Time capsule

The other day, I googled myself, like I do periodically, and in the process came across a link that took me to an archived site that contained the first thing I ever sent into cyberspace, back on December 8, 1993.

The shock of seeing something that I'd written at the age of 13 for some penpal email thing, that I'd never expected to see again, and that had been completely honest on my part was rather profound. It was like finding a time capsule, buried somewhere, that I'd completely forgotten about.

Here are some of the choicer excerpts from the posting:

"The things that really upset me are child abuse, and the ozone holes."

Followed two sentences later by:

"I love cars and motorcycles. My dream is to have a 1950's Cadillac, a four wheel drive turbo all terrain car, and a Harley-Davidson."

So while I cared about ozone holes, I really loved cars. But lest you think I didn't care about my role in preventing ozone holes, later in the message I wrote that in order to make the world a better place "I can never buy a car, but I really want one."

Regarding my career goals:

"When I grow up I want to be an author, a film director or an air-force pilot. I love writing stories, I have good ideas on how to make films, and I always wanted to fly an airplane and perform a duty for my country (U.S.A.). I know that none of these bring much money, so I need a rich husband."

Well, at least I was a very pragmatic 13 year old. And oddly militaristic and patriotic for someone who had never actually lived in the US.

Finally:

"I want the world to be better by decreasing pollution, decreasing totally useless violence, and education for the masses."

Somewhat useless violence is ok, however.

Man, was I a strange kid.