Do you remember December 1999? As the new millennium dawns, some are wondering whether the world will descend into chaos once the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999. Work, MS is full of hope for the future.
In 1999, students in a program for gifted children placed letters and items into a time capsule, which was to be sealed and buried near the school’s entrance. 25 years later, the time capsule was opened.
Carol Paola, who has been teaching since the 1970s, and colleague Myriam Downey back in 1999 had students fill capsules with meanings to them of anything.
One student in particular, Colby Holland, has been reminding her about the capsule since it was buried. He is the one who opens the capsule and reads this letter to the future.
“I remember being able to go home and bring back items or items that were meaningful to us,” Holland told sun herald. “We brought different things, like VHS tapes or floppy disks, or even toys we might have had at the time.”
Holland attended the opening ceremony with his son Cameron, who is now a student at the school.
On the day the capsule was opened, Holland opened the capsule after school students read a speech and helped dig out dirt from where it was buried.
Unfortunately, most of the items were soaked by water. Some items, like the cassettes and VHS tapes, are in unusable condition, while other items, like the four Pokémon cards, are in relatively good condition.
The capsule also contains a Millennium Bear beanie baby, a school staff directory, a yearbook, a 1998 National Geographic magazine, a December 1999 Sun-Herald, and a K-Mart The ad, which lists a 19-inch TV for $149.99, a PlayStation 1 for $99, a damaged comic book or magazine and some water-damaged photos.
The capsule also contained several letters, one of which was written by Downey himself.
He burst into tears as he read her letter aloud.
“Dear everyone who opens this time capsule, what about the future? This time capsule is part of our project to celebrate the 20th century and start planning for the 21st century. It’s already 2024, right?” he read .
“My message for the future is to spend time with the people you love. It would be closer to the holidays. Is everyone crazy? Is everyone running around? Take five minutes to sit down and do nothing. Check out the Christmas tree, listen to carols, or just hug a child.
Well, now it’s safe to say things haven’t changed that much. We’re still running around, rushing, and rarely taking advantage of those smaller moments to calm our minds (especially during the holidays).
Downey recovered after getting choked up and continued: “I really believe these moments are still the most important during this time. We’re going to build memories that will keep us sane. Remember when we buried the time capsule? Like? Are you familiar with names like “Pokémon”, “Ricky Martin”, and “Mambo No. 5”?
As the letters were left to dry on the table, another former student, Jarred Rushing, discovered letters he had written 25 years ago. In it, a young Rushing describes how at the time he loved collecting stamps and James Bond, listening to the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears, and kids wearing baggy jeans and messaging each other on AOL .
“The most important thing is that I’m here with my 10-year-old daughter, and I was 10 years old when I did this; this is the legacy,” he said. “I still journal every day, so leaving things for people to find later is a great thing.”
