The best approach over all is to keep our sense of humor about all this.
I remember the first time that my son, then about 6 years old, saw me at
work as curator at the Edison museum in West Orange, NJ. I was in my
office cleaning up old light bulbs. Talk about nonplussed! As important
and straightforward as that work was to me, just think about the last time
that you saw any normal person sitting there cleaning lightbulbs....shortly
after that, my wife and I were walking in the local mall and I was
approached by a young person doing a marketing poll. She asked my profession,
and I told her "museum curator." After jotting down a few more bits of
info, she stopped short and asked "What was that 'c' word?"
 
Curating a collection is hard to describe to most people, but in the
end I think that they find it fascinating and worthwhile. But we must
always keep in mind our role in the total picture of everyday life
for most of our fellow human beings.
 
Ed Pershey
Tsongas Center, Lowell, MA
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