In a message dated 10/6/98 9:38:46 AM, [log in to unmask] wrote: <<But I do recognize and agree that there will always be a place for museums, frozen in time outside that dynamic, if only as a place of reference....>> George, Its only fair to let you know or remind you if you knew, that I make my living dealing darn near exclusively with buildings behind that velvet rope. All day long I play preservation beaurocrat...except on those days when I get to be preservationeer archeeeetect. I go home to the cutest little damned suburban development you ever did see, its just as though Camp Wilderness got some permanent occupants! The point is, your view of my end of this spectrum is narrow. The buildings I work with tell as much about the three generations of serious preservationeers that have worked on them as they do about their builders. They are not frozen in time. In fact, the school of thought that advocated the freezing of time pretty much ended after the bicentinnial. I think its great that there's lots of us preserving diferent things in diferent ways. I think its great that we are making new things for rug rats to preserve when they grow up. I think its great that people like to live in old houses! Eight hours a day is enough for me. I may be an elitist...my favorite history professor, accused me of it once, but my museum buildings are not. This is public history and public service. -jc