I struggle to understand how a quarter century has passed since 2000 (which seemed like a deal at the time). Fifty years ago I was finishing undergrad. Seventy five I haven't made it yet, believe it or not. My sister would have, she was born in '49.
There isn't really anything singular about specific date ranges except memories of whatever. In 2000, I had two kids in junior high and one just starting HS. Life was consumed with sports and feeding kids and trying to keep the house more or less clean, and the yard mowed, etc. I had a minivan, which was very practical, a Buick with that 3800 engine.
The Dawgs were mediocre in football, the Braves were still pretty good, I didn't care much for anything else. Dining out was at Bob Evans or Blue Ash Chili, I could feed everyone for about $10, maybe a bit more. My son was starting to eat like a maniac.
Now, it's 2025, somehow, I'm about to board one of those cylinders to fly to Dallas, with a 15+ hour flight from there. I guess it's all real. I used to tell people a story about "The Prop Crew". They were this supernatural or highly advanced group that laid our the surroundings permantly. If you traveled a bit, they hustled to lay out the surroundings through which you journeyed, temporarily. If they got behind, or you surprised them, they call in heavy fog. Occasionally, one could spot an area not quite filled in yet, out of the corner of your eye, and then when you looked they finished it.
They probably are working on Seoul at the moment. But then we're headed to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, India, Qatar, etc. So, I'm keeping them really busy. I expect fog.
