The pants, they sure were baggy.
So, in the current Tweet_Book, we follow a character around Los Angeles and Las Vegas (so far) in 1998. Someone mentioned to me that 1998 was an odd year to set a story in — it wasn’t a particularly special year, historically speaking, so why set a story then?
Well, there are a bunch of reasons. It was three years before 9/11, which means that American culture was completely different. A lot of the technology we use every day now (cell phones, the Internet, GPS) was definitely around then, just in a much crappier, proto-version. It’s kind of like Steampunk to me to see someone pull out a Nokia Brick from 1997 — they look that odd and old-fashioned. There are reasons it’s important to the story, as well, but I won’t go into those just yet (you know, spoilers, and all).
But one of the most compelling reasons for me to set a book in 1998: I just like 1998. It was the year I turned 20. Music was pretty decent. The country seemed more fun back then. Clinton was a much more amusing president than either of the guys who followed after.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my life now for anything. I love what I do, I love my dogs and my wife, I love my new house in Texas. But if anyone invents time-travel tourism, 1998 is one of those places I’ll happily visit for a few hours.
After, of course, I answer the time-travel clerk’s question of “Why 1998?”
What about you, folks? If time-travel tourism came to be, but you could only travel within your own lifetime (think Quantum Leap without the unitard and steam), where and when would you visit?
47 Echo 
Hmm. 1998 was the year I helped stage a walk-out in Highschool. It was moderately successful, got me 10 days out of school suspension for sitting in the principal’s office & not participating. The school postured in the newspapers that ‘Walking Out Won’t Change Anything’ but we got a few benefits out of it (like stall doors finally installed in the mens’ rooms).
Best part: my suspension was up right before Easter. Good Friday would have been my first day back in school, so I basically got a month off school, actually got to make up most of the work (there were discrepancies in the way the policy was being applied, I drew attention to the fact that if you were in a sports program, you got to make up your schoolwork in the rare case you got suspended, but if you were a “troublemaker” then you failed every assignment and test while you were out).
I’d have to go with the 1990-1992 timeframe, myself. Completely obvious reason, since you were there, LMAO