Time capsule letters

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Comments

  • //tangent// When I was young I knew a woman whose parents had named her after both grandfathers - Hectorina Andrewina. She was known as Hectorina Andrewina Semolina. //end tangent//

    Actually, compared to naming your baby daughter Hectorina Andrewina, organising an annual cringe-letter starts to seem less ridiculous. Although "better than the name Hectorina Andrewina" is setting the bar low.
  • I can totally see that it seems like a good idea, until you think it through.

    Then you realise how insane and controlling it is.
  • //tangent continued//

    Good grief, re names!

    Actress Michael Lerned (played Ma on The Waltons) is another case of that. A talk show host asked her about her first name. There was a flash of fury on her face. Then she explained that her dad had only wanted a son, and only picked out a son's name. He insisted on using it for his daughter. (I'm guessing ML's mom didn't have much say.) It would've been simple to use "Michaela" or "Michelle" instead. I don't know why ML didn't change her name.

    //end continued tangent//
  • LeRocLeRoc Shipmate
    "Dear Semolina. Whatever you do, don't blink."
  • Ok, I guess I'm the odd one out - I'd be quite interested in a time capsule designed for me from before I was born. Less so on the letters - I couldn't really care less about what my parent's long-forgotten friends thought was acceptable - but a present of things that actually were contemporary would be good. Someone writing in their own words about their mundane daily activities would be really interesting to me.

    But this would be wasted on anyone under the age of 40. The idea that one could say anything sensible to an imaginary 15 year old is dumb.

    So I'd just tell the friend to forget that idea, have a party to celebrate the birth and put some random stuff from the friends in a box and forget about it in the loft. It could be a fun party game to imagine what might be the most boring thing to put in a time capsule which might be of interest to a future historian.

    The kid might eventually find it and be interested - or not, and nothing would be lost.
  • Of course the other possibility is that the parents are collecting blackmail materials.

    Mwhahahaha
  • OhherOhher Shipmate
    mr cheesy wrote: »
    Of course the other possibility is that the parents are collecting blackmail materials.

    Mwhahahaha

    No need; PhizTome's doing that for us.
  • NicoleMRNicoleMR Shipmate
    Now what would be, in my opinion, rather sweet is if one person who was someone close to the child, wrote a letter every year to her on her birthday, sealed it up, and gave them all to her on her 18th birthday.
  • What might be nice is if 18 people were to take time over the next 18 years to care for any look after the family.
  • EutychusEutychus Shipmate
    edited March 2018
    Yes, but that is entirely different. It would involve looking out for the person as they turned out to be, not foisting one's personal ideals and expectations on someone who's not even born yet, for up to 18 years into the future.

    (I haven't been chased up for an answer yet. This means one of several things:
    a) they have got 18 people who have said yes (eww)
    b) they have realised this idea is futile
    c) they are reading this forum)
  • d) they assume everyone who was asked is busily writing up birthday blessings.

    NOT saying you should be doing that.
  • Just out of curiosity, I went to DuckDuckGo and looked up "how to write future letters for baby".

    Got lots of hits on writing keepsake/time-capsule letters of various kinds--for babies not yet here, kids, even your future self.
  • Eutycus - yes I know it is different. I just think it would be of more use.
  • Eutychus wrote: »
    Yes, but that is entirely different. It would involve looking out for the person as they turned out to be, not foisting one's personal ideals and expectations on someone who's not even born yet, for up to 18 years into the future.

    (I haven't been chased up for an answer yet. This means one of several things:
    a) they have got 18 people who have said yes (eww)
    b) they have realised this idea is futile
    c) they are reading this forum)

    d) Having found out about this, the one who didn't send the letter has put their foot down over either the idea or who got asked ...
  • Eutychus--

    How's this going?
  • EutychusEutychus Shipmate
    I haven't heard anything more about the original invite.

    The sister-in-law I suspect of instigating all this turns out to be pregnant too. I guess that means this will now become something of an obligation within the family...
  • Golden Key wrote: »
    Just out of curiosity, I went to DuckDuckGo and looked up "how to write future letters for baby".

    Got lots of hits on writing keepsake/time-capsule letters of various kinds--for babies not yet here, kids, even your future self.


    But... all those hits were for parents writing to their own unborn babies. Which is a pretty normal thing-- lots of us had baby books where we recorded sweet stuff like that (at least for baby #1-- by baby #3 or 4 they're lucky if you get a snapshot or two tucked into the magazine you were reading when your water broke). But the request in the OP is something different

  • No, not all of them. Some are for grandparents to write, or kids to write for time capsules, or even to write to your future self. They were just guidelines, since people seemed to think it an impossible or weird thing to do.
  • Golden Key wrote: »
    ...or even to write to your future self.

    But my future self will *know* beyond all doubt that my current self is a tw*t, in the same way that my current self *knows* that my past selves were likewise. So why would my future self want a letter from my current self, offering pearls of wisdom on what is going on at the moment which will inevitably turn out to be bullshit? So future self can say 'yes, I thought I was a tw*t, and here is a letter which confirms it beyond all doubt?'

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