Dear listers:

Please allow me to comment on the post I sent earlier regarding today's
flooding at our museum in Florida.

This posting was not intended to take away from the tragedy in New York, DC,
and elsewhere, and I am sorry if my post was interpreted that way... it is
just another reminder for museums to always be prepared.  I, as are most
Americans, am keeping one eye on the TV while trying to return to "business
as usual," as we have been repeatedly urged to do.  I am truly sorry to have
offended or upset anyone.

I reiterate my message:  all museums, big and small, must be prepared for any
number of disasters.  We were fortunate to have gotten our artifacts to
safety today, and that no one who stood waist-deep in the rapidly moving
water was injured.  In a situation like ours, an advance plan and quick
action helped keep a bad situation from growing worse.  We should be able to
reopen in two weeks.  We were lucky -- in the larger scheme of things, QUITE
lucky.

My apologies if this was covered in another post over the last few days, but
is the museum community, through a larger organization such as AAM, taking a
collection to help the Museums affected in New York?  If not, how might we go
about doing this?  Imagine what $5 from even half the museums in the US could
do.

Lori Tomlinson
Florida Adventure Museum
Punta Gorda, Fla., USA