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Outsider History
I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed live theater until I was standing in a field on a hot, steamy July night. I was there for Family Dollar, an immersive play about a rapidly changing neighborhood in West Dallas. The play itself was excellent, but it’s the story behind the play that really got me…
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Fan Girl
Over the years, quite a few trips have featured a visit to a literary landmark. For some, like Prince Edward Island or Mankato, MN, the destination was determined by the book. For others, like Orchard House and Hannibal, it was a pleasant (and necessary!) detour. Last week, an article called The Fantasy, and Folly, of…
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The Stories We Could Tell. . . If We Paid the Interns
Here’s the simple truth: I wouldn’t be in the museum field if it wasn’t for a string of paid summer internships during my college years. But this origin story is rapidly becoming extinct.
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The present of a friend
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been adopting nieces and nephews and handing them books. There are some books that are always on the gift list: Fox in Socks, the Ramona books. Edward Eager. And some I pick out especially for the particular kid. I had great success last Christmas with the first Shelby…
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But if all the educators are gone?
If we’re lucky, we all have particular moments in our career that we can point to and say “I’m really proud of this. If this is my legacy, it’s enough.” Earlier this week, Facebook reminded me that it had been 10 years since one of those moments–the founding of the Informal Educators of Dallas County.…
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The war at home
In this time of pandemics and quarantines, we’re all searching for different ways to grasp a bit of comfort and stability. Personally, I’ve been reading mysteries (they always find an answer by the end!), watching some very fluffy tv, and perhaps baking a bit more than I should. I never would have guessed that one…
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Leadership today. . . and the Great Recession back then
Lord have mercy–the world has changed a bit since I last wrote, hasn’t it? There are a million thoughts I could share about the Covid 19 pandemic and museum leadership, and maybe someday I’ll be able to write out all those thoughts. Or not. Has anyone else noticed how exhausting a pandemic can be? I’m…
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Best year ever?
Last night, while catching up with a fellow nonprofit friend, she said to me: “All that shit you’ve gone through over the last few years is turning into manure!” Now, she works for a garden, so these kind of metaphors are natural for her. But I do love it, and it may be a new…
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Me and Lady Mary
A few weeks ago, I joined a friend to see an eagerly anticipated movie–Downton Abbey. It was exactly what I thought it would be–a soapy drama with fabulous clothes and British accents. But there was this one moment that caught me totally off guard, and it had me stifling back sobs and wanting to cheer…