You get one wish: bring back one person from the past. Who would it be?

[Bossy Monkey]

Think of it as having a very anal-retentive genie. You get one wish, and no tricks. The person will return in good health, physical and mental, and any skills or abilities s/he may have had and lost will be recovered. Could be anybody, any era.

Don't hold me to this, but you know, I think I might choose Rod Serling? One good "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" might yet turn this whole thing around.

[sniffa]

1. the pope

or jebediah springfieLd.


dig up his grave!
dig up his grave!

[rockymountaindem]

2. FDR

He'd save us.

[SharonRB]

3. JFK

Maybe he'd help us regain our hopefulness for the future.

[DrDebug]

29. I second that motion

This is his day

[SharonRB]

38. I assume you know I meant JFK the first, right?

By your comment of "this is his day," it sounds like you meant JFK the second. He's still alive (unless you thought I meant to bring him back to life metaphorically speaking).

[skypilot]

4. Comedian Bill Hicks.

I would love to hear him unload on this administration.

[MissMillie]

5. My mother's mother

I know my mom misses her a lot, even after all these years.

[AwakeAtLast]

77. This is scary,

I was going to post the very same answer! My mom lost her mom when she was only 36, I was 10. That was 24 years ago. I still miss Grandma a lot, so I know my mom does.

Now that I am 35 I think about just how young that is to lose your mom, especially when she had two children. I don't know what I would do. Don't really want to think about it.

The good thing is that her dad lived to be 91! He was a great person, too, so he would be my second choice!

[sui generis]

6. can we snap our fingers and make them go away

if they turn out to be really fucked up?

[Debi]

12. Like in Pet Semetary?

:shrug:

[Demit]

7. Martin Luther King, I think. Unwavering moral compass, & he could lead.

[two gun sid]

8. Jesus Christ.

I'll just let that answer sit there.

[Melynn]

57. Jesus is my answer too

Whether you believe that Jesus is the son of God or not, he would be an intriguing choice to bring back just to hear what he would have to say.

[Debi]

9. JFK or RFK

Probably rolling over in their graves at what's going on in the world right now!

[SharonRB]

13. Great minds think alike --

I agree with RFK, too. He may even be a better choice. Of course, the two together would be unstoppable!

[Reverend_Smitty]

46. I would also bring back RFK

but I would assume anyone who really knows me would know that already :-)

[FreedomAngel82]

70. Tough choice but

I'd go with JFK. So I can ask him who killed him the first time. ;)

[Ganja Ninja]

10. Jesus Christ

Because I want to hear Bill O'Reilly tell him to shut up.

[ffm172]

11. my dad

he is missed dearly.

[hippiechick]

14. Khephra.

I miss my "lil bro" - he could always explain this farked up Bushista world for me, now nothing makes sense.

:cry:

[stellanoir]

15. Marla Ruzicka

http://www.civicworldwide.org

[auntAgonist]

16. my Mum!

gods for just one wish, it would be her.

[BOSSHOG]

17. My Mother

She died when I was 11, 39 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her.

[tavalon]

52. Is that hyperbole?

Do you actually miss her every day? My mom died when I was eight and long periods go by when I don't even think of her (I'm 42 now) but there are times when my heart breaks all over again, times when it feels like it just happened.

Am I a bad person for not thinking of her every day? Would the extreme heartbreak moments be less painful if she was in my mind every day? I wonder.

[uppityperson]

58. My mother and it's not hyperbole.

She died 14 yrs ago. I think of her every day. I wish I could she would be able to answer things like what was it like to be 44 with 5 kids, 4 of them teenagers. Also what is it like to be dead. Seriously.

[tavalon]

59. I just wonder why I don't

am I a bad person? I mean, I do think of her often, but not every day. Well, I did when I turned 36, the age she was when she died.

[uppityperson]

60. Naw, we're just different people/places/lives

It's ok to not think of dead parents daily. I feel weird because I do, like grow up you 50 yr old get the hell over it, but then realize that it's all ok. Everyone finds their own way, which changes all the time. Be at peace.

[BOSSHOG]

82. You are not a bad person

and I probably misspoke, I don't miss her everyday but I do think about her everyday and most of the time it is involuntary. She just pops in my head. We had great times together in the little time we had together. My father died one year ago this month and I still see him, sitting on the couch or out on the Patio. Bizarre. I don't know why it happens but I literally can't get my Mother out of my thoughts. And that's fine with me because I loved her dearly.

[TheMightyFavog]

18. Frank Zappa

He'd love to be spoofing the Bushies these days.

[warrens]

19. Mark Twain

With enough time to write 30 or 40 more books. Including a couple about the Smirking Murderer.

[Ruffhowse]

20. John Lennon

He'd be as outspoken as always and a real force for truth and progressive social movements.

