From the day
Perspective: The Future Historian · Tactile
I run my thumb over the rough, unbleached muslin of a Raggedy Andy doll, tracing the red yarn hair that marks this era’s tactile simplicity before the silicon age. This morning's newsprint still stains my fingertips with fresh ink, declaring that Washington Reports Quake About 1,800 Miles Away, a chilling tremor felt even through the thick, wool-worsted weave of my Sunday suit. Some big cheese at the seismic bureau thinks the distance is a certainty, but I feel the fragility of this world in the way the stiff starch of my collar chafes against my neck. Even as we hum new jazz tunes, the earth’s hidden movements remind me how easily these material comforts could crumble into history.