Samhain Waxing Moon of the Winter Solstice
One story from the MIA storage tour. On a February morning, after days of below zero weather, the registrar for the permanent collection comes to work. Blam! Blam! Blam! Vibrations pound the main storage facility. He hears clinking as Chinese ceramics move in their storage cabinets. The phone. “Tell them to stop!” A burly contractor comes down, a scowl on his face, “Finally we’ve got warm enough weather to compact the soil. We have to do it to protect the curtain wall of the Target Wing we’re building. What’s the problem?”
“Oh,” the registrar says, “Let me show you.” They walk over to the Chinese ceramics. “That one, $750,000. That one, $250,000.” “Fine. You have 45 minutes.”
The registrar calls all registration staff, “We have an actual art emergency. Drop what you’re doing and come down here.” 45 minutes the T’ang, Song and Ming dynasty ceramics had a location safe from the pounding and the brutal world of building construction continued its work.
Yet one more meeting designed to get our retirement finances in order before Kate’s retirement. We’ve got everything lined up, just need to cross ts and dot is.
A lot to it, but really a lot less than starting, say, a career. An interesting comparison since the possible 25 to thirty years of life left is a good chunk of a career. Now our career is to stay alive and not go broke.