Actually, I think the whole thing is a perfect (if unintended) metaphor for Oklahoma in the 1950s:
An enthusiastic but brain-dead Jaycee (probably a car salesman, but I repeat myself) comes up with a goofy idea to bury a 1957 Plymouth ("It's still under warranty!"), and then convinces his buddy, a corrupt County Commissioner (again, I repeat myself) to have Tulsa County pay for it. The CC gives the job (without bids, of course, and on a cost-plus basis) to an incompetent concrete contractor buddy of his who is obsessed with the idea that backyard fallout shelters are going to be THE NEXT BIG THING. Of course, the concrete dude has no formal education beyond the 3rd grade (he and the CC both quit school the same year and spent some time traveling with Royal American Shows) and has never actually built a fallout shelter, or any in-ground concrete structure for that matter, but he convinces everybody that since his vault will be able to withstand a direct hit from a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb (or your money back!) it obviously isn’t going to leak a drop of water over the next 50 years. Everybody knows that houses in Oklahoma don’t have basements, so ground water clearly must not be a problem. Besides, Oklahoma is DRY country. The CC actually convinces people that he believes all this, because his good ol’ buddy said so, but still he grants another contract (again, no-bid and cost-plus) to another buddy who is in the plastic bag business … to wrap the car like a Christmas present and further protect it against anything (residual radiation, perhaps?) that might get through the concrete … even though we already know that’s not going to happen. But first, the Jaycee guy puts a case of Schlitz in the trunk of the car, just to demonstrate to the world of the future that he had good taste. The car is lowered into the vault, the hydrogen-bomb-proof lid is placed on top, and the thing is buried amidst much ceremony (and no small amount of back-slapping) … without a sump pump (that might require maintenance!) or even something as simple as a water detector on the floor of the vault … because everybody KNOWS that it’s never going to leak, not even if there is a nuclear attack. Everybody gets paid, and the CC and his good ol’ boy buddies go out drinking at a sleazy bar in nearby Broken Arrow (yes, I know Prohibition is still in effect in Oklahoma, but what’s law among friends?) … secure in the knowledge that their scam won’t be uncovered for 50 more years!
Fast forward 50 years. Some people in Tulsa still believe that this thing is going to work perfectly. 700 of them even pay for tickets to the “unveiling.” The CC, long deceased, is nevertheless laughing his ghostly ass off! And tonight, a Jaycee somewhere in Tulsa is dreaming even goofier dreams. Yeee … Hawwwww!
I grew up in Oklahoma in the 1950s. I know.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 06-16-2007).]
They need to clean it up so people can see what it looks like without all that mud. I can tell now she isn't in that good of shape, but its hard to tell whats mud, and whats rust.
I really want to believe that she can be salvaged, after all it is still an extremely low mileage, inside stored car.
Brad
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04:01 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 36653 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
They need to clean it up so people can see what it looks like without all that mud. I can tell now she isn't in that good of shape, but its hard to tell whats mud, and whats rust.
I really want to believe that she can be salvaged, after all it is still an extremely low mileage, inside stored car.
Brad
Yeah, put it on ebay with the "before" pictures. Get t he buyer to pay for it before inspecting it. Then have KOTV do a webcast. Before their webcast actually manages to load, another 50 years will go by.
Seriously, I think it's really sad & stupid. Tulsans should be hanging their heads in collective shame. The combination of the totally trashed car and the totally crappy web coverage makes them look very podunk. Gotta go a ways to beat Reno at being backwards, but Tulsa's managed it this weekend.
BTW, Brad, I think that's the cleaned up version of the car. I bet it smells to high heaven!
There was a post here awhile back about a different "time capsule" that was kinda interesting... It had office stuff in it (furniture, machines, etc) hafta look for that...
Maybe they'll find something interesting in the trunk...
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09:28 PM
wkayl Member
Posts: 2912 From: Loveland, Co Registered: Feb 2000
You know I think that with the technology we have today we might be able to do this whole bury the car have it work 50 years later... I do however feel sad that this one is such a mess I'm to young to remember anything about this car when it was first around. I buried a time capsle in 1990 to be opened in 2040 so we shall see I was in the 1st maybe 2nd grade... You know what I put in there? A VHS tape of the New Kids On The Block... I'll be 56 when they open it.. think I'll remember all the words to their songs?!
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11:56 AM
CoolBlue87GT Member
Posts: 8414 From: Punta Gorda, Florida, USA Registered: Apr 2001
You know I think that with the technology we have today we might be able to do this whole bury the car have it work 50 years later... I do however feel sad that this one is such a mess I'm to young to remember anything about this car when it was first around. I buried a time capsule in 1990 to be opened in 2040 so we shall see I was in the 1st maybe 2nd grade... You know what I put in there? A VHS tape of the New Kids On The Block... I'll be 56 when they open it.. think I'll remember all the words to their songs?!
Hopefully you buried a VCR also, otherwise you might need to visit a museum in order to view the tape !!! lol
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01:29 PM
texasfiero Member
Posts: 4674 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: Jun 2003
R.E. Humbertson, we've got a car for you By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press Writer TULSA, Okla. - R.E. Humbertson, wherever you are, you are the winner of "Miss Belvedere," the rusty 1957 Plymouth hauled from its leaky vault last week after being buried for a half century.
Humbertson, born July 1921, or his or her closest living relative, has five years to claim the two-door hardtop that drew international attention when it was unearthed, organizers announced Friday.
When the car was buried in 1957, hundreds of people submitted guesses on what Tulsa's population would be in 2007. Humbertson's guess of 384,743 was only slightly off the official U.S. Census count of 382,457.
There were more than 800 guesses, ranging from zero to 2 billion, written on a paper list and postcards inside a time capsule buried in the concrete vault, supposedly tough enough to withstand a nuclear attack.
"She doesn't belong to anybody, somebody's going to belong to her," said event organizer Sharon King Davis, whose grandfather helped bury the Plymouth.
Davis and others announced the winner at East Tulsa Dodge, where the car had been on display the past week.
True to form, it was a circus: dozens of onlookers crammed into the showroom to get one last look at the rusted-out car, snapping photos with cell phone cameras and chitchatting about what they'd do if they won her.
"I'd throw up my hands and say somebody help me," joked Terry Templin, who was in his 20s when the Plymouth was buried. "My wife wouldn't want it in the garage."
The entries were examined this week by the audit, tax and consulting firm of Deloitte, where a team of volunteers plugged the names and guesses into a spreadsheet to determine a winner.
Several people listed their birthplace as "Indian territory," and dates of birth ranged from 1888 to 1957.
If Humbertson or his or her heirs don't come forward, the gold and white Belvedere will be held in trust for five years, according to the state's Unclaimed Property Act.
After that, a judge or court will decide what to do with it.
"The eyes of the world are still on Tulsa and Miss Belvedere," Davis said.
Bets on Boyd "placing a bid"...
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08:55 PM
Jun 28th, 2007
Gokart Mozart Member
Posts: 12143 From: Metro Detroit Registered: Mar 2003
After looking at the pictures further.. heres what needs to be done:
1. Buy a pressure washer 2. Kick Boyd in the __ cause he is a dink 3. Pressure wash the car 4. Kick Boyd again in the ___ since he is not moaning as loudly 5. WD40 the car. 6. Change oil 7. Trip Boyd as he is trying to run out the door, you notice his hawaiian shirt out of the corner of your eye. 8. Put new gas in and start it up..
