From the day
Perspective: The Future Historian · Sound
The rhythmic pulse of Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply” leaks out from a passing sedan’s speakers, competing with the digital chirps of a Furby in a nearby backpack. I stand by the pump, watching the red numbers flicker toward a steep $1.15 a gallon, wondering how these skyrocketing costs of movement will eventually shape the migratory patterns of the next century. A teen zooms past on a skateboard, shouting "Boo-ya!" at a friend while the static hiss of a Rio MP3 player underscores the transition from physical to digital permanency. Even the news on the radio about the Ellis Island land dispute feels like a final, desperate gasp of 20th-century territorialism before the borderless reach of the new Google search engine renders physical acreage a secondary concern.