Tut, a Treasure Worth Waiting for

December 13, 2009
 
Egyptian Walk Necklace

A golden treasure over 3300 years old and a world away... An interest in Egyptology sparked 34 years ago in a rural school in the Shenandoah Valley... Exhibit tickets bought and then date missed 30 years ago.... You know that question, what would you be if you could be anything? At the tail-end of The Paper Chase TV series that starred Timothy Bottoms (cute!), Lindsay Wagner and John Houseman, they had a "suppressed desires" costume party where the guests all dressed up as what they really wanted to be in life. I always thought it would be fun some day to hold one of those parties. I have a number of options, but the one that seems to go to the top most often is dressing up like an archaeologist. Too many "winks" have occurred in my life that pointed me in that direction.

Egyptian Serenity As a Junior, a fellow schoolmate and I created, with our science teacher's guidance, our own year-long Science class in Archaeology. Mr. Bowman enthusiastically attended monthly meetings of the Archaeological Society of Virginia with us. The slide shows and talks fueled our research on carbon dating. The romance of living in tents and being the one to make THE great discovery created a lot of passion in our hearts. Of course the good looking archaeologist that gave most of the talks at the meetings didn't diminish our desires to some day go on a dig!

Weird aside: The summer between my Junior and Senior year I worked at a truck stop as a waitress. A gentleman customer, dressed very nicely and obviously not a local, stopped me after I set down his plate and asked me whether I knew I'd lived a previous life. A chill went up my arms as I looked at him like he was a crazy person. He said something about having the ability to see past lives and that I'd once been an Egyptian princess and some other stuff. I was creeped out, but secretly thrilled that if it were true my interest in Egyptology was starting to make sense!

Golden River
 
The first Tut Exhibit to the United States toured from 1972 to 1979. I was living in California by this time and made sure I bought a ticket in 1979. The show was a sell-out and I was very excited. Could there be a more rich and exciting treasure uncovered?! There was a sort of mania for the tour. Even the comedian Steve Martin got into it with his "King Tut" song and dance routine. Unfortunately you had to buy your tickets months in advance. This was before PCs and long before I needed a calendar to remind me of my appointments. Or so I thought... I looked at those tickets on my dresser probably weekly at first, and then bi-weekly... You've probably guessed the sad truth. Yes, I missed the date. This crushed me. It was one of those events in my life that could depress me every time I thought of it for what could've been.In the early 80's I was accepted into the Anthropology department at UC La Jolla. Unfortunately, at about the same time, I met my ex-husband. I did what I would warn every young lady not to do. I gave up my dream and a part of myself to marry him.
 

Golden Water Earrings Sometimes life gives you second chances. The steps I took got me to my soul mate. And, the Tut exhibit came back to San Francisco! In fact, there are nearly 3 times the artifacts on display now than there were in 1979. (The Tut exhibit at the De Young runs through March 28, 2010 and tickets are still available.) I drove up last Wednesday and although I was at first disappointed to hear group after group of noisy 6th graders waiting in line, I was reminded of my school days as they quieted right down and looked in awe at the golden treasures and took copious notes on the royal family of long ago Egypt. You can't look at the treasures of Tutankhamun and not be awed and inspired by the technique and beauty found in them. The photos are of my past work that were inspired by these treasures. I'm sure there will be many more.