In the Future, Bulls Have Goofy Colored Horns

classroom

PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast

“We can only stay a few minutes. Give me your impressions about this room,” said Professor Clark.

Twelve-year-old Jimmy was disappointed. He thought going fifty-four years into the future would be about flying cars and Moon bases.

“Well, Sir, I guess this is some kind of school. The games and paints look familiar.”

He kept scanning the classroom. “I have no idea about WiFi or PW. The Labels poster is probably not talking about soup. What the heck is a Terf and why does the bull have goofy colored horns?”

“I forgot,” said Clark. “In 2020, everyone wears masks. Here.”

It’s Wednesday and time again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 4 April 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image at the top as the prompt for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.

Yes, I know this is a classroom, probably for younger students, and with elements indicating social views from a certain perspective.

So, I imagined a boy from 1966 taking a trip with this teacher to 2020. Back when I was twelve, I thought the 21st century would be all about aerospace advances (we were in the middle of the “Race to the Moon” after all). I’m still disappointed that I didn’t get my flying cars, big “wheely” space stations, and Moon bases.

I don’t think a kid (or most adults) from the mid-1960s would have any idea what to do with this classroom. “Kennedy liberals” from those days would seem more like moderates to right-leaning moderates today (even conservative actors like James Garner and Charlton Heston were in civil rights marches in the 60s).

I know my interpretation will be less than popular, but I wanted to illustrate how incomprehensible some things would be to a child from half a century ago.

To read other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.

tom corbett

Cover art for my book “Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure.”

My book Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure has gotten a five-star review on both Amazon and goodreads.

Based on the 1950s television show Tom Corbett Space Cadet, the book is updated in terms of our modern understanding of science as well as more nuanced characterizations and plot.

The Literary Post says:

“Pyles takes us back to a simpler time in science fiction, complete with all of the warm nostalgic fuzzies that go along with it.”

Order your copy of my book Our Legacy, The Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure and let the fun begin.

27 thoughts on “In the Future, Bulls Have Goofy Colored Horns”

  2. Movies and television shows set up the youth from the 50’s and 60’s into believing we would be so much further advanced!

    Heck, thanks to the Jetsons, I thought for sure we would be driving hovercraft!

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  3. I was in high school in the first half of the ’60s. But when I was little, I remember loving the comic “Dick Tracy” and his two-way wrist radio. Seemed like sci-fi back then. An actuality today 🙂

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  5. Your choice to time travel was EXCELLENT for this photo. And when I first scanned it, i did feel the timely items, like the hand sanitizer and password on the board (along with the quote and note to the left about labels for soup) – and wow, I also thought we would have hovering cars (and other tech stuff) by the time 2025 came…. hmmmmm

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  10. I have mixed feelings. In some areas we have made progress. Unfortunately, we often misuse or abuse new technology. The cellphone for instance, with all its amazing capabilities, has imprisoned many souls. Instead of technology serving us, we become the servants.

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