Panasonic released microcassets four to a set in a plastic case that was nominally the size of a standard cassette case, though thinner. The four here appear to be recordings of the proceedings of the board of the Yuma Venture RV Park, Yuma Arizona in the Southwest United States. For a place with RV in their name, their lone photo on Google maps shows only trailer homes. The first three tapes date to November 11th 1998 and are recorded on side A only. The final tape is marked in faded pencil with the date March 10th 1999. It’s a strange window into the goings on in a particular type of community just before the turn of the century. There’s something to be read into a man relaying the same anecdote about a pavement seal-coater in two meetings almost four months apart; something about the pace of life perhaps or what it takes for something to rise to the status of a 3.

I wonder how much of this sort of thing exists out there in the world, sitting in boxes slowly shedding magnetic oxides. The digital dark age has probably put more of this sort of thing out there, everyone has a voice recorder in their pocket these days. Sadly, no one’s selling access to used Google Drives, iClouds, or OneDrives that I know of.