In a largely sedentary, anxiety-ridden world, adults work to settle their minds and improve their health with vigorous exercise. But for kids, ever on the go, cartoons have always been a great way to unwind.
Two of our family favorites were The Flintstones and The Jetsons.
The Flintstones hearkened back to a past that never happened, when dinosaurs coexisted alongside Homo sapiens—but the writers were not under the illusion that they were educating their innocent audience. No one was consulting the World Book Encyclopedia to correct or debunk the premises on which the story unfurled. We were simply, harmlessly, being entertained, and incidentally shaping our senses of humor.
The image of a factory-worker pulling a rope attached to a pterodactyl perched on a post— to make it squawk in lieu of a factory whistle —always pops into my head when the Tuesday emergency testing alarms sound.
Similarly, on the occasions when I rent a riding golf cart, “Yabba Dabba Doo” is not far from my mind.
My recent purchase of a remote-controlled, rechargeable electric golf trolley turned my thoughts to The Jetsons, which launched in 1962. According to program lore, George Jetson was born July 31, 2022. His son Elroy watches Flintstones reruns in 2062!—so their world continues to be far ahead of ours, even now.
Yet many things imagined in the program have actually come to pass.
The other day, I walked golf course hills, a sojourn made much easier because my robotic trolley hauled my gear at the click of a few buttons.
I may not have the option of adding Rosie the Robot from U-Rent-A-Maid to my retinue of labor-saving gadgets, but most of us own permutations of the things the Jetsons enjoyed.
And yes, haywire car alarms and other computer software acts up, and we suffer the consequences.
But unless you’re Benjamin Button, going backwards is not going to happen.
On the golf course, anyway, the future is now. ©
