(This is a new post and an actual event in town)
The town was filled with excitement. It had been fifty years since the last community celebration and recognizing the town’s 200 year anniversary of existence was going to be a big event.
Committees were formed and ideas for events and activities came fast and furious. Parades, dances, parties, tours, speeches by guest politicians and local dignitaries’ were only a few of the many suggestions. The hard work was just beginning. Would there be enough days in the year to pull off such an event. There were only 365 days to work. Would that be enough ?
Ideas and the suggestions for events would come and go and get debated until finally what appeared to be a reasonable list of activities and events took shape. History tours, musical events, and art and craft shows headlined the list. And let’s not forget about the time capsule.
While people seem to always be focused on the present and the future, many have a strong curiosity about the past, their past. What was it like to live in town 200 years ago or even 50 years ago? What did people do back in the day? No cars, No computers. How did they spend their time? Was life as boring as it really seemed?
I have always been a firm believer in the idea that to plan and prepare for the future, it is important to learn and remember successes and mistakes from the past. Please note that I did not say past failures. Failures only occur when you don’t learn from those mistakes.
It was agreed by all involved that the request of those of 50 years ago would be honored and that the time capsule would be exhumed from very very deep in the ground and opened amid the cheers of those watching, sharing in the life and celebration of 50 years before. Yes. Beneath the granite block in the local park would be a record of life in town in 1969. There were no written records of what the contents might be or any of the details of what we might find under the granite marker. But that was to be part of the excitement and anticipation.
Ten feet later and with the help of a backhoe, the time capsule was pulled from the ground. Ten feet down? These folks back then must have had a real sense of humor or a nasty mean streak.
The capsule was inspected, cleaned and then moved to a location in the town library where people could guess and speculate what it might contain. Again, there appeared to be no written accounts of what might have been placed inside, so it was anyone’s imagination. There were several unusual and funny stories about what its contents might be, but folks would have to wait just a bit longer to be sure.
As often happens with committee work, the committee tasked with the program for the time capsule began to ask questions. What if there was nothing in the time capsule except a note that read…”Ha-ha. Gotcha ya!” What if it had been set up as a joke? You know those people from the 60’s. What if the contents had not been properly prepared for the 50 year journey through time and had been destroyed or damaged in some way. What if……? What if…? How would we know? So a decision was made.
Help was going to be needed by a local construction company, with all of their tools and equipment to get the tightly sealed container open, so the decision was made to open the time capsule and check on the condition of its contents, reseal it so that it could easily be opened at the time set aside for capsule ceremony.
With hard hats and safety glasses, the team went to work and within a minute or two the top was ready to be opened. The team looked at each other, nodding and giving the OK to open the time capsule, filled with history, which had been put deep into the ground in 1969.
Within seconds after taking off the top, with a smell that would take ones breath away, what remained of the contents was revealed. The time capsule had been tightly sealed to keep the moisture out, but it also kept some moisture in and it had done a great deal of damage to the contents over the fifty year period. Did I say wet and soggy and oh yes…smelly? Very smelly.
The hope for the sweet smell of history quickly turned into the question of…”OMG, what do we do now?”
