There are now nine people in the world who have walked on the moon, and unless something dramatic happens …, it won't be long before there are none. That might not mean anything to a lot of you, because you are, I am led to understand, young people, and the moonwalks didn't happen in your lifetime. … But it means a lot to me, and Andrew Smith, and when the Apollo missions, the future as we understood it, become history, then something will be lost from our psyches. But what do you care? Oh, go back to your hip-hop and your computer games and your promiscuity. (Or your virginity. I forget which one your generation is into at the moment.)

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby

A passing reference to Nick Hornby led to me picking up this book again and re-reading one of his columns. At random. And that perfect little précis of what happened to the future we were promised was buried in there. The whole collection is replete with such examples.

Now excuse me while I spend the afternoon reading.