I am watching torchwood, and the episode that just ended was about a few people who arrive by plane from a different decade, indeed a different century -- the 1930s, arriving in the 21st century. some adjust better than others, and it's sometimes amusing to see our world through their eyes. however, this is not by any means my introduction to that concept. i have long imagined what it would be like if someone i admired from the past -- charles dickens, for example, or mark twain, or thomas jefferson, or hypatia --suddenly turned up, very lost and somewhat confused, on my doorstep, or by my side as i walked down the street. it didn't take long for me to realize that no matter who it was who turned up and no matter what level of adjustment they began to display, there was no way they were EVER going to understand what they'd gotten themselves into unless i sat them down and explained the holocaust to them. that would prove to be neither easy nor pleasant, but i never could imagine being able to avoid it.

if you could have anyone from the past turn up that way and it was therefore your duty to guide them through their new surroundings, who do you imagine it might be (since you control your own fantasy after all) and what would you consider essential to impart to them as soon as possible?

g

p.s. no matter who it ever was, i always had to calm them down a little if they were male, because they could see my ankles, and if it was summer, they were likely to see more flesh all around them than they could tolerate without their eyes falling out! not only that, but they'd see women and people of color in positions unheard of in their time. they'd get used to all that, of course.