Morgan Robertson
To stay with our trend of Sunday outings to the theatre, prospective, current and past LEAP students headed south to enjoy the Alley Theatre’s rendering of Agatha Christie’s Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Olivia, Yvette, incoming freshman Katherine Burnett, Alum Victoria and her boyfriend Nick, and I planned on meeting Jessica, and Alums Bianca and Esme prior to the curtains opening.
We were a bit ahead of schedule, so we stopped by the nearby Police Memorial Sculpture, done by Jesus Moroles, an artist with whom we are very familiar.
We had, however, never seen the Memorial. The Memorial is very large and beautiful, done a manner similar to a Mayan Ziggurat.
We were fortunate to run into Officer Golden, who provided information to us about the Memorial and offered us some encouraging words. It was a treat to meet her and tour the Memorial with her.
We then stopped at Post Market, a great lunch venue for a group such as ours with varying levels of culinary tastes. There was a vast range of meal selections amongst the group ranging from mine and Yvette’s South-African coconut curry and chicken bowls, to Professor Yawn’s oysters and Victoria’s Dim Sum. Overall everyone was pleased with their selections!
As we were about to head to the Alley, we received some grave news by email. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the performance of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was cancelled. There’s nothing like an illness to get in the way of a murder.
While this might be , LEAP does a wonderful job of teaching students to think a few steps ahead. For a group such as ours, it can be rare that we all get to experience something new together. Professor Yawn suggested that we head back towards Huntsville, but make a stop at The National Museum of Funeral History.
The subject of the Museum gave us a bit of apprehension, but upon entering the museum, we were absolutely fascinated with the display and quantity of the exhibits.
We began with the Presidential Funeral exhibition and learned more about how our nation remembers and honors the lives of our Commanders-in-Chiefs.
Katherine enjoyed examining a collection of rare pennies honoring President Lincoln…
…and I was shocked to learn that the museum has an embalming machine that was used on the body of President Truman.
This museum put the “fun” back in funerals with an exhibit on famous funerals throughout entertainment history. From the King of Rock and Roll, Lucille Ball, to Marlon Brando; the museum did a wonderful job of displaying the importance these stars played on influencing our world.
We spent a considerable amount of time exploring the history of Papal funerals. The funeral of Pope John Paul II was one of the largest in history, and devoted much attention to this event. For example, when a Pope passes, his seal ring is smashed with a silver hammer to prevent forgery, and the doors of his apartment are sealed in wax until the final resting of his body is complete.
We also learned about post-mortem photographs, the jazz funerals of NOLA, and variations on the coffin.
Despite our skepticism in the beginning, rest assured that we departed with a newfound knowledge on the importance of funerals. Though our plans for the day were unexpected, it was a satisfactory and intellectually stimulating endeavor nonetheless!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 