Re Ms. Lear's remark about the scene in Truman's "Murder at the
Smithsonian" not matching the real scene is due to the fact that former
director Roger Kennedy radically altered the space in order to install
an exhibition on the first floor over the space where the pendulum
originally swung. The pendulum cable is now shorter than at the time of
Truman's book, swinging across the second floor level. The pendulum can
be seen from BELOW at the first floor level. Incidentally, in this book
Truman puts words in the mouth of a real person. The real person is
Roger Kennedy (all others are fictitious). She has Kennedy resigning
just as a vice-president (of the US) who is favorable to the Smithsonian
takes office. Kennedy says something like: "As usual, my timing is
terrible." I've always wondered if this was a private joke between
Kennedy and Margaret Truman. Hmm. I don't mean that QUITE the way it may
sound, but it's a curious quotation from a real-life person in a work of
fiction. --David Haberstich