The Most Amazing things

I have been a researcher for a long time, so I'm used to "amazing finds".  Once, while working on a book on the Lincoln assassination, I got to hold artifacts from the State funeral, and I saw the hangman's nooses that executed the 5 people who were tried and found guilty, among them Mary Surratt. It made my hair stand on end.  I've been out before dawn with photographers to catch the first light.  And I've carried roses in my car, with the heat at full blast in the middle of August to force them to bloom before going into the studio.

Been there, done that.

What never fails to surprise me is generosity.  People who have things in their collections almost always give the gift of their time, their expertise and their knowledge.  And they usually give me more than I came for, which means I never walk away empty-handed.  

I traveled to Oklahoma recently to research the history of Native Americans who were "relocated" by means of the Indian Removal Acts to Indian Territory, which became the state of Oklahoma.  While working there, I was the recipient of the Indian "give away".  A pair of handmade beaded earrings.  An original woodcut by a native artist.  Chocolate.  I was overwhelmed by kindness.  Native Americans give because they can, and because they want to not because they have to.  

It's a gift to still be surprised and gratified by the work one does.  Almost everyday I learn something new or meet someone extraordinary.  The day I stop being amazed and when I stop learning, I'll go work at Starbucks.

For now, every day is an adventure.