I
remember when — not so very long ago —
my grandfather started sentences with those very
words. There was a magical sound to them, for I
knew when I heard them that I was about to be
transported to another time, indeed to another
world. It was a strange realm, one curiously
exciting and comforting at the same time. In
it, a road trip beyond the city limits was an
adventure. If you wanted to travel quickly and
comfortably from one city to another you took the
train. If you wanted to talk long distance, you
wrote a letter; or if the message was urgent, you
sent a telegram. Now I am as old as Grandpa was
when I first knew him. And here I am, heading
an Internet web page with that very same phrase that
he used to enthrall me just ... why, just yesterday,
it seems.
