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I did it. Two plane trips in one day and no hysterics. Very good. I guess it’s progress. We went to the Chicago Field Museum to see, primarily, the Pompeii exhibit. It was amazing, and touching, and scary occasionally. One of the casts of one of the dead, well, let’s just say it was very difficult not to project pain and suffering in his death throes. Maybe it’s the way they did the cast, or it was the heat that made his body and face look so twisted. I know that extreme heat can do that, but gazing down on him it was hard to not project. The exhibit is only there until sometime in March. Trinity is a huge fan of Pompeii, and archeology in general. She loves history, and especially history with some kind of macabre twist. I did not raise her on the ghost stories, or the stories of abuse that my grandmother raised me on. She has not suffered early loss and abandonment as I did. But she is still attracted to the strange and unusual. Not always, she’s a very pink and frilly girl, but history is much more interesting if some sort of ghost story is attached. Pompeii is not literally full of ghosts, the exhibit at least, but it has that feel to it of being haunted. One of our goals is to do a family vacation to Pompeii in Italy. But that won’t be this year, or probably next either.
Our taxi to the museum backed into another car, at a goodly clip. Reminding me that statistically it’s more dangerous to drive than fly. But since I’m afraid of cars driven by strangers, especially in towns I don’t know, it’s okay, I was nervous anyway. Hey, that phobia is improved. I used to be afraid to ride in cars at all. My mother’s death and the car accident she and I were involved in when I was a child probably have something to do with that. But since I drive almost every day it’s gotten much less. I guess I just need to fly more often. Sigh.
On a more cheerful note, I loved looking at all the jewelry and the gold that people grabbed. They grabbed statues and jewelry with images of their deities on them, but either way, when they knew they were maybe dying, they grabbed their families and their valuables. I didn’t find that shallow, or disappointing. I found it reassuring. It made them very much real people. They took things to help them start over in a new life elsewhere. It wasn’t greed, it was purely practically. The gold and jewels would have helped them get food and shelter. It was a very hopeful thing to do. And no, I didn’t find it depressing that their hope wasn’t realized. Don’t know why, but I didn’t. I gazed down at the rings, some exquitestly carved, and felt hopeful. There was a snake bracelet carved in such detail that I think you could almost use the head scales to get the species. The bracelet weighed over a pound. Over a pound of gold shaped in a very life like snake. Lots of snake rings, but nothing as spectacular as that one bracelet.
I recommend the exhibit, it was amazing, but the crowds were almost equally amazing. Trinity and I both had trouble seeing some of the exhibits because of the crowd. We could lift Trinity up to see over everyone, but I was out of luck. It was like being caught in a shuffling mob. If you can manage I’d recommend trying a week day instead of a weekend. Call ahead for tickets instead of fighting the line once you get there. They have a permanent exhibit of Egyptian antiquities that is a favorite of Trin’s, and ours. No ticket necessary for that one. Any way, safe and sound, and we all enjoyed it very much.
I am enjoying the day’s first cup of tea with no one but me up. Luxury. Well, me and the dogs, who are milling about my feet as I write this. I think it’s their subtle hint they need to go back out now that they’ve been fed.