Perfect Day For Viewing Antiquities

A short line of people waiting to get in stretched through the front doors out into the early Sunday afternoon drizzle.

Wet leaves stuck to shoes. Rain droplets clung to the brims of caps. And the low burble of anticipation offered a communal confirmation: Yes, it was a good day to come to the Cheney Cowles Museum.

The “Treasures of Antiquity,” featuring ancient Greek, Roman and Mediterranean artifacts, was the star attraction. And that’s where just about everybody headed.

The exhibit area was fairly crowded with onlookers. But it wasn’t noisy. Most people were quiet, almost reverential. When a cold-sufferer across the room sniffed, you heard it.

Maybe it was good manners. Maybe it was the urge to not look like a rube. And perhaps it was awe.

A woman in a black beret said what many might have been thinking: “This stuff is REALLY old.”

A tall, exceedingly slender man who appeared to take his hairstyle and fashion tips from biker movies and heavy-metal bands stared through a glass case at a marble figure of a male torso. He silently nodded in approval.

He walked away and a woman with two young boys approached the case. “ANOTHER naked guy,” she said, smiling so you would know she was gently mocking pretentious art-speak.

A boy who looked to be about 14 walked by with a woman who must have been his mother. “No,” he said in a slightly fatigued tone. “Alexander came from Macedonia.”

A woman who was about 50 read the information card next to a ceramic piece and exclaimed. “Jeez, an average vase cost two or three days wages.”

The man at her side didn’t miss a beat. “You can buy vases today that cost more than that.”

“Cool,” said someone checking out another part of the exhibit.

“Sheesh,” muttered a woman studying a list of the show’s sponsors.

“We’ve lost Steve,” said someone else.

Three people examining artwork adorning another piece fixed their attention on the depiction of an animal. “A rabbit,” said one.

“A rabbit?” said the next.

“Yeah, a rabbit,” said the third.

One man saw a hallway leading away from the exhibit and he panicked. “Omigosh,” he said. “Does it go all the way in there?”

“No,” said the woman with him. “That’s the regular museum.”

And in the regular museum, it was just another day. A young woman with a happy expression was learning about other treasures of antiquity. “Bing Crosby?” she said. “From Spokane? Wow.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Being There is a weekly feature that looks at gatherings in the Inland Northwest.