Hi Barbara,
I agree that the only time travel I think would be good in real life is that which we all do: travelling forward in time sixty seconds every minute.
My grandmother (a Jew) saw the writing on the wall and left Germany while she still could -- she alone of her family did so, and she alone survived the war; as a Jew by heritage, I definitely would not want to experience WWII.
Of course, the story's protagonist wouldn't have known that he was skipping over that pivotal event in history. I deliberately made the journey a one way trip for my protagonist -- for better or for worse, he was stuck in 2020.
I wonder what it would be like having to learn of so many of humanity's highs and lows and having to adapt to the changes: WW II, nuclear arms, the dominance of cars as a mode of transportation, flight becoming commonplace among civilians, travel to the moon, unmanned travel to Mars, television computers, etc. Even something as relatively trivial as inflated prices would take some getting used to. I think it would be the most severe case of culture shock ever.
Be well,
Lynn
