last night I looked into the dark sky

bright stars and planets abound

the big dipper caught my eye

I wondered how far away it is

Google told me 125 light years

the light from the big dipper takes that long to reach earth 

I suddenly realized I had discovered time travel

if I was on the big dipper today

with a really powerful telescope

I would see life on earth back in 1897

horses are the main form of transport

cars are very rare and only travel at 10mph

the radio has not yet been invented

the most popular source of music is the piano

the majority of people live or work on farms

households typically have three generations under one roof

cocaine is sold as a cure all medicine

life expectancy is less than 50 years

my parents are not yet born

life was so different back then

to see our life today from the big dipper

you will have to be living in the year 2147

horses could be extinct by then

life expectancy might well be infinite

but the night sky will look the same as today