caught in the past

If you were granted a wish to be able to visit either the past or the future, which would you choose?

As long as I can remember, I've loved almost everything vintage. For me, this means anything before the first half of the 20th century, but especially the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. I love the cars and the clothing styles of the roaring twenties, the music, films, and architecture of the thirties, the music and films of the forties--well, really, I love it all.

I've thought upon occasion that I should have been born in my grandmother's or great-grandmother's time instead of my own. But I suspect that I still would have been fascinated by an earlier time. I think there's just something magical about the past. Some years ago I visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor. At that time I think there was just a self-guided tour--I don't think you could stay in any of the rooms yet. The restored state rooms were behind glass and I remember standing in front of one and imagining myself back in that time. It was the strangest feeling, like being caught between time periods.