Then and Now

Whenever something historical is in the area I want to check it out. So, yesterday Jo-El and I took a day trip to Little Rock to visit the Arkansas Arts Center presentation of “World of Pharaohs.” The exhibition, in cooperation with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, presents a broad array of artifacts through some five thousand years of Egyptian history. Nicely displayed for close up and personal viewing. This isn’t a brooding exhibit but rather more spirited and how the ancients lived. Yes, there are the mummies and such, but “death” isn’t the theme then or now. A continuum of life, albeit with preparation. I enjoyed it. The only jarring moment came when examining a damaged wooden coffin lid and learning that it was being restored after suffering damage by “student protests in 1968.” Ancient looters did their work thousand of years ago, and I guess their descendants continue to break things in the present.