Meetings, Meetings and then......more meetings

Well I'm happily settled in. I'm a little behind on my updates because I do not have Internet access where I live. Let's play catch-up. This past week I have been in meeting after meeting. It seems that when you are a new museum, trying to establish and distinguish yourself, you must have a lot of meetings. On the up side, I'm learning a lot about what goes into planning and creating a great museum as well as public programming. I met our director, Lonnie Bunch, and have a conversation with him. He is a very nice man (and smart too).

Also this week, I had the opportunity to sit in on a lecture at the National Archives. William Hyland, Jr. wrote a book called: In defense of Thomas Jefferson. It's all about debunking the story of his long-term affair with Sally Hemmings. Mr. Hyland is a lawyer not a historian as evident by his lack of any concept of slavery. So all I will say is that in legalese (that's lawyer speak), all he presented was circumstantial evidence. I would suggest that you read his book as well as Annette Gordon-Reed's (also a lawyer, not a historian) book, Thomas Jefferson & Sally Hemmings: An American Controversy (which is the book that Mr. Hyland is trying to discredit), and form your own opinion. Sidenote: Any books you read on this topic will be circumstantial, because T.J. and Sally are dead and have been for a long time.

So that's everything for this week. Next week will be busy. I have a BIG meeting on Wednesday with lots of incredible minds. In other news, one of the meetings that I attended this week has put me one step closer to meeting Michelle. Don't doubt me, I'm going to make it happen!