Twists & Turns: What Happened to the Jetsons?

Someone asked me the other day where I get ideas to write about. Truthfully, it's a lot of personal experiences (general disasters that I try to make a bit funny) and my dear friends who occasionally provide subject matter.

This month the subject was a suggestion from a friend(?) who wanted me to write about the Jetsons. So, here is the results of that challenge.

Have you ever taken a moment to look back on your childhood and fondly remember Bullwinkle and Rocky, Sherman and Mr. Peabody, or Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo? I loved them all, but my favorite family was the Jetsons. They gave every kid hope for a future like theirs.

We do have a lot of things now that we didn't have then like a microwave or air fryer. We have computers and cellular phones and enormous flat-screen TV's that we never really thought would be in our homes. Sure, we're almost in the 'Jetson Age, but not quite.

So, I ask you, where is the flying car? We do have some of those driverless things and we have electric cars. But that's not the same as the Jetsons. We have cars with speed control and anti-lock brakes and sound systems that can mimic Carnegie Hall, but none of those ever sail above the trees.

Let's ask Elon Musk. A flying car is a spacecraft, so why are you still building giant rockets that fly and then return to their launch pad? Since we mere humans can't even be bothered to return our buggies to the store when we finish shopping, let's at least put some of your enormous wealth toward a flying car that would automatically return to its garage when instructed to. And, on second thought, how about a grocery cart that returns itself to the cart corral?

Okay, let's talk more about where we rate with the Jetsons and what they might be doing today.

Remember Rosey the Robot? You know, the android-ish one with the apron to indicate a female that cleaned the house, did the dishes and presumably prepared the meals with incredible ease and efficiency? (Hopefully we have moved past that stigma of what male and female roles should be).

Today we have much smaller robotic vacuum cleaners that resemble a large chocolate cake scurrying around the house with a cat perched on top enjoying a free ride. And they can be programmed to automatically return to their 'home base'.

We also enjoy microwave ovens, air fryers and instant mashed potatoes, but we are still a long way from a totally utilitarian housekeeping robot. (I did, however, name my own little robot vacuum Rosey.)

Actually, I'm not sure I'm ready for a humanoid robot in my house that can run faster than an Amtrak.

We didn't see Cosmo Spacely very much on the show, but I have a feeling that Spacely Sprockets went out of business at some point. I haven't heard the word 'sprocket' since I learned to eat with a fork and knife.

Hopefully, George Jetson is working somewhere in the Great Beyond with other great minds on futuristic things to send back to our century. Thanks for the Sketchers step-in shoes and the weight loss shots, George! Now, how about that flying car?

I imagine that Jane Jetson, is a retired University Professor who spent many years teaching kids about the multiverse and how to create all the wonderful devices of which we have yet to dream. She was a good, futuristic June Cleaver mom.

In my mind, my namesake, Judy Jetson, is a writer, probably working on her fifth history of the exoplanet, Plutonius, where she and her husband, Fred, reside. She and I both now have white hair, eat out a lot and like to read mysteries. What we do not have in common is that she gets to visit her parents in her flying car.

I can imagine Elroy as reigning Supreme Leader of all of Plutonius which does not hold elections. He is over 6 feet tall, likes to eat at the closest burger joint and oddly enough, seems to have a permanent tan. I suppose that could be because this solar system has a sun twice as big as ours.

In our world today, dogs are essentially members of the family, and I think they are much smarter than they once were. In some ways, I think our dogs have already surpassed the dogs of the future. A lot of them have it made. Whereas Astro, the Jetsons' Great Dane didn't have his own wardrobe and seemed to enjoy a good bone every now and then. I imagine he even ate (horrors!) kibble. I also think Astro secretly dreamed of trying to chase a flying car!

Back here on our Earth, I have traveled to almost every state and several countries. I have worked in several jobs including one in Washington DC, and I think I'd like to go to a new place in the Milky Way or even to another universe, but alas, I don't have a flying car.

I'm glad I grew up with the Jetsons and Dick Tracy and all of their gadgets and devices that amazed our younger selves. Back then they were things we had to wish for and now we actually do have many of them.

So, we must continue to dream. It's in our human nature to strive for newer and better things, but I guess Ted and I will have to just sit on the front porch at night a little longer and look up and ask, "What was that? A shooting star or a multi-million-dollar Shelby Mustang from the future speeding across the night sky?"

So, how did I do with this weird challenge? Maybe I'll stick to my own ideas next time! Lord knows, enough happens to us to fill plenty of columns right here on Earth in the 21st century!