We asked Chicagoans: What would you put into your pandemic time capsule to give your future kids or grandkids an idea of what this has been like? Some answers have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
“Toilet paper, mask and many bottles of bourbon.” — Pete Herrnreiter
“My grungy gray sweatpants with Cheetos stains, an empty bag of Cheetos, the bill to my Netflix account, all the discarded empty boxes of disposable face masks, empty pizza boxes that were delivered, empty bottles of hand sanitizer and my work calendar lit up with Zoom meeting notifications.” — Tony De Castro
“A mask and unused play tickets. I have no keepsakes from my COVID hospital stay because I was not allowed to bring anything home.” — Zeta Street
“A recipe book with all of my favorite recipes I made in 2020 for my friends and family. Included would be instructions on how to all come together as family and enjoy the meals!” — Rich Poppert II
“My bandanas I wear instead of masks, running shoes for the exercise regimen I’ve embraced and my cocktail shaker, which has seen a lot of extra use.” — Jason Batke
“My boxed set of ‘The Sopranos,’ a cookbook and and the ultrasound of their mother (for grandkids).” — Michael Sewall
“Books, tea, coffee and puzzles — crossword, Sudoku, Jumbles and Kenken. Oh, yeah, a remote without batteries and a takeout / delivery pizza menu.” — Julia B. Meyer
“Puzzles. My family all purchased puzzles and shared them with each other. We left them on the porch or mailed them. I would add balloons, streamers and posters. I attended so many drive-by birthdays and graduations celebrations.” — Antoinette Peterson
“One of those cans of snakes that you can buy at a trick shop.” — Diana Romero Mendez
“A photo of Mom and I, our ‘I voted’ stickers and an Ankh because our ancestors were protecting us during this menace.” — Joy L. Grossett
“Our two containers labeled ‘clean masks’ and ‘masks to be washed.’ ” — Steph Bynum
“A photo of the ‘Tiger King’ cast.” — Suzanne McCulloch-Lino
“A bottle of Malort. This year and that stuff left about the same aftertaste.” — Aaron Sondgeroth
“Hand sanitizer.” — Sandra Jennings
“My essential worker letter.” — Kayah Kendricks
“An empty toilet paper wrapper.” — Taylor Nicole Rogers
“Cannabis,” — Saúl Rodriguez Jr.
