The Internet is the coolest place I know. No, seriously. And the advent of social media means finding cool stuff on the internet takes little effort on my part except to scroll by it. I was in awe looking at this post on Twisted Sifter about a time capsule chest from Oklahoma. 1913-2013. This wasn't something accidental or happened upon either. The chest was made intentionally and full of a variety of artifacts that gave an invaluable look at typical life in Oklahoma in 1913 - newspapers, books, clothing, food, paintings, pictures, and much much more. Many of the letters were addressed to the descendants of people who lived at that time. How wild! To one day receive word that your great, great, great grandparents wrote to you! My favorite part of this project is the message to the future that was included in the newspaper of the day they sealed the time capsule. Imagine, everyone who read the message in the newspaper that day and all the thousands more people who will read it online today saw these words, absorbed their meaning, and have successfully communicated through a century. Just awesome. It reads,
Spirit of 1913 Greets the Year 2013
Written especially for the Century Chest
(April 22, 2013)
Well, well, and is this you 2013? Here are we, the spirit of 1913, your many time great-grand parent.
We were slain by New Year and buried in the garden of Once Upon a Time. Yet, through all these years have we lived, for out of the dust of us have grown the trees under whose shades the young have snuggled close in Cupid's arms; the old have dreamed of yester-whiles. The fragrant magnolia and the lily pure and white and fair to see- all have taken root within our heart. And we have wondered at the beauty, moulded by the Craftsman who alone is perfect in His craftsmanship.
How aged & infirm we feel as we number bairns that have sprung from our loins; yet how immature were we on that December night so long ago, when the big clock struck and toddling steps were at their journey end.
Of all the masters that the world has known, Time alone, our master, is unchanged. In rain, in sun, in wind, and torrid heat, he journeys on his feet unfettered and his trudge unbound.
We the spirit of another year, whose breasts have suckled many souls, greet you today and offer this balm for weary hearts. On earth, in Heaven, in hell, there's no decay save that which turns the goodly to the things of ill. The brave, the true, the Lordly, the right live on. The pressure of a hand, the smile, the word of cheer, when we have gone, give comfort to the stricken of another year.
Year 2013, how's our town? Did that man get the dollar that he sought and if he got it were all the things he bought worth all the care lines and the frown that gathered? Was his heart as big, his laugh as great - or did he crumble 'neath the touch of fate and yearn to turn aback the hands of time?
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