Carpe Weekend: Forward to the past
By Jason Freeman jfreeman@southtownstar.com February 22, 2012 4:40PM
Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) watch the DeLorean time machine disappear in a scene from the 1985 movie “Back to the Future.” | File photo
Updated: March 24, 2012 8:10AM
For some, the term “factory condition” just doesn’t cut it.
A lot of folks aren’t content with the way their cars look the day they roll off the assembly line.
So these people spend thousands of dollars on turbocharged engines, tinted windows and spoilers larger than an airplane wing, all in an effort to give their four-wheeled friends a bit of individuality.
I’ve never been one of those people, but I’ll tell you this much: I’d give almost anything to outfit my 2002 Saturn SL2 with a flux capacitor and a plutonium-powered nuclear reactor.
I’m referring, of course, to the DeLorean time machine that Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown used to traverse the timestream in all three “Back to the Future” movies.
Expensive stereo systems and flashy hydraulic kits might work for some, but not for me.
If I were to “pimp my ride,” so to speak, I’d opt for modifications that would allow me to prevent the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, or to see myself as a 90-year-old man in 2068.
I know this is science fiction, which is why I think I’ll leave my Saturn the way it is: just a regular old car that, when accelerated to 88 mph, gets me a speeding ticket instead of a jaunt into the past.
Although as a society we’ll probably never be technologically advanced enough to travel through time, the past can still come alive for us. You just have to know where to look.
Hint: It’s not in Dr. Emmett Brown’s garage.
Pullman program
The Historic Pullman Garden Club will host a program by author and public historian Cynthia Ogorek at 3 p.m. Feb. 26 in Fellowship Hall at Greenstone United Methodist Church, 11211 S. St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago.
Ogorek will discuss her Arcadia Publishing books “Along the Calumet River,” a documentation of the history and development of the Calumet River running through Illinois and Indiana, and “The Lincoln Highway Around Chicago,” a story of U.S. 30, the first automobile road to span the entire country.
Ogorek also will sell and sign copies of her books. The event is free, but reservations are required. Information: (773) 568-2441.
African-American journey
Viola Baecher, a former educator at Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, will give a free lecture titled “A Journey into One African-American Family History from 1783-2011.”
The presentation will be at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Park Forest Village Hall, 350 Victory Drive.
Baecher will discuss how she traced her family’s heritage and how to use newspaper reports, census and county records, libraries and more in genealogical research.
Information: Jane Nicoll, (708) 481-4252.
Mummy exhibit
The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, is conducting its “Opening the Vaults: Mummies” exhibit through April 22.
The exhibit features more than 20 mummified individuals from Egypt and Peru. Many have not been on display since 1893 and are being shown in their original 19th century display cases.
Tickets are $22 to $29 for adults, $18 to $24 for seniors and students with identification, and $15 to 20 for ages 4 to 11.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Information: (312) 922-9410, fieldmuseum.org.
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