That’s the best you can do?

My parents and I went to Zion National Park when I was about 15. Zion is all the things a national park should be – natural and spectacular in its own particular way. Giant red rock formations glow in the afternoon sun, interspersed with waterfalls and creeks big and small.

On our way home, we stopped in Las Vegas. It seemed almost laughable after Zion. All this human effort with unlimited amounts of money – and you create THIS? Is that the best you can do? Compared to Zion, even the electric excess of Vegas seemed puny.

I got the same feeling when I watched this video on these augmented reality glasses, which, I guess, are just a concept at this time.

Winning at billiards, impressing a young barmaid with your knowledge of her astrological sign (really? REALLY? Is this 1977?), riding a lonely fake bike race – that’s what you can do for me?

It makes me long for an afternoon at Downton Abbey. Tea in the garden. Sit in the shade of a parasol. Listen to the Duchess make catty remarks. Eat a cucumber sandwich. Then maybe a nap. Plenty of time. No flashing objects on my screen.

My imagination will have to augment my reality for me.