Time Capsule
One thing I've done for most of my life is keeping time capsules. I was first introduced to the idea when I was just 10 years old, and it was one of those historic years (we won't say which one, so that you can preserve the illusion that I am almost as youthful as my book characters), and everyone in our school signed an autograph book. We were told it would go into a safe and be reopened--when? Was it 30 years later or 100 years later? I can't remember. Sometimes I want to call the school and ask, but I strongly suspect that nobody there will know what I'm talking about.
I also came across the time-capsule idea when I read Betty Smith's classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The main character creates a time capsule at the moment she first hears that World War I has broken out, and she schedules her capsule to be opened 50 years later.
Inspired, I created a few for myself. Mostly, they're just envelopes in which I wrote letters to myself, talking about what my life was like at the time and what I hoped it would be like later. I wish I could share with you what they all said, but the last time I opened one, I resealed that letter and all the previous letters in an envelope to be opened in 2026. I do remember opening the one that I wrote during my last year of college, and I'm happy to report that I did pretty well on my goals from back then: 1) yes, I did publish a book and 2) yes, I've long since gotten over the romance that I was then trying to move past.
I've infected my fellow Tenners with this idea brought the time-capsule idea to the Tenners, and we're inviting anyone who's interested to contribute to a capsule to be opened in 2020. The full details are here. This isn't a promotional thing; it's just for fun. I can attest to the fact that opening a letter from your past self (and looking at objects from that past self, another possible inclusion in a time capsule) is an interesting experience, folding the time in between like an accordion to touch hands with your previous self, closing the gap of years in an instant. Especially now, when technology seems to change every month, a look back can be illuminating.
One thing I've always loved about writing is that it can fix a moment, preserve it in amber, while we continue to grow and change around it. There's something in that feeling that also attracts me to time capsules.
Also please don't forget Swati Avasthi's blog tour and charity auction to raise money to fight domestic violence:
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I also came across the time-capsule idea when I read Betty Smith's classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The main character creates a time capsule at the moment she first hears that World War I has broken out, and she schedules her capsule to be opened 50 years later.
Inspired, I created a few for myself. Mostly, they're just envelopes in which I wrote letters to myself, talking about what my life was like at the time and what I hoped it would be like later. I wish I could share with you what they all said, but the last time I opened one, I resealed that letter and all the previous letters in an envelope to be opened in 2026. I do remember opening the one that I wrote during my last year of college, and I'm happy to report that I did pretty well on my goals from back then: 1) yes, I did publish a book and 2) yes, I've long since gotten over the romance that I was then trying to move past.
I've infected my fellow Tenners with this idea brought the time-capsule idea to the Tenners, and we're inviting anyone who's interested to contribute to a capsule to be opened in 2020. The full details are here. This isn't a promotional thing; it's just for fun. I can attest to the fact that opening a letter from your past self (and looking at objects from that past self, another possible inclusion in a time capsule) is an interesting experience, folding the time in between like an accordion to touch hands with your previous self, closing the gap of years in an instant. Especially now, when technology seems to change every month, a look back can be illuminating.
One thing I've always loved about writing is that it can fix a moment, preserve it in amber, while we continue to grow and change around it. There's something in that feeling that also attracts me to time capsules.
Also please don't forget Swati Avasthi's blog tour and charity auction to raise money to fight domestic violence:
[image error] [image error]
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