Saturday at the Museum

Downtown Houston has wonderful museums with thought-provoking and enlightening exhibits. We spent part of this morning and all of this afternoon at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We saw three exhibits-- "The Dead Sea Scrolls," "Tibet: Treasures From the Roof of The World," and the Planetarium's film "Secrets of The Dead Sea."

The museum had actual fragments of the scrolls, protected under glass with dim lighting. The scrolls, "the oldest surviving version of the Old Testament," were amazing to see. To think that those handwritten fragments have endured for over two thousand years. The scrolls were discovered in 1947 by accident-- a shepherd boy threw a rock into what he thought was just a hole in a cave. The rock soared down into the cave and the boy heard the smashing of pottery. The scrolls were hidden in large covered urns made of timeless pottery, buried in a forgotten city.

The film at the Planetarium (housed within the museum) showed the Dead Sea as it was filmed from space. They showed the star patterns as described in the Old Testament.... just as they were then, of course, so are they now. There is no life in the Dead Sea-- not a plant, not a fish, not a living thing. (The salt content of the Dead Sea is 33%, so I guess that's why.)

The Tibet exhibit was breath-taking. Scores of priceless embroidered costumes, crowns, jewelry, Buddhist sculptures, ceremonial artifacts. And there was one case with a collection of three-bladed knives. Three blades, which symbolized the ousting of hatred, ignorance and greed... the three downfalls of mankind. The handles of the knives were so impressively ornate--- gold and copper and encrusted with precious jewels. There were magnificent tapestries and garments, gorgeous silk, embroidered with pearls and tiny jewels.

The museum has wonderful gift shops, with ever-changing displays to coincide with the exhibits. They had a beautiful display of jewelry from both Israel and Tibet. I found a sterling silver band inscribed with Hebrew letters, reading: "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is Mine." (According to the insert in the box, that quote is taken from Solomon's Song of Songs, Chapter 2, Verse 16.) A simple band of sterling silver, with this ancient lettering flowing all around the band. And, as it usually happens with me, when something catches my eye and "speaks" to me, it fits just fine and feels just right.

I was particularly moved this morning by the "Community Rule," as written in the Dead Sea Scrolls. I can't remember the exact wording now, but in general, it was written that people should be kind, and should refrain from bad language and bad conduct towards one another. As I read that translation of the ancient lettering, I felt sad that not everyone on this planet has listened to that rule in the last two thousand years.

After spending most of the day at the museum, we went to Niko Niko's-- our favorite Greek restaurant near downtown. Niko Niko's, for as long as we've been going to it, has been a favorite of mostly everyone else in the downtown area. Always crowded, but always worth the wait. Just this past summer, the owners remodeled and enlarged their restaurant. It's still crowded, and you still have to wait, but it's definitely worth it. No matter how large they become, and no matter how many tables and chairs they put in, they will always need more room. We came home with half of our dinners--- portions are huge, and you really can't finish an entire meal there.

After Niko Niko's, we drove to another favorite downtown spot-- Hank's Ice Cream. A tiny ice cream shop located on one of the streets behind the new football stadium. And there really is a man named Hank, and every time we've gone there for ice cream, he has always been behind the counter. This man has such a gentle face, with the kindest eyes. And he loves what he does-- making ice cream. Handmade, homemade, always the best, always so fresh. My husband and I read about Hank's Ice Cream in The Chronicle. I think it was in Ken Hoffman's column. (Hoffman is originally from New Jersey, living here for years now, and writes an eclectic column for The Chronicle.) Anyway, even though we'd eaten enough at the Greek restaurant, we couldn't leave the downtown area without a stop at Hank's.

So that's been the day... and a rainy one at that. Perfect day to spend inside a museum. There's always something to see there, rain or shine, and my husband and I love museums, anywhere, any weather. My only complaint about the downtown Houston museums-- they always have their air-conditioning units on super-high-Alaska-frigid. After our first visit there, so many years ago now, I've learned to always bring a sweater or shawl with me. A few summers ago, we saw an IMAX movie about Antarctica in that museum... all those glaciers, all that ice--- even with my sweater on, I sat there shivering as I watched the IMAX-sized ice fields. (Proof-positive that this once-northern city-girl is now a southern belle at heart.)