[ronnykmarshall]

21. My brother.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. ...

:hug:

[the Princess]

22. Keith Moon

Just cause. :)

[Robeson]

67. Not my first choice, but he was THE greatest drummer ever!....

...:thumbsup:

[WI_DEM]

23. FDR, I can just imagine him watching the chimp speak

sitting there with a ciggarette attached to its holder, tilting his head back and laughing at what the chimp is saying and then--pulling himself up with his braces on taking to the lectern and absolutely demolishing the clown prince with some devastating one-liner.

[Bzzzz]

24. My Aunt Kathy...

she was my mentor.

[asjr]

25. Abraham Lincoln--so he could give Shrub a dressing down!

[NoSheep]

28. I heard THAT!

[Thor_MN]

103. I agree, it would be fun to watch the repukes heads explode

when "their" President tells them that they are full of shit and the greatest danger to this country.

[CO Liberal]

26. My Grandfather

My father's father. He died in 1961, when I was only nine years old. We didn't have enough time together.

[yellowdogintexas]

47. I would want my grandfather too. Or my mom, his daughter

that is a tough call.

On the world front , Robert Kennedy, probably.

[kwassa]

27. Mozart

He died poor at age 35.

Think what he could have accomplished had he lived a much longer life.

"By the time Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years."
-Tom Lehrer

[derby378]

30. Eisenhower (since Bill Hicks is already taken)

Solely because he saw the danger of the military/industrial complex and was willing to talk about it. With him in charge of the Republicans, we can weed out the DeLay-types and give John McCain a chance to redeem himself.

[DelawareValleyDem]

31. Senator Wellstone

[Left Is Write]

40. Seconded.

[maveric]

32. RFK. The man was a visionary.

He would have ended the cold and hot war as well as lead us to a booming economy from then to years to come.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

33. FDR would come back and get revenge Kill Bill style!

[Zuni]

34. My dad

[Gemini Cat]

35. My little brother. nt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

43. ...

:hug:

[MuseRider]

36. My brother.

Selfish? Yes but I miss him so.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

44. ...

:hug:
Not selfish...

[Gemini Cat]

74. Not at all selfish!

:hug:

[Senior citizen]

37. Hypatia. n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

92. OK, but if you take her for dinner, don't order oysters. (nt)

[Rabrrrrrr]

39. Gotta be Jesus - not just I'd like to meet him, but for the freepers

How wonderful it would be to see and hear Jesus on the national news telling us what he meant, and how utterly the freeps and republicans and fundies and other rightwing filth have twisted his words.

And then to hear Jesus say "And you know, Bill Clinton was the only righteous, holy, Christian man to inhabit the White House since Carter."

Oh, man, I would almost be willing to sell my soul to have Jesus come and make that pronouncement!

[imenja]

41. Easiest question in the world: My grandmother

The reasons are entirely personal. She was everything to me.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

42. My brother-in-law.

It was 2 years ago, and he'd been diagnosed with colon CA. He had some preparatory surgery and had undergone radiation and chemo tx. He was suffering, physically and mentally. As a result of that suffering, he took his own life. It devastated my husband and our daughters, as well as me. What I wouldn't give to have him returned to us!

[Writer]

48. Brandon Tartikoff, longtime programmer of NBC

the one who brought us Cosby, the Golden Girls, and the reason why I fell in love with broadcast television. Other than David Letterman.

Writer.

[JimmyJazz]

49. I gotta go with Joe - he went before his time

:(

[4_Legs_Good]

50. JFK

no questions asked, but only if it meant he were put back into the white house.

An alternative might have been Pope John Paul I. I woulda liked to see how that woulda gone. I bet the world would be a better place today.

david

[tavalon]

51. Sorry, I'm going to be selfish here

I know I "ought" to pick someone who could lead us out of the mess we're in but I pick my mom. I was only eight when she died. I'd like to get the chance to actually know her.

[KG]

53. High Lord Kevin!

[livebait]

54. Socrates

I'd really like to see Socrates come back, learn english, and become a talking head on cable. I think that would be great.

[ChoralScholar]

71. Everyone was always saying

"Socrates... what's the meaning of life?" and "Socrates... how can you find true happiness?" But did anyone ever say "Socrates! Hemlock is poison!"? Noooooooooooooooooo.....

Welcome to DU, livebait

[Zorra]

55. Albert Einstein. n/t

[DistressedAmerican]

56. Bob Marley - Philosopher, Poet, Rasta!

He should have been 60 this year!

[HEyHEY]

61. John Lennon

He's like Bono, only he's not doing it to be cool.

[saltpoint]

62. Mark -- author of the first gospel.

There are some pressing questions to ask him...

[havocmom]

63. I would say Dr. Franklin, but I am so ashamed of what we have allowed to

happen to the American experiment... I fear he would be quite sad.

