Nordic descent, and was 5' 10" tall, with blonde hair.
They made a great couple, each seemed to balance the other in their everyday trials. They each leaned on the other, when times were rough, and knew they could count on each other.
The class spent a while on other people's observations, and then they were done for the day.
Questions On Time Periods
Winston went to lunch in the cafeteria, and then back to the classroom to grade some papers.
Marcus and his girlfriend, Jeanette, showed up in the middle of his grading, and Marcus asked if Professor Winston had a few minutes to discuss the question that he had posed today.
Winston said, "Absolutely, sit down and let's talk about it. I know it was an esoteric question, but I would like an answer."
Marcus started off, "I would like to live in the latter half of the 19th century, in the Eastern Half of the United States, because of the innovations that were beginning at that time, and because of the openness of the lands. You could walk for days, and not meet another person, or stay in a town, and meet all the heroes from that time."
Winston asked, "Are you sure? It was a hard time as well, little food, unless you could hunt, most people carried guns at that time, and most jobs were hard work for little pay. What would you do for work? What would you do for shelter and food?"
Marcus looked a little bit shocked, "I never thought of it, really. I haven't held a gun, except for once in my life, and it was a little .22 rifle. I guess I would have to think a little bit harder on it than I have. What would be your favorite time, and why?"
Winston got a far off look in his eyes, and considered the question, "I would have to say, that I would like to visit the future. I would like to make sure that the world is going to be a beautiful place for our grandchildren when we leave it."
Marcus gave Winston a look of contemplation and asked, "So, there is no time in the past you would like to visit?"
Winston thought about it for a few moments and said, "Maybe the time of the Pharaohs, just to see how they built those pyramids. Ok, and maybe the building of Stonehenge."
Marcus looked at his girlfriend and asked her, "What time period in history would you like to visit?"
Jeanette thought about it for a few moments and said, "I wouldn't mind visiting the future, and seeing if we had discovered any aliens. Hopefully, they would be nice, and wouldn't be looking for a new snack item on their menu."
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