Time Passages

"We seem to have a compulsion these days to bury time capsules in order to give those people living in the next century or so some idea of what we are like."

-Alfred Hitchcock


I think this is a great story. A young man in Michigan found a time capsule buried in his grandmother's garden. Among the items inside were, a Chrysler emblem, a tea light candle, and some newspapers, dating back to 1952. Cole Ordway found the box of treasures over this last Memorial Day weekend, and it's even more of a mystery because the time capsule wasn't buried by his grandmother, who has only lived in the house for a couple years, but by one of the houses previous tenants. Someone left behind some memories, and a piece of who they are. I consider it quite a gift as I sit here typing this, because I get to let my imagination run wild with possibilities. Was it a man or a woman? Was that emblem off the car that drove her to the church on her wedding day? Was the tea light candle, the only light she had during times when she couldn't pay the utility bill? Or was it from a romantic night spent with a lover?

Also found in the box were a jackknife, a pair of pliers, and a carabiner. That tells me that a man placed some of the items in the box, so maybe it was a couple. Maybe it was a fun little thing they did on their wedding night, as a gift to share with their children sometime in the future, and then they simply forgot about the whimsy. Or maybe all the items belonged to one person, who was lost forever to someone who loved them so much, that they preserved some sentimental memories forever in time. They knew that one day someone would find the box, and it would inspire hopeless romantics like me to come up with the story behind the items.

I was thinking, as I read the article, what would I place in a time capsule if I were to make one? If it is a simple case of wanting to live on through some sort of earthly immortality, well, I would like to think Ellipsis accomplishes that for me. After all, I share all about me here. My likes and dislikes. My hopes, my good times and things that have broken my heart. I can show you everything about myself, at least everything I would hope would be remembered, right here on my blog, as if it were an old fashioned time capsule. I think in some ways, it is a much more thorough time capsule, in that I can share my memories in my own words as opposed to merely showing you symbols of my life. Still, there are some specifics I wouldn't share here, because some things should be kept secret in the heart. Right?

Just for the sake of fun, lets pretend Ellipsis is a time capsule. Let's say I am going to pick a past date, and hide the items in a long ago entry to be found at some later date. How many items should be placed inside the time capsule? 6? 10? Would I have to provide photos of the items, or could I merely describe them? Nah, with the subscription services, and the feeds, telling you when I update an entry, it would be too easy to track the time capsule down. But what a fun thought. Who knows, maybe I will put some thought into it, and try to come up with a way to do it. :) Can you name three items I should put in it right off? Here are the first three I thought of to get started...

1. The most recent CD I have purchased - Katherine McPhee

2. A small Boyd's Bears teddy bear. I have been collecting them for years.

3. An unprocessed roll of 35mm film.

So tell me, have you ever created a time capsule? If you made one today, how many items would you put in it? Would you leave instructions on how to find it, in case you passed away... or leave it as a surprise for some future generation to ponder? Tell me what you think. Leave me your comments and ideas. :)

Well, I'm not the kind to live in the past
The years run too short and the days too fast
The things that you lean on are things that don't last
Well, it's just now and then, my line gets cast
Into these time passages
There's something back there that you left behind
Oh, time passages
Buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight.

-From "Time Passages" by Al Stewart

NOTE: The link to the story has been fixed. :)

-OndineMonet
"Best Friends"
San Francisco, California
May 30, 2007
Afternoon