Read 'Til You Drop

Oh - one more thing that we did while on the West Coast - a big enough thing that I was going to lead off my trip summary with it, but then I forgot. (Yeah, well, that's what I get for posting before caffeine!)

We saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. No. Not all of them. But a dozen or more bits of them. And an amazing exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, explaining how they were found, excavated, interpreted, and preserved (or not.) The exhibit included all sorts of information about the Essenes (the people who created the Scrolls) and daily life in Qumran (the dessicated, remote hill town where the Essenes lived.)

My mind ran on three tracks throughout the exhibit. One track concerned the actual artifacts we were viewing ("isn't it interesting that parchment, papyrus, and sandal leather can survive for more than 2000 years?") One track concerned the presentation of those artifacts ("the museum is doing wonderful things to make this exhibit interactive, for both adults and children!")

And one track concerned the fantasy novel I could write about the Essenes. Those people had a passion for physical and spiritual cleanliness, and their lives revolved around purifying rituals. They may or may not have copied out scrolls on great long tables, and they may or may not have permitted women into their compound. (If they did not, then men took on stereotypically female activities, such as weaving.)

In short, the day was superbly spent.

And now I need to learn more.

And read more.

And write more.

Mindy, wishing she could have bought a great big box of "time" in the gift shop.