The Future is Now...

Like so many of you, I spent the last two evenings marathon watching Back to the Future. And this time, I did it with my future.

I remember the first time I watched it. My cool uncle - the one who listened to Talking Heads and wore checkered Vans - rented it from the video store. This was back when having a VCR was new technology and ignoring the "Be kind, rewind" reminders came with a $.25 fine. It was 1980-something and I had a crush on Michael J. Fox courtesy of Family Ties.

Alex P. Keaton got me. We were both eldest children trying to cope with parents who were too in love, siblings who were too crazy, and a fashion sense that was too middle aged.

We watched the movie so many times, we had the dialogue memorized. And then, the sequel.

Everyone knows sequels are rarely as good as the original and in this case, that was somewhat true. Still, it was pretty damn good. It gave us a glimpse into the future where we'd be old. I remember thinking of the 2000s with something akin to awe and disbelief. It seemed so far away from a world where Germany was divided, nuclear war was a very real nightmare, ketchup was a vegetable, and there were Libyan terrorists.

Wait.

Never mind.

Still, there was so much to look forward to: hoverboards, flying cars, Pepsi Perfect - a beverage that would never be allowed into my childhood Coke-centric home. We got the sunglasses at Pizza Hut and dreamed of the future.

And the third movie, which, while we agreed it was the weakest of the trilogy, was still pretty damn awesome. Who can forget Marty moonwalking in the tavern. I'm sorry. Clint Eastwood. 

We watched it and, at the end, debated if there would be a fourth. While the credits said, conclusively, "The End", we still thought there was more story to tell. Where was Doc going with his Clara, Jules, and Verne? Would Marty and Jennifer be okay? Had they all learned what they needed to know to live happy, successful lives?

Twenty-five years later, I parked my non-flying car in front of a house that required a key to open. I put my thumb on my phone and opened my Prime account to stream the trilogy over the internet. Getting them started, I ordered pizza from my app, using my thumbprint again to pay, and settled in to watch the films. Halfway through, my sister tried to video chat with us, but I clicked ignore and sent her a text instead.

I laughed at the phone booth in the future. True story, I saw one sans phone not too long ago and stood and stared at it as if seeing a relic from the past, an anachronism that niggled at my memory. I shook my head at the fake hologram shark leaping from the marquee while admitting 3D movies are so advanced at this point I can't watch them without getting motion sick. Shoes may not self tie - unless you have enough money to bid on the limited edition pairs - and jackets may not self dry, but cars do self parallel park. Robots don't walk the dog, but they do vacuum our floors.

There have been a lot of amazing advances in the last 25 years.

There have also been a lot of repeated mistakes.

Watching the movies with the kids brought back the excitement and fun. 1.21 gigawatts worth.