CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND US

Cultural institutions like new members.

They like to get people involved and interested.

It’s a good idea, unless you’re like me and had no idea what an institution is.

Or what culture is.

Now I know, and it’s just in time.

Institutions are the foundation of society.

We depend on their consistency and fairness.

To be sure, I looked it up:

 

Social institutions are organized systems of norms and structures that help regulate and govern specific areas of social life, such as family, education, religion, and government.

They provide stability and continuity, shaping individual behaviors to maintain societal order.

 

Seems like a good idea, a comfort even, knowing people who live on the wild side with control issues have borders they may not agree with, but are firm.

I call it The Law. My experience with the law was limited to an infrequent traffic ticket until the big crash that totaled my car.

Who came to the rescue?

Police, firemen, ambulance, neighbors.

One of the neighbors said there’d been many crashes at the same intersection where the wife and I got clocked by a teenager running a stopping at full speed into the left front side of my pretty car, a Platinum Toyota Highlander.

Cultural institutions played a big role in getting everything and everyone sorted out, but they can only go so far.

They have a job, do it, then leave to help others while we pick up the pieces and move on.

Moving on in this case was calling a triple A tow truck and dropping the car in the Beaverton Toyota sales lot, which I don’t recommend.

They weren’t pleased, but we reached an agreement.

 

 A Gentle Institution: History Museum

The Oregon Historical Society hasn’t had anything crash into it since the riots found the park blocks.

History museums are cultural institutions for what they include and what they leave out.

I’ve enjoyed this museum for years after working there for two decades.

I like it quite a bit, so much that I’m a member in good standing.

You should join, too. Be an insider looking out. That’s how I feel whenever I visit.

Like any institution it has a public face and an administrative task aimed at keeping the doors open, though it’s more than that.

During my time the museum seemed woven into the fabric of daily life.

The place has national acclaim and a high profile enabled by a history-activist director who knew how to ask people to serve in some way.

And they did.

I consider my membership a personal badge of honor. I’m a historian.

I’m the history guy with a history degree along with doing the work of history.

You may be surprised to know that the work of history is also a protective service when new people came on staff.

We protected a cultural institution from the outside world, which took a turn when the old guy retired, a new guy hired, and long-term staff circled the wagons.

Since then things have leveled out.

I just re-upped, did my Christmas shopping in the gift store, and received my official status mail along with two free passes.

Hit me up for a tour.

 

The Fire Department Institution

With the God-awful fires sweeping Southern California, fire departments everywhere are getting a new look of appreciation.

And maybe an evaluation?

Is the local fire department up the job in your town?

How would you know?

I’ve been walking around and driving around looking at houses surrounded by shrubbery and trees in a new light:

Wall Of Flame.

What would be more terrifying to see moving toward your house than a wall of fire, since a tsunami is too far away, and you can’t see an earthquake.

With that in mind, a neighbor hired a crew to come cut down their overgrown shrubs and trees and anything close to the house.

Smart move.

I’ve got huge trees on each corner of my place so I’d be surrounded by fire if the five acres of woods behind went up in a blaze.

What does it feel like to lose a house and a lifetime of memories with everything in it?

I don’t know, but I do know how hard it is to downsize, to cull, to look at five shovels, eight axes, three work benches, and decide I need them all.

I don’t. But I might?

Look around your town, your cultural institutions, and ask yourself if they are safe enough.

Are you safe enough?

 

Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan.

Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. 

Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.

Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm.

 

The Go Bag:

Assemble your valuables, essential medications and medical equipment. Include important documents such as passports, birth certificates and insurance information.

Make sure you have your computer and phone, a credit card and copies of personal items such as family photos. 

 

Now is a good time for a re-set.