I THINK WHAT WE HAD WAS THE FUTURE, AND WE DIDN’T KNOW IT.

There was a time when we thought the future would be flying cars…

But what we really miss are drive-ins, jukeboxes, and backseats without seatbelts.

When the world felt big, but our neighborhoods felt safe.

When Saturday mornings smelled like pancakes and sounded like cartoons.

We grew up believing that by the year 2000, we’d be living on the moon.

But all we really wanted was our own phone line,

a Polaroid that worked on the first try,

and someone to pass us a note in class that said,

“Do you like me? Check yes or no.”

Our heroes wore capes or white coats,

and sometimes they were our dads coming home from work,

our moms humming while doing dishes,

or the neighbor who fixed your bike without charging a dime.

We all knew someone with a Farrah Fawcett poster,

and someone else who tried to moonwalk in tube socks.

And when we heard that Elvis died, or Lennon was gone,

the world suddenly felt colder — even if we didn’t understand why yet.

We chased the ice cream truck barefoot.

We watched “The Love Boat” on tiny TVs with wood panels.

We stayed up just to hear Casey Kasem’s Top 40.

And somehow, the dreams felt closer back then.

Own a house.

Have two kids and a dog.

A job for life.

Retire at 60.

Sit on a porch with the one we love.

I could ask anyone my age, “What do you miss most from those days?”

But I think… I’d feel it before they could even answer.

Because we used to feel eachother.

We used to name things properly.

We used to understand.

Back then, we didn’t talk about anxiety.

We called it “nerves”.

We didn’t say “burnout.”

We just said, “I need a break.”

And when we were sad, sometimes we just walked.

Or sat by a window.

Or listened to Johnny Cash until it passed.

We thought the future would be brighter.

Not faster.

Not louder.

Not lonelier.

Today, we carry phones smarter than the spaceships we dreamed of.

But we’ve forgotten what it’s like to sit in silence — and feel content.

I don’t know when things changed.

I just know there was a time when the world felt “realer”,

and we all believed it was going to get better — not faster.

We thought tomorrow would bring more joy, more time, more connection.

But looking back…

I think what we had was the future.

And we didn’t even know it.

From all of us at Uncovered History, with love to our community.