Fantiquing

Antiquing has gotten very popular lately. I can see the appeal: you get to look at items that were made in the past, sometimes before you were born, and see how they have aged. You can wonder about where they were bought and how they were used and who the people who owned them were. You can look at remarkably lovely and well preserved things, and admire others which were utilized until they were unusable and were placed on a shelf to be handed down to descendants and their shelves. It’s nice that even though their owners may be gone from the world, that the possessions can still be enjoyed by others.

And while antiquing might be fun, I can think of something that might be even more enjoyable and take up much less room. For instance, the collection (that I just made up) of fantiques in my backyard.

What are fantiques, you ask? They are the antiques of the future. The great thing about fantiques is that since they’re from the future and completely imaginary, I can imagine that they’re weather proof. No rain or wind will spoil my fantiques. And I can also imagine that they are stored on a special fantique shelf that will display them for my leisurely perusal and then tuck them away in extradimensional space so that the whole shelf will fit under the back porch.

The lovely fantiques in my collection will range from lavishly decorated tableware that self-washes to gorgeously upholstered chairs and couches that automatically conform to the individual sitter’s sitting needs. There will be future art, both painting, sculpture, and light displays, and everyday things such as a rubbish bin that automatically recycles each piece of garbage into a new item that will make the world a better place.

Perhaps someday all these things will be on shelves being admired in an antique store, and maybe not. But for now I can imagine that they will be, and amuse myself by thinking up so many fantiques that my whole backyard is full.