Observing History

The other day my brother and I went for a walk in the woods, and as we are wont to do, we discussed a great many things, among them this: What if you could go back in history - as an observer only - and witness an historical event? What event would you want to be a witness to?

I immediately thought of JFK's assassination because who wouldn't like to know if Lee harvey Oswald really fired those shots from the book conservatory, and was there someone else on the grassy knoll?


My brother said the life of Jesus Christ and aftermath, which surprised me since he's totally not religious. But just imagine if you could follow him around and hear what he really said, see who wrote down his words most accurately and, did Judas really betray him? Or how about Muhammad? Imagine being there when he received the word of God through Gabriel? Wouldn't it be enlightening to know just what those words were - assuming of course one could understand the language spoken?

Or, how about being an observer of the FBI for the sixth months prior to Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination? Imagine the secrets you'd be privy to.

Roswell might be another interesting choice. How cool would it be to see an actual space ship or maybe even some real live (or dead) aliens.

Oh, oh, or how about when Cleopatra supposedly poisoned herself?! Did she? Didn't she? And was it an asp or some other snake? Or, how about the Mary Celeste? Wouldn't you just love to find out what really happened to her and her passengers and crew?

Or - omg, why didn't I think of this first?! - what if you could visit the library at Alexandria, before it perished. That would be something.

Anyway, these are the sorts of interesting discussions my brother and I sometimes have while walking in the woods. When would you go? What event are you dying to know more about?