Other People’s Junk

I thought I’d share a little bit more about my weekend. We did end up going to the ROM for a short visit. Friday evenings, from 4:30pm to close, admission is free. Usually the museum is open until 9:30pm, so this is a great deal. This past Friday, however, the museum closed at 6:00pm due to the power conservation required while we recover from “Great Blackout of 2003”. (I feel like there should be one of those spooky announcer voices every time someone mentions the blackout.) We still were able to have a bit of a look around, but an hour and a half is hardly enough to see everything. Actually, the museum was pretty empty because they are currently in the middle of renovating. Thankfully a few of my favourite exhibits were still open; those of ancient Egypt and Rome. I wish the gallery of Buddhist statues had be open. It gives me such a feeling of peace and serenity to sit in there.

Anyway, as we were all gawking at the broken bits of pottery, rusted shears, and worn coins, I couldn’t help but wonder what the original owners were like. What sort of life did they lead? Were they happy, or were they just glad to make it to the end of the day. Did they ever, in their wildest imagination, think that their junk and their religious objects would sit side-by-side in some special exhibit in another continent, two thousand years after they were gone? If they could know, how would they feel? Would they be happy that they were helping to education another generation, some of whom may be their direct descendants? Would they feel it was an invasion of privacy? Most likely they would just think we are crazy for keeping around their broken pots.

Also, I’d like to give Belz a big thank you for sending me the Children of Dune DVD. You are a sweetie!

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