It’s an odd couple if there ever was one. How these two grey-headed codgers ended up sipping coffee together is anybody’s guess. But here they sit paging through a photo album.
"Look! Here’s an 1867 daguerreotype of my great grandfather as a baby," Ole Tymer grinned. "See that lamp in the in the background? Wouldn’t be surprised if it was a whale oil lamp." "Yep," Pete Rolleum agreed. "My kerosene was just beginning to edge its way into the marketplace at that time."
"And here’s a shot of my grandmother’s one-room schoolhouse with her first class of students. The caption says 1908," Ole beamed. "Well by golly, that’s the year Henry Ford introduced the Model T – a big year for me!" Pete boasted. "Because of his car my gasoline became the primary transportation fuel. Bye-bye horses and buggies."
"Ha! That old Studebaker!" Ole smiled as he turned the page. "It’s my dad (age 30 or so) in front of his first car. Must have been 1950 or so." "You know what’s funny?" Pete added. "It was just about that time that my fuels finally overtook coal as the #1 energy source for the world. A lot of folks assume that I’ve been the dominate source of energy for ages. But 1950 is just 76 years ago; that’s within your lifetime, Pal."
"Here’s a 2020 photo. My son’s showing off his brand-new rooftop solar panels," Ole pointed." "Those panels," Pete grunted, "went up just when, for the most part, solar and wind overtook coal and all of my fuels as the least expensive forms of energy worldwide.
"Ah, my friend, in spite of all the propaganda my advocates are spreading, it’s time we face reality. Your days and mine are numbered," Pete conceded. "Folks who profit from me are determined to delay the spread of renewable energy. But it’s inevitable. Sooner or later the advantages of inexhaustible, clean energy sources like wind and solar will be too profitable to ignore. And then, you humans will no longer be compelled to bicker over petroleum shipping lanes and such. Someday, burning things up to power your homes and vehicles will seem old-fashioned."
"Yeah Pete, in the long view … you’re out. Savvy folks are already jumping on the clean energy bandwagon and helping build a healthier future right here, where we’re all forever … Earthbound."
More at foreverearthbound.net or purchase the book Because We’re All Forever Earthbound at littlecreekpress.com