There Is No Time For This
A FEW DAYS AGO I SAW a small news item in the local newspaper about an old building that was being renovated. As they were working on the foundation the workers uncovered a Time Capsule. For those of you with no sense of history let me explain about time capsules.
It used to be the practice when public buildings such as Libraries, Government Buildings, and other large structures were built to place a box into the foundation corner stone. In the box they’d put things about the town, their lives, and times. The box would stay hidden until the building was torn down sometime in the future.
This news item piqued my curiosity and I started digging. I learned that there is a White House Time Capsule…even though it’s not in The White House. Also, The White House was built more than two hundred years ago, but this Time Capsule wasn’t created until 1999.
Trumpeting the theme, “Honor the Past – Imagine the Future” the President created the White House Millennium Council to come up with a list of things to go into a Time Capsule not to be opened until the year 2100. It may be called a White House Time Capsule but it is being kept at the National Archives Building.
The list of things that have been sealed up in the capsule is quite diverse and, in my opinion, more likely to cause confusion than admiration when it is finally opened.
What will they think in the year 2100 when they pop the lock, open the lid and the first thing they see is a hundred year old Hostess Twinkie? It will probably be just as edible then as it was the day it was put into the capsule a hundred years earlier.
I do hope that they included a document explaining what some of the objects are and what their significance is. I’m looking at the items and I am confused as all get out. For example: a piece of the Berlin Wall. Without explanation the people in 2100 are going to scratch their heads as they look at this chunk of concrete. Without something to tell them the historical value of that piece of rock they might just think it was a part of someone’s driveway. I also don’t understand the importance of including a pair of Ray Charles’ dark glasses. Wouldn’t it have been more interesting to include a few of his recordings? Oh, well…you can look over the list yourself and I’ll bet you can come up with a better list than that Presidential Council.
All of this Time Capsule business had me thinking about what I would put into a Time Capsule. I don’t have anything of great historical value so it would have to be just a bunch of …stuff.
My Time Capsule List:
My Starbucks Card…in case somebody wants a cuppa.
My cell phone. Please check my messages.
A bottle of Hand Sanitizer. In case the capsule openers might have to shake hands with any politicians.
A Ham Sandwich. Just to confuse the heck out of the finders. That’s just me.
Let’s all go back to the future.
Down the Hall on Your Left 
Another great post. Both humorous and thought provoking.
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