The Book of Me, Written by Me--Prompt 8: Time Capsule

I am participating in the The Book of Me, Written by You project which will last 15 months. Prompt for week 8 is Time Capsule.

·         You can choose who to create the time capsule for as that will influence what you put (or would put into your time capsule).

·         The creation of a time capsule:

o    you can do this in the literal sense or

o    you can simply write what you would place into your time capsule and why. It is much more fun to create though!

This is an interesting concept. What would I put into a time capsule so that some future descendant would know a bit about me? Genealogies will have all the facts but this time capsule should have the items that tell about my feels and character, and perhaps would I love to do and what is important to me.

GS vest, Troll, SF cap, Softball photo

From my childhood, I would put in one of my Troll dolls. (I even still buy them if one from a flea market tickles my fancy). I did not care for regular dolls or Barbies much but loved making clothes and troll houses for my trolls. I bought my first troll for $.75 in 1965 after saving for two weeks (at 50 cents per week). My mother found a pattern where we could make clothes using felt fabric. I would also add my Girl Scout sash from my two years as a Junior Girl Scout and two years as a Cadette Girl Scout.

From my teen years, I would put in a softball and glove. I played on a city league team while in high school and played some in college, too. I would probably add some San Francisco Giant’s memorabilia, too, since I have followed them since the early 1960’s.

My trips on Greyhound

In my college years, I was very involved in model railroading, so I would add something about HO scale—perhaps my Great Northern Ry locomotive model or Western Pacific Ry caboose. I also traveled across the U.S. and Canada twice aboard Greyhound using their Ameripass. So I could create a map showing my route and the places I stopped to visit.

Reading, bird watching, playing the guitar, doing crossword puzzles,
& working for BART

I worked 32 years at the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BARTD) and could put in some BART memorabilia such as anniversary buttons or pins, or my train operator baseball cap.

I love reading and writing. A copy of a book from any of the following authors would be good: W.E.B. Griffin, Tom Clancy, Tony Hillerman, Louis L’Amour, Victoria Thompson, William Kreuger, Dorothy Grimes, or Elizabeth George, to name a few. I also wrote some stories and novels but they have not been published. Putting in pages from the hand-written notebooks would be cool.

Favorite past-time items could include binoculars & bird guides for bird watching, guitar music sheets, Scrabble or Boggle games, and a crossword puzzle from the Wall Street Journal.  I’m not sure how to show activities such as hiking and bike riding.  Boots and a bike would be too large to add to the capsule.

For attitudes and values, I would add “I Voted” sticker; environmental action brochures about clean air and water, planting native plants, and saving endangered species; and COEXIST and NOH8 bumper stickers because everyone should be allowed to live peacefully among each other.

Copyright © 2013 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past