I was at the doctor’s office one morning and, believe it or not, someone started talking to me about this out of blue. I just had to share this with you.
Picture this: The year is 2050. A twelve-year-old boy finds a shoebox in the attic. The box is filled with a bunch of flat, colorful plastic squares that are unrecognizable. What are they?
Remember those flimsy, black floppy disks from the 1980′s? I can’t even tell you the last time I saw one of those. Well, what the boy found was the floppy disks’ rigid, square cousin. You know, those smaller hard disks we used to shove into our A drives? Hope I didn’t lose you at “floppy.”
Thanks to CDs, USB flash drives, and other micro-sized tech, these disks have become extinct. And I have no doubt that within the next 41 years, these newer “data storage devices” will eventually join them. But if some reason these items don’t get discarded over time, hopefully they will be re-discovered by curious younger generations–people like you and me today who are excited about unearthing old letters and photos in a shoebox and learning their stories.
However, unlike photos and letters (I have so many, including all the letters my kids wrote me from camp), you can’t just read or enjoy disks the instant you find them. First, you have to figure out what they are. Then you have to find an ancient machine (that still works!) to view the treasure inside–the forgotten or unknown moments from the past.
Odds are the boy will take one look at the unimpressive square and then promptly return it to the shoebox, where its secrets will remain a lost artifact for a while longer, if not forever.
Herein lies one of the ongoing questions we hope to answer here at The Fine Art of Family: Where will our memories be in 2050?
Tell us what you think in the comment box below!
xox,
M
P.S. This week, we’ll take a look at a few more easily recognizable items from the past, including the 138-year-old Central Park Carousel in New York City (I loved that ride as a kid!), a nearly 60-year-old diamond ring (the unforgettable gift Town & Country Editor-in-Chief Pamela Fiori discusses in My Heirloom), and the 89-year-old Chanel Chain Bag.
Published on November 9, 2009
While there are many sites today dedicated to the pursuit of fashion and style, here at MRK Style we approach these subjects through a collector’s lens. Through exploring how people relate to Art, Family, Fashion, Food, Film and Travel—essentially life’s various, everyday obsessions—we reflect on how we all live with the things we love. 
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