[AlienGirl]

64. Phil Ochs. We need him more than ever. n/t

[Maat]

65. My paternal grandmother.

I miss her so. Without her, I'd have been a basketcase with my substance-abusing parents.

[buff2]

66. Elvis Presley....without a doubt.

:loveya:

[GirlinContempt]

68. Antonio Gramsci

[asthmaticeog]

69. Leon Czolgosz.

So he could, um, settle a dispute between me and a friend over how "Czolgosz" is pronounced. Yeah, that's why.

[RandomKoolzip]

73. Why not Arthur Bremer?

[politicat]

72. Thomas Jefferson.

Let him clear up the whole "Separation of Church and State" argument, show that politicians can have active, non-standard sex lives and still be effective, and give the nation a much needed dose of sanity and vision.

[Mad_Dem_X]

96. YES, Jefferson!

My favorite Prez since I first learned about him, in third grade.

Second choice would be John Lennon.

[BringEmOn]

75. Jesus. But, today's Pharisees would kill him, again.

[qnr]

76. Carl Sagan n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

91. Chalk up another one for Carl Sagan

A rationalist of his caliber is sorely needed today.

[qnr]

101. kick, per the request of bigwillq

[BringEmOn]

78. Hitler, or anyone on the Bush Body Count list.

So they could implicate the Bush Crime Family.

[AntiCoup2K4]

79. I'd have to go with JFK

Jesus was my other choice, but last I heard, He was coming back eventually anyway, so why waste an opportunity to bring someone else back. I have a feeling JFK would know exactly who killed him, and my hunch is that his expert testimony would be enough to bring down a lot of people who remain in power to this very day.

No names mentioned of course. I don't think it's really fair to amBUSH those who aren't around to defend themselves against CRIMINAL allegations involving assassinations in the name of building EMPIREs.

[BringEmOn]

80. Who had a ringside seat in Dealey Plaza?

[enigmatic]

81. This guy, or this one:

Charles Bukowski



Bill Hicks



We could use both right now..

[bertha katzenengel]

83. My mother. I need to talk to her. I need to find out why EVERYTHING.

eom

[TOhioLiberal]

84. My mom...

...I miss her. :cry:

[fudge stripe cookays]

85. My dad.

I don't know if he could ever know how much I still miss him, even after 25 years. Selfish, but there it is.

FSC

[leftofthedial]

86. Woody Guthrie

[Bossy Monkey]

87. Note from OP: I almost want to apologize for not saying "famous figure" or

"historical figure" because I feel like I've caused pain by reminding so many of losses in their personal lives. However, it's beautiful how many people would want back a mother, a father, a brother, a grandmother, or another family member. Don't apologize and don't think of it as being selfish. Heck, this is just a thought experiment, and it's lovely that so many would most want a family member back. It's good to see so much love even when it's intermingled with regret.

Now if somebody says Reagan, THAT'S the time to apologize!

[Zenaholic]

88. JERRY!

Garcia that is.

[ImpeachBush]

89. My father.

[hyphenate]

90. Thomas Jefferson

to show these idiots REALLY how to run a country!

[noonwitch]

93. William Shakespeare-I think he'd find our society amusing

Although, since he lived in a time and country with one of the greatest leaders ever (Elizabeth I), he would probably find the Shrub to be pretty scary. He'd probably compare him to Richard III or somebody equally corrupt.

[NoPasaran]

94. Caligula

He'd show these amateurs how to wreck an empire

[Samurai_Writer]

95. My Dad

Miss him still after 13 years.

[DebinTx]

97. Jimmy Hendrix

I'm quite sure he had a lot more music in him than what we got.

[dbt]

98. John R. Cash!

[HeeBGBz]

99. Jim Henson

He got a raw deal with the grim reaper. I miss him.

[Danmel]

100. My mom

When she died, my kids were only 8 and 4. Noe they're 14 and 10. IT makes me so sad to think of all the moments she never got to see with them, and especially for my son, how little he really remembers about her. And it doesn't help that my mother in law is a cold person who very much favors her other grandchildren- her daughter's kids. It would be nice for my kids to have a grandma who loves them. I miss her too so that would be my pick,

(although I did give serious consideration to my friend Jeanine who died in 1990 from a congenital heart ailment at 30. She was a very sweet person who had a seriously hard and tragic life. It would be nice for her to have another shot at things too)

[katinmn]

102. Paul Wellstone

we could sure use him now!

[RetroLounge]

104. I would like to say JFK, or RFK, or someone like that

but my first thought was my paternal Grandmother.

I wish she could have seen that I got clean and sober, and stayed married this time, and yes, Grandma, I am actually truly happy for the first time in my life.

and I really would have liked for her to meet my 2 kids.

RL

[postulater]

105. MLK

We need him now. I didn't see him on the list above, kinda surprised.

[kodi]

106. Jerry Garcia

.

[all.of.me]

107. my grampa first, mark twain second