On January 31, 1829, Governor Martin Van Buren of New York wrote this letter to President Andrew Jackson. “As your know, Mr. President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 mph by engines which roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.”

Do you remember when a mouse was a rodent that liked cheese, a chip was a piece of wood, and blackberries were fruit from which your mother made pies? Remember when bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens? Remember when grass was what you mowed, coke was a cold drink, and pot was a container in which you fixed dinner?

My how things change! The …