Granddaughter number three had her dinosaur-themed birthday party today at Johnstown’s Heritage Discovery Center, a catalyst for a stream of consciousness from yours truly.
‘Nessa is three years old, a delightful time of innocence when small gifts and gestures presented to her are greeted with the enthusiasm an adult might reserve for winning the lottery. Too bad she has to grow up and lose that innocence.
It was my first visit to the Heritage Center and the presentation there was impressive in its telling of the history of our town. But if we get the proposed influx of thousands of Afghan immigrants, there will need to be some upgrade to the displays.
In keeping with the tone of modern day America, the facility, for all its quality, also was lightly attended – our party seeming to make up the bulk of the attendance that afternoon. Why learn about history when there are ridiculous special effects movies to be viewed, garbage music to be listened to, or time to be wasted on various social media platforms?
The third floor children’s area showed that kids can have fun without electronic devices. A pretend coal mine that culminated in a slide, a well-stocked kitchen/store play area, and some water displays including one in which participants try to build a dam to staunch water flow and save small houses from being washed away, all were enjoyed by kids of varying ages.
In a general note, in this age of flagging customer service, all the people who worked at the center were courteous and the young woman who handled the party went above and beyond the call.
There was a mask requirement for the museum portion – not the party area – but many visitors from beyond our group were seen mask-less walking past displays. Although I think evidence has proved masks are just a triumph of style over health substance, I wear one if the facility dictates it. It’s their salt mine.
Along that line, I was sharing with some other adults that I’d finally had a personal acquaintance die with COVID, but I can’t be sure it was because of COVID. I’ve been told the official cause of death was pneumonia.
The conversation turned to my 85-year-old mother having survived COVID twice and inquiries as to her vaccine status. That would be fully vaccinated, not that it worked regarding the second infection.
Surprise was expressed because I have not been jabbed and don’t intend to be, that I thought it was a good idea for my mother to be vaccinated. She gets a flu shot due to age and health concerns, too. And I do not.
That’s where I come down on vaccines – individual choice.
But the day included a sad note when, after we’d returned home, my wife noted a newspaper obit for yet another of my friends from high school.
I’ll spare you a hackneyed circle of life observation regarding that aspect of the day.
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