Wow, I like this a lot. It's short, well-written, contains a good message, and it's sci-fi. What more could a person ask? :D

This is creative and meaningful at the same time; I love the bittersweet connections to the narrator's childhood. The simplistic ending really adds something too. Great job with this!

Only one mistake that I caught: "I didn't have the hart to crush his dreams." Just fix the word "heart" and you'll be all set.

I'm favoriting this. :)

PS-- Is this an alternate history type of story, or did society start re-using year numbers? It's cool that you used dates from the 1800s and 1900s.