Predictions From an Old Rip

Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving’s 1820 tale attributed to old Diedrich Knickerbocker, tells of a rather lazy New York Dutchman named Rip who resided in the Catskills. He drank too much at the bowling alley one afternoon, sat down under a tree, probably about 1770 or so, and slept for 20 years. When he woke, everything had changed. There was a new George presiding over a new nation. His beloved dog and his feared wife were both dead. His old house was in shambles, the familiar tavern gone, and his trusty flintlock was rusted. His beard was too long and his clothes were out of date, and he didn’t know where he was. But as he soon learned, not much had changed after all.