Where will we be in the year 2103?

We hear a lot about "the good old days," those times -- long ago -- when things were simpler and slower. While the memories are pleasant ones, we also know -- deep down -- that the old days had their drawbacks, too.

Sam Blackwell, a writer for the Southeast Missourian in Cape Girardeau, Mo., helped set the record straight recently in his column, "Letters from Home." Quoting a friend who is a historian, Blackwell cited the following facts about life in the United States in 1903. "Some of the changes that have occurred in the past 100 years are startling," Blackwell writes.

Yes they are, Sam. Here's the evidence.

In 1903:

The average person lived to be 47.

The U.S. had 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads.

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home.

The population of Las Vegas, Nev. was 30.

Fourteen percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub and 8 percent had a telephone.

Only about 230 murders were reported in the U.S.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee were more populous than California.

The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were: 1. pneumonia and influenza; 2. tuberculosis; 3. diarrhea; 4. heart disease; 5. stroke.

Canned beer, iced tea and crossword puzzles hadn't been invented. Neither had Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Having chronicled the changes of the past century, we now wonder what the next 100 years will bring. What will the average life span be in 2103? What will the average wage be? And what new, wondrous inventions will be making life easier for those alive at the beginning of the 22nd Century?

It's fun and illuminating to look back a 100 years, and it's even more mind-boggling to look ahead, because humankind is on the verge on many more, awesome breakthroughs.

We've heard about 1903. We're learning about 2003. And, a few of the youngest among us may still be around in 2103. Let's hope their world learns from our mistakes, while continuing the best of what we did.