I recently received a letter from a distant cousin in England (yes, a real AIRMAIL letter, delivered by the postman). It contained a family story that had been passed down through the generations. The central character in the story was my 2x great grandfather, Joseph Lucas (1856-1946), and it was set in the early 1900s in Liverpool.
Innovation
Joseph operated a horse and wagon. His occupation was a “carter”. One day he came home in a very excitable state and began telling his wife Emma about an exhibition he had attended.
“I’ve seen the future Emma!” he said. “There are not going to be horses anymore. There are going to be motor cars with engines in them.”
To which Emma said, “Sit down man, you must be drunk.” But Joseph couldn’t stop talking about this new fandangled invention.
“If there are going to be all these motor cars with engines, what on earth will they do will all the horses?” Asked Emma, who in her mind had won the argument.
Technology and change
It got me thinking about innovation, technology and change, and the pace of change in today’s world. I wonder what would Joseph and Emma say if they came back to life today?
