OK, not the part where I drive my car and ride the Metro. It’s my walk through the halls and galleries of the museum that I love. Since we closed to the public in September 2006, staff members have had to walk a long, winding route through semi darkened galleries full of artifacts covered in plastic sheeting. It’s a bit like a scene from “Night at the Museum” except no Teddy Roosevelt on horseback!
I’m lucky to have an office near many of our curators and collections management staff. They are busily getting artifacts out of storage and back on display for our grand reopening day. On any given day I have close encounters with the most amazing objects.
A few weeks back, I looked up from my work to see Abraham Lincoln’s suit rolling down the hall under the watchful eye of one of our curators. Last week I had to stand aside and wait for Stanley the robotic car to pass as it was wheeled to the freight elevator, and I got to see Dumbo make his way to his new home on the 3rd floor. I can not confirm reports of Dumbo actually flying (though he did seem to get there pretty quickly) but all things considered this is the kind of “traffic jam” I don’t mind at all. Getting to share my commute with presidents, flying elephants, and robot cars makes my commute the best in Washington, D.C.