We’re going back to the future this holiday weekend with The Jetsons, an animated sitcom that’s as old as I am.  It was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera Productions, and it ran for three seasons.  I remember my brother watching the repeats that appeared later on in the 1960’s, though.

The Jetsons were the opposite end of the timeline from The Flinstones, taking place one century into the future, whereas The Flinstones were from the Stone Age. 

Robots, aliens, holograms, and whimsical inventions were what The Jetson’s world was all about.  They even had a robot as a member of the family!  Her name was Rosie, and she assisted George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, and my favorite, Astro the dog. 

The family resided in Orbit City where all homes and businesses are raised high above the ground on adjustable columns.  They lived in the Skypad Apartments and got around town in an aerocar with a transparent bubble top.  The vehicle and their home were outfitted with all sorts of labor-saving devices, which occasionally broke down with humorous results.

Life was easy for George and his family.  He only worked for an hour a day, two days a week at Spacely Space Sprockets and was in charge of turning the Referential Universal Digital Indexer (R.U.D.I.) on and off.  Besides his dog, Astro, R.U.D.I. was George’s best friend.  Although it was a computer, it had a human personality and was a member of the Society for Preventing Cruelty to Humans.

Other than his bombastic boss, Cosmo Spacely, George didn’t have much to stress about at work, except for the company’s rival, Cogswell Cogs, which was run by Mr. Cogswell.

George Jetson, 40, was a loving family man and was married to Jane.  They had two children, Judy and Elroy.  (We’ll have to see if they make an appearance on the Sun City Peachtree bench.)

The interesting thing about The Jetsons was just how accurately it predicted the future.  Much of the technology in the 1960’s show is commonplace today.  People now communicate via video chat on flat screens; robots have taken over many jobs; push-button food provides fast and high-quality products such as Keurig coffee and upscale vending machine meals; and various high-tech devices are used for leisure (Apple Watch, Fitbit, cell phones, etc.)  Will aerocars be next in the real world?  We already have self-driving cars, an invention I hope never gets off the ground…

Stay tuned for the next painted rock adventure, and have a happy July 4^th!