AMNH Memories

 

My heart was pounding out of my chest, having been knocked ten feet with one swiping paw of the enormous Carnivore. I balanced myself readying for the next onslaught from the giant brown bear, as he growled in his menacing fashion. I for my part was trying to look as large and formidable as possible as I spotted a tree limb and gingerly reached for it to fend off the Goliath looking behind me for a safe exit from the precarious situation that I had wandered into…

 

But Wait a Minute! I’m not in any danger! In fact, I am sitting relatively comfortably on one of the old dark brown, hand carved oak benches in the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, deep in the dimly lit recesses of the American Museum of Natural History! Before me and towering over me are a pair of enormous, stuffed brown bears, the male standing on his hind quarters in an aggressive stance which has led to my imaginative daydreaming adventure.

 

The museum had always been my place of refuge, when  life became challenging and I needed a change of pace , a  place to reconnect with myself and sort out whatever was bothering me at that time, a place of solace and consolation.A museum, as the name implies, is a place to muse ,a chance to reset and regain perspective both for problem solving and making important decisions while also being entertained by the informative and educational presentations ,and the sheer volume of information that washes over and overwhelms the minds ability to learn in one visit.

 

One can always tell on a given day if the museum will be a tranquil experience or one filled with the blood curdling screams of excited elementary school children running through the halls brandishing plastic dinosaurs and petrified spiders acquired at the museum shop, thrilled by a day out of the classroom! In fact, I believe there is an applicable formula to determine what sort of day the adult visitor will have based on the ratio of school buses to parking spots that arrive in the museum lot. As the reserved member hours end, the lights are turned up as the invasion is about to begin.

 

For members there is always the possibility of retreat into the members lounge, a sparse refuge from the marauding innocents, not nearly as impressive as it sounds, an old dark nineteenth century lounge untouched since the building was constructed and certainly not the elaborate sanctuary of the imaginary Diogenes Club, that refuge of Mycroft Holmes and his antisocial cohorts.Certainly there is no butler to attend to one’s every whim, but  rather an attendant whom avoids eye contact whenever possible and abhors conversation with the oldsters in attendance.

 

Overall, it is good to see the children enjoying themselves and learning at the same time, even if they do not realize it. The AMNH is a great place to visit for different purposes, and at any age, and potentially a place of solace and consolation.

 

Jim

Feb. 2021