Chapter 11

On the way home I began thinking: Was I going bonkers? Both Diana and Winnie had asked me about films. Or was I hallucinating? Well, I had a set of "dates" with Winnie. I was looking forward to both Them! and Tarantula. Even with the scientific problems, I always enjoyed them. Well, I'd see what Diana had really meant tomorrow.

My "day" at the Museum was a bit strange: I spent the day "in conference" with some people from Entomology I'd never seen before and two from Education Services. The older bloke seemed to think I was out to upset the collections; an entomologist who reminded me of my mother thought it would be "exciting" to exhibit "creepy crawlies"; the two from Education appeared willing to entertain anything that would gain publicity and bring in an audience. I was torn.

I tried to explain that I wanted to study more different kinds of ants, but that we were "dead" if we didn't interest non-specialists. We had sandwiches around noon and talked more. Around 1400 my boss said: "We're running 'round in circles. Let's get together on – uh – Thursday at this time and see if there's a way forward."

I phoned Diana. "Are we still 'on' for dinner?"

"I hope so."

"When and where?"

"Let's meet where you met me last time, and we'll walk somewhere."

"That sounds well-planned." She laughed. "About 1800?"

"Fine."

I went back to the rooms and looked at the cases, trying to imagine things to do.

We ended up in a small Italian place. I told Diana about my two days.

"That's quite interesting. Explain your – uh – slant to me."

"Well, I watched the kids coming in. They want to see the dinosaurs. The want to see the mummy. They want to learn about the indigenous peoples. Some of them care about the minerals.

"I want them to want to find out about invertebrates, how they live, where they are found and what they can tell us about our environment.

"I want them to find out what insects and spiders they share their schools with and why they are vitally important to a healthy planet.

"I think our rooms should be known as the home of the creepy crawlies or something like that."

"You've really thought about it."

"I'm a propagandist."

"You sure are. You ought to meet my dad."

"Isn't it a bit early for 'I want you to meet my parents'?"

She laughed again. Certainly is. I'm not at all ready for that – and I'm certain you're not either."

"No. But why should I meet your dad?"

"Because he feels the same way about his plants."

"Right. You said he's at Gong Garden."

"Yes. He complains that folks come for the azaleas or the roses and ignore the tropics and the deserts and the succulants. And they think insects and lizards are yucky."

"You should be glad he's not a herpetologist. [another laugh] Now, you asked about flicks."

"Oh. Yes. I was curious. They're showing Cinema Paradiso downtown. It was the best foreign film in 1989. It's in Italian, but I'm sure there are titles."

"When?"

"2100 tonight or 1900 and 2100 tomorrow."

"Let's go." I gestured at the waiter, paid and we left. "What's the best way?"

"Bus."

"I really enjoyed that," I said later. "Do you know Woody Allen's films?"

"Only a few. I don't understand most of his jokes. Like no prune danish in Bananas. A friend explained that was a pastry, but it made no sense. Or the photos in Sleeper. I didn't know who most of the people were."