The Oracle has spoke
The Oracle of Dead Horse Creek lives at the apex of Mt. Indiana. People seek his counsel and long for a private audience to marinate in his wisdom and knowledge. Pilgrims make pilgrimages to his location annually to find the answers to life's greatest mysteries.
Sporadically, much like a politician, he will make tours to press the flesh and kiss the babies. On such a trip the Oracle came to the Calvertville Store on a Friday evening and sat around the potbellied stove and shared his wisdom with those who gathered each week to gasconade. He sat on a precarious nail keg and the bib-overall clad men gathered around and sat at his feet. I was a stripling, a callow youth in my salad days but I attended with my father and brother. I remember the Oracle's words of wisdom and the responses of the men.
Oracle: One day there will be writing instrument that contains a substance called ink. It will be enclosed in a metal tube which will be dispensed when pressure is placed on a ball in the end of the tube. It will be called a ball point pen. Pencils will become obsolete.
Audley: Come on oracle. Ink in a tube let out by a ball. Try to use something like that on a carpentry job. It cain't happen.
Oracle: I see in the future cars with turn signals on them to indicate when the driver will be turning to either side. It will be a flashing light on the side where the driver is turning and will be engaged by a lever inside the car. At the same time when the brake pedal is pushed lights will flash on the back of the car to let others know you are stopping. They are safety features.
Elzy: You are crazy, Big O. That cain't happen. What is wrong with rolling down the window and sticking your arm straight out to turn left and upward to turn right and moving your arm up and down to indicate you are stopping? If a driver is paying attention he can easily see that the car in front is slowing down. So what if your arm gets a bit wet when it is raining.
Oracle: The phones you have now will no longer be used. They will be replaced with phones held in the hand that can take pictures, provide information from the library, give you the weather, do mathematics, play music, monitor health issues, play games, send written messages, let you talk to people around the world with no long distance charges or operators involved and it will fit in your pocket.
Elmo: Have you been drinking some of them squeezins that Ralph has out behind the store? I have never heard anything so crazy in my life. A telephone is to talk to someone in another place and that is it. How can that box on the wall with the bells and crank going to do all that stuff? It ain't possible. I have heard some dumb things but that takes the cake. [The Oracle may speak more later.]
Go to my website Larryvandeventer.com. Larry Vandeventer grew up North of Calvertville on a farm and graduated from Worthington High School and Indiana State U. -- four times. He can be reached at Goosecrick@aol.com or 317-839-7656.
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