Two new commitments loom large over the next few weeks; both will require at least some minimal preparation. Though I'm finding that as long as I'm not having to deal with acquired knowledge -- but am simply drawing on past experience, I'm okay.

On October 30th I'm scheduled to do a presentation before the California Geneaological Society (in Oakland). That should be fairly easy -- just tuck my binders and vintage photographs under my arm and wing it for an hour or so.

The second is a re-run of the day spent with those young teachers from the charter school that I believe I wrote about. The director called yesterday to say that they've received funding for the purpose of re-creating the experience for 40 teachers who will visit the Rosie The Riveter/Home Front Historical National Park (too long!) on November 11th. They will come from all over the nation by invitation, I believe. They will visit the Rosie Memorial, the Archives, and spend a couple of hours with me in a Q&A -- as we did a couple of months ago. I did enjoy them, so it will be pleasant and interesting, I'm sure.

It's odd that they've chosen a national holiday, which means that special arrangements will have to be made with the National Park Service as well as the city -- since the NPS offices are in city hall. The council chambers will have to be opened up on a holiday which means extra custodial costs, I suppose. But it may well be that this will be a part of the Veterans Day observance.

Am being treated more and more like a "relic" these days! Don't feel like one, though, and I guess that's all that really matters.

Lunched yesterday with a university historian half my age. She brought along some reprints of relevant history she was sure would interest me. These were pages reprinted from an old publication that had photos of the old union hall I'd worked in during WWII, with pictures of my co-workers. I wasn't among them. It was also sobering to note that everyone viewed was now deceased. Then it occurred to me that at the time I might have been the youngest member of the staff, and of so little importance that I would probably have been skipped over at picture taking time.


I need to get back to work! Living in the past is a deadly occupation -- and for one who has remained contemporary over a long lifetime -- this could become the beginning of the slide into non-relevance ... and death. One cannot make a career of past lives -- even if they WERE lived simultaneously. I'm far more wedded to NOW! THEN has never appealed to me.