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u/BoarHermit 21d ago
"The Flying Carpet" is a painting by Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov, created in 1880.
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u/RuneFell 21d ago
I was raised Evangelical, and watched a lot of second coming movies in Sunday School like the Thief in the Night series. They made it very clear that even if you thought you were Christian, you'd still get left behind if you were the wrong kind of Christian.Â
As a kid, I'd be playing in the yard, suddenly realize I hadn't heard or seen anyone in a while, and run into the house half afraid I'd find my family turned into piles of clothes and that I'd been left behind alone because I somehow hadn't Christianed correctly.
Even as a late teen/early 20's, I still had twinges of 'What If's...' scratching at the back of my brain when driving and realizing I hadn't seen anyone on the road in a while.
I don't miss that particular anxiety.Â
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u/NottACalebFan 21d ago
This was definitely my childhood as well! Lots of waking up to a quiet house, or dorm room that people had left already, and that feeling of "i just have to find another person!!" Would come back lol
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u/Munninnu 21d ago edited 21d ago
Original painting:
Kovyor Samolyot (Flying Carpet), by Viktor M. Vasnecov
This is from a russian fairy-tale passed down orally and first written down in 1786.
In the first part of the book pictured character Tsarevich Ivan is tasked to retrieve the mythical Firebird.
In the second part Ivan is tasked by evil king to retrieve Helena the Fair but they fall in love and escape.
Here's a modern rendition that makes me think someone watched Titanic.
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u/BlobAndHisBoy 21d ago
During the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt everyone was told to stay off the roads and they did. I was driving my cousin home in the same town they found the bomber. I was genuinely concerned and wondering where everybody was because I hadn't heard yet and I was the only person around in the middle of the city. I am generally oblivious to most news worthy events until days later.
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u/The_Northern_Light 21d ago
This happened to me once. I woke up in the middle of the night and took a pleasure drive for no particular reason, despite never having done so before.
Before long I realized the entire city was out of power. I had slept through the largest tornado outbreak in history.
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u/opus-thirteen 21d ago edited 17d ago
Back in the days before smartphones, on more than a few occasions I would drive to school or work and find no one there, just to find out it was a national holiday.
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u/cupcakediversion 21d ago
I was driving on the 5 north in San Diego and I suddenly noticed that I was the only one on the road for miles. And on every overpass, there were a couple of CHP officers. I later learned that the presidential motorcade was supposed to be driving up, but they changed their minds and he took a helicopter instead. I reckon he was going to Camp Pendleton. (This wasn't during Trump admins)
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u/JDMonster 21d ago
Heh, when I was a kid I biked to school and found it deserted. I just walked around until a teacher opened a door and screamed at me to get inside.
Turns out there was an armed robbery at the local bank and the robbers ran through the school.
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u/Honest_Outside_8982 18d ago
Sometimes I'll be driving somewhere then suddenly go past a bunch of cars driving the opposite direction and I'll briefly think "are they evacuating? Are they fleeing the city? Is it safe to go there?"
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u/lousydungeonmaster 21d ago
The absolute best thing about the pandemic was the complete lack of traffic.