Louisa Jaggar
In my
career, I have been swatted by a baby tiger, chased a hopping baby
kangaroo through the animal hospital, been put in charge of 25 human
four years olds (far more dangerous and unpredictable than any wild
animals), tutored learning disabled students, worked as a family travel
writer, written for both PBS and the Smithsonian, and through it all
loved every crazy moment. Life as both a writer and an educator often
exposes me and my two children to unusual adventures involving
everything from endangered species to stars to white water rafting and
allows me the opportunity to take what I learn and share that
information, often on a national level.
I’ve saved numerous keepsakes of our adventures in what I call memory
boxes. I save stuff because stuff holds all the stories of our family.
Unfortunately I stored these cardboard boxes in the basement. I just
didn’t know any better.
In February of 2002, a couple feet of snow landed in DC and then the temperature rose. The snow melted, the skies
opened, the rain began, and the water level soared. I heard a rushing
sound coming from the basement and went to investigate. I looked
downstairs and the basement door had been forced open by surging waters.
The fire department came and, instead of halting the flood and draining
the water, they turned off the electricity (electrocution being a real
possibility). So, now I had over 2 feet of freezing cold water in the
basement, no heat in the house, and no light. Armed with flashlights,
my daughter and I tried to save what we could, but most of the stuff
just disintegrated in our hands.
I lost the stuff I love most: my daughter’s artwork, my son’s writings,
my old stuffed animals and most of the family keepsakes. Everything I
lost had a story that went with it. To have all those memories lost was
crushing. I responded the only way I know how, by trying to figure out
how to help people prevent this from happening to them.
So, I went to my favorite place: the Smithsonian. I realized that what
they do is something we all do: save stuff. And these people are world
experts on how to save objects because they save our nation’s treasures.
With the help of a friend I met with the director of SCRME and he
agreed that a book on Saving Stuff would be wonderful for the public. He
loved the idea of saving both monetarily valuable objects as well as
objects that are emotionally valuable. And then he asked that all
important question: who would I want to work with?
I had to choose someone at the Smithsonian who would be fun to work with
(had a sense of humor cause I hate boring) and who was extremely
knowledgeable about this subject matter. I felt a bit like the Princess
Charming because I was running around looking for the perfect fit and
finding myself constantly disappointed. Everyone I met, though they
were all exceptionally talented and knowledgeable, seemed ill suited to
collaborate on writing a popular book. And then I walked into Don
Williams’ office. What a mess! Books everywhere, blues music blaring,
papers flying; I just knew he was the man for the job. He is funny,
articulate, has a passion and talent for teaching people, and always
wears suspenders.