This is your Community Update for the week of October 15th, 2016.
Well, Autumn is in full swing here, quite literally. The last few days have brought heavy rains and high winds which brought down trees and large branches, causing minor property damage. The songs of summer songbirds calling from the glades have been replaced by the “Rnnn-Rnnn-Rnnn” of two-cycle engines as he morning air takes on that sweet scent of Autumn decay mingled with hints of chainsaw exhaust.
Several large trees fell across Main Road Thursday night, which left the town rather isolated. Nobody was hurt, but nobody was exactly rushing out to fix the issue either. It was kind of nice to be able to sit on the front porch with a cup of coffee, listening to the wind and watching some of our Neighbors take leisurely strolls through the empty lanes. No badgers. No Raccoons. No Cat. Just the cool briskness of the first big Autumn storm.
Lovely.
Elain Keats has appreciated the calm. She’s needed it badly as of late. With the increased traffic at the Museum, the Leverite Mineralogical Society has been doing filler presentations and setting up some new displays. Having convinced the City Council to hold their meetings at Edna’s, ostensibly to “improve transparency,” she has converted the boardroom into a specimen showcase worthy of renown. Not only are the fossils presented significant, they are also beautifully presented, many having unusual qualities due to their location. There are opalized woods, agatized crinoids, and even a horsetail casting infilled with a delicate selenite lattice. She has poured her heart and pocketbook into this display. So, when that first letter showed up explaining how, not only were the fossils “not representational” but “poorly curated.” it hit her like a truck. Staff and members of The Society were quick to explain that the letter was not only “rubbish,” but “[redacted] bull.”
Elain appreciated the support, but just hasn’t been able to shake the bad feelings it brought up. At the last meeting of The Leverite Mineralogical Society, she announced that she was considering stepping down as Society Administrator and Office Coordinator. Well, you’d have thought she had announced some sort of terminal diagnosis. Everyone broke decorum and was hugging her, offering support, and hoping she’d get better. It was just too much, and she broke down, explaining what happened, and what it has meant to put herself out there, something she never does, only to be so severely side swiped by something “so stupid as an unsigned letter from some jacka- some guy who I know doesn’t know what he’s talking about, because he doesn’t even spell anything right. But still it hit me. [Redacted]”
Several folks have since then approached museum staff about whether it was possible to review the security footage and see who might have dropped the hateful letter in the museum feedback drawer. Sadly, this isn’t an option, and even if it were, it would not be ethically to name any names. No, those are the sort of problems that need to be resolved directly and in old-fashioned ways.
Last week, Mr Singh had come to town and met with Mama Jones and Edna regarding the expected bundle of joy. It sounds like mother is beginning to show. This is her first child, so they are watching her carefully. Mama Jones has had many children. Most of her boys met nice girls further north. She says she knows what normal and not normal look like, and promised to ask for help if it is needed. After Mr Singh left, she laughed, confiding in Edna “The men just think we [don’t] get it. Hooooo! Oh, if only they know the things we get!”
This week’s Community Bulletin brought to you by The Forest Service, that would just like to say thank you to our community for the support we provide.
