On the Wings of a Wish

There are times when I feel as though I was born in the wrong era.

Union Pacific Railroad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I felt this acutely the other night when Mr. Ginley began reading to me from a book that featured travel ads from the 1900s.

"It's almost like traveling on the wings of a wish...this skimming thorough the air in our big, fast ships. You simply step aboard and before you can begin to believe, you're there..."

The book was chock full of carefully crafted copy that made me yearn to get on a plane or a train or a ship and zoom off to exotic locations, snuggled into a wide, comfortable seat or crossing the ocean in an Art Deco style cabin or dining in style in a beautifully appointed Pullman rail car.

Oh, to write copy like that. Copy that would make people dewy-eyed with possibilities.

These days, I supposed if you have the means, it's possible to travel and enjoy such amenities. But you won't find them described as eloquently as they were in the last century.

Nevertheless, I hold out hope of someday taking a train across the country. Maybe when I've retired. I picture Mr. and I tucked into our cabin, watching the world pass by our window. Reading a book and looking up every now and then. Taking in the scenery, basking in a sunset. Noshing in a well-appointed dining car. The destination won't matter. Time will be inconsequential. We'll just be along for the ride.

Someday...