![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Travel addendum - The Hippo Inheritance
Dec. 11th, 2006 12:59 pmWhile visiting my mom, I received a couple of items that belonged to my Aunt Esther. I am not much of a “Stuff” person, but every now and again, unusual items strike a cord with me. My mother gave me one of what must have been several little pocketknives that my Aunt used to carry. Engraved with her initials, this personal-affect item carries a sentimental significant. I also received a lovely Wedgwood teapot. I do not really associate it with my aunt, as I had not seen the teapot before. But given my hope to transform our drab and unrestored bedroom into a warm and formal blue room, this is one more step towards the goal. The final item that I received is, for me, the most significant – my aunt’s reproduction Egyptian blue hippo.
“Say wha?” you are probably all thinking. A hippo?
Flashback. When I was a child, I was obsessed with All Things Egyptian. When the Tutankhamum exhibit came to this country, I begged and pleaded with my parents to take me, which sadly never happened (Note to self – catalog this as reason #498 to give my mother guilt). I really cannot put a finger on my obsession. Perhaps it was the unfathomable concept of the age of the items. To a child who viewed the passage of time as an infinitely sloooooooooow process, the idea of items so beautiful being so old was beyond my comprehension. Perhaps it was the face of the Pharaoh, who looked so normal, so human – yet so distant in both culture and time. Feeding the fire of my obsession, my best friend and mentor (the television) fed my imagination even further. Every Saturday morning, I watched my favorite superhero, “Isis,” with a religious fervor. (I know – SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO gay!)
“Oh Zephyr winds, which blow on high.
Lift me now, so I can fly.”
For those of you who did not surrender yourselves to Saturday morning television in the 70’s, the premise behind Isis involved an Egyptologist who stumbled upon an amulet which with the utter of a simple phrase would transfer her into Isis – champion of truth and justice. She was my favorite until Wonder Woman came along. (Yah…. I know.)
As a young kid, fantasy and reality were never very clear-cut. On the one hand, I was told that what was portrayed on television was make-believe. Yet, in my reading about ancient Egyptian culture, I learned that Isis was believed to be real. What was the truth? Was my superhero real, or was she make-believe. The Adults, whom I was convinced kept trying to manipulate my world, wanted me to not believe in her. Was this a test? Would Isis only come to the rescue of True Believers? Why was this Goddess fake and yet “God” was supposed to be real? I had, after all, not met either. Hmmmmm…
While I did not get to see the King Tut exhibit at the time, we did have the opportunity eventually to travel to New York to visit with my Aunt. While there, my parents took me to the Metropolitan Museum where I finally got to see real ancient Egyptian antiques. I was just out of my mind with the type of excitement that only a child can understand. From item to item, I imagined who would have last touched said item before modern man chanced upon it. Such beauty… such artistry…so much cool stuff!
Towards the end of the display, my mother pointed out one particular kiosk that proudly displayed an amulet. WOW!!!!!!! While the amulet was created as a good luck item to ward off evil, television had taught me something different. My child’s mind was convinced that an “amulet” had the power to transform a person into a super-hero. WOW!!!!!!! I stood in front of that kiosk for what seemed like forever speaking the names of whatever Egyptian gods I knew, hoping to transform so that I could fly.
Alas, it didn’t happen. I was furious when my parents grabbed me by the arm to leave. The fate of the world relied on me finding JUST the right phrase, after all.
When we returned to my Aunt’s apartment, we enjoyed some rest along with some hot chocolate. I combed through my aunt’s art books trying to learn more about Isis and amulets. While sitting in her comfy chair, I happened to glance over at a shelf where I saw the blue hippo. “Hey!” I thought to myself. “I just saw that in the museum!!!!” And thus, the obsession began.
It has been thirty years since that wonderful day. Thank you Es. You have managed to keep alive a funny and wonderful childhood memory.
“Say wha?” you are probably all thinking. A hippo?
Flashback. When I was a child, I was obsessed with All Things Egyptian. When the Tutankhamum exhibit came to this country, I begged and pleaded with my parents to take me, which sadly never happened (Note to self – catalog this as reason #498 to give my mother guilt). I really cannot put a finger on my obsession. Perhaps it was the unfathomable concept of the age of the items. To a child who viewed the passage of time as an infinitely sloooooooooow process, the idea of items so beautiful being so old was beyond my comprehension. Perhaps it was the face of the Pharaoh, who looked so normal, so human – yet so distant in both culture and time. Feeding the fire of my obsession, my best friend and mentor (the television) fed my imagination even further. Every Saturday morning, I watched my favorite superhero, “Isis,” with a religious fervor. (I know – SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO gay!)
“Oh Zephyr winds, which blow on high.
Lift me now, so I can fly.”
For those of you who did not surrender yourselves to Saturday morning television in the 70’s, the premise behind Isis involved an Egyptologist who stumbled upon an amulet which with the utter of a simple phrase would transfer her into Isis – champion of truth and justice. She was my favorite until Wonder Woman came along. (Yah…. I know.)
As a young kid, fantasy and reality were never very clear-cut. On the one hand, I was told that what was portrayed on television was make-believe. Yet, in my reading about ancient Egyptian culture, I learned that Isis was believed to be real. What was the truth? Was my superhero real, or was she make-believe. The Adults, whom I was convinced kept trying to manipulate my world, wanted me to not believe in her. Was this a test? Would Isis only come to the rescue of True Believers? Why was this Goddess fake and yet “God” was supposed to be real? I had, after all, not met either. Hmmmmm…
While I did not get to see the King Tut exhibit at the time, we did have the opportunity eventually to travel to New York to visit with my Aunt. While there, my parents took me to the Metropolitan Museum where I finally got to see real ancient Egyptian antiques. I was just out of my mind with the type of excitement that only a child can understand. From item to item, I imagined who would have last touched said item before modern man chanced upon it. Such beauty… such artistry…so much cool stuff!
Towards the end of the display, my mother pointed out one particular kiosk that proudly displayed an amulet. WOW!!!!!!! While the amulet was created as a good luck item to ward off evil, television had taught me something different. My child’s mind was convinced that an “amulet” had the power to transform a person into a super-hero. WOW!!!!!!! I stood in front of that kiosk for what seemed like forever speaking the names of whatever Egyptian gods I knew, hoping to transform so that I could fly.
Alas, it didn’t happen. I was furious when my parents grabbed me by the arm to leave. The fate of the world relied on me finding JUST the right phrase, after all.
When we returned to my Aunt’s apartment, we enjoyed some rest along with some hot chocolate. I combed through my aunt’s art books trying to learn more about Isis and amulets. While sitting in her comfy chair, I happened to glance over at a shelf where I saw the blue hippo. “Hey!” I thought to myself. “I just saw that in the museum!!!!” And thus, the obsession began.
It has been thirty years since that wonderful day. Thank you Es. You have managed to keep alive a funny and wonderful childhood memory.
