This week marks the end of the Twenty-Teens decade and the beginning of the Twenty-Twenties. I’m having a hard time getting my head around the fact that 2020 has arrived. That date seems so…space-aged! Weren’t we supposed to have flying cars and interplanetary commerce by now?
When I was a girl, I watched the Jetsons show on TV. It was exciting to think we’d all live like that eventually. Apartments high above the ground that go up and down depending on the weather. Pushing buttons to cook or even better, having a robot named Rosie who cooked and cleaned for me. Moving sidewalks would take me places without having to walk. The TV screens would be the size of a wall, and they would also send and receive phone calls. At work, we’d sit at desks and dictate to computers and robots what work to accomplish. Wait a minute…we do live like that!
I can put a frozen dinner in a microwave, push some buttons, and voile, I have dinner. A Roomba can vacuum my floors. The new TVs are nearly wall size and when hooked to Bluetooth will make video calls and streams concerts, movies, and television shows. Self-driving cars are just a few years away, but they don’t fly. Apartments houses are still built on the ground and suffer whatever the weather happens to be. So we’re close to living in the Jetson age and who knows, by 2029, we may be totally living like that.
This year of 2019 has been mostly like the year before, with few dramatic events other than the loss of old friends. Our travel plans for most of the year have been weird and messed up, but still turned out to be fun and adventurous. Hubby and I are still in good health. I released a new book and started another. I edited and helped other writers with their books and articles. I can honestly say it’s been a pretty good year!
This Christmas Hubby and I met our daughter and son-in-law in Las Vegas. When they asked us to join them there, I was a little reluctant about going. It’s not my favorite place to hang out, but they were excited and just being with them was enough to push that feeling aside. As it turned out, it was great! Hubby and I rose at 3 a.m. to catch our 5:30 a.m. flight. We rented a car and got out of town, going to the nearby Valley of Fire State Park. The place is aptly named, having been there one July, but the December day was overcast and cool. It was perfect weather for hiking and seeing the amazing geology of the place. I might have missed out on the white beach at Cancun earlier this year, but I got red sand in my shoes on this trip.
We spent the holiday in the Bellagio resort in rooms overlooking the fountains. Starting at 3 p.m. and going until midnight, we watched the water shows every half hour. We also watched the people going by, planes going in and out at the airport, and talked about everything, even delving deeply into some subjects. We ate out once and ordered room service the rest of the time. Eating in our room didn’t cost any more than the restaurants downstairs. One day we hiked down to the M&M and Hershey stores. Just walking in those stores made my mouth water. We packed our traditional Christmas Eve junk-food meal and enjoyed the lights and water shows. It turned out to be a wonderful place to spend the holiday and relax.
I wish you all the best in 2020! And if you need a good book to read, please remember mine! And PLEASE leave a review. It helps me out more than you know. Thanks!