Bones, bones....

A busy weekend began with the First Friday activity over in Leonardtown. Cocktails, appetizers, good eats, gallery crawl, bookstore browsing, the “hot dog” guy was back due to the nice weather, cooking classes underway, most of the restaurants looked full, people to see and be seen, a nice night to conclude my first week of joblessness.

No rest the next morning, up fairly early to go up to see the “Written in Bone” exhibit now going on at the Natinal Museum of Natural History on the mall. A group of volunteers and staff of Historic St. Mary’s City were to get a special tour of the exhibit. So, after obtaining the requisite Latte, sought out the big red and white Keller Bus in the Wildewood parking lot and got aboard. I did, however, subsequently learn that is NOT a bus, but rather a “coach”. Apparently busses take kiddies to school, and coaches take people on tours (and also have a potty). A couple of things it did not have were cup holders and seat belts. I guess seat belts on moving objects have gotten to be so much of a part of our culture that I had a noticeable sense of uneasiness riding along (holding the latte) without being strapped in as it were. Odd. Anyway, we were ultimately deposited in front of the Museum after negotiating the streets of DC in the hulking coach without once ever ending up in Virginia, an uncommon event in the flutter travels.

Once inside, after suitable time for a bathroom break (our group was not young) we assembled near the elephant in the lobby (as opposed to the gorilla in the room), met some people who arrived independently and up we went to the 4th floor and the start of the exhibit. There we were met by Doug Owsley and Kari Bruwelheide, the developers of the exhibit. Doug is the Division Head of Physical Anthropology for the Museum and is recognized as a world renowned expert on forensic anthropology and besides historical studies, he does real life CSI crime scene stuff. Kari is also a scientist and lab manager at the Museum. We were split into two groups and our group with Doug started the exhibit. The theme of the exhibit is to tell the tale of what you can learn from human remains. Doug stressed the point over and over that even though there are little or no written accounts of life of people, each one of us has a skeleton. From those skeletons there can be an astonishing amount of information obtained (technology is good). They can differentiate pre and post mortal damage, determine country of origin through measurements of facial features, dental structures, learn about the person's diet, pretty much pinpoint age at death, and develop a real picture of a person that exists nowhere else. They can even re-create a realistic model of what the person looked liked in life by putting “skin” on the skulls (in a very scientific way). A fascinating exhibit – made more so by getting a tour with its curator – containing many items from our Historic St. Mary’s City, including the three famous (only 5 known in North America) lead coffins, and the remains of Anne Calvert. Of local interest, there are many pictures of “Godiah Spray” or our own Aaron Meisinger. While the tour was estimated at 2 hours we took three. Neat stuff, highly recommended.

We then sort of split up, some went to the National Art Gallery, but I opted for a lunch at the museum, a turkey, cheddar(?) and cranberry mayo sandwich, a bag of Miss Vicki’s Chips, and a coke for a (with member discount) 14 bucks.. Then sat on the mall people watching and did a quick tour of the Hirschorn and an exhibit of Louise Bourgeois which was, um, euphemistically, interesting. Back on the bus, Suitland Parkway, Branch Avenue and home again. With the warm weather, a grilled pork chop finished a nice day.

Yesterday spent in setting up some tables for MFO’s book sale, watching Duke lose twice in one day, and seeing some guy I never heard of win the Honda classic. And, last night motivated by a recipe in the latest Bon Appétit (oddly enough from Molly of “Orangette” fame) I made some very passable Gougeres for cocktails. And, so far the best thing about being retired is Sunday nights. No Monday morning angst..

MORE SIGNS OF THE TIME
When driving up to Wildewood on Saturday morning, just as I was passing Town Creek, I became aware of a man standing on the median waving a bed sheet. Expecting to see “Repent Now”, or “The End is Near” instead it was informing me that Applebee’s now has All U Can Eat Breakfast.