"As Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of The Museum of the Year 2012," she began, "I am obliged to inform you the Board requires you provide a simple statement as to what transpired as regards your establishing the holiday schedule for the weeks at the close of last year and the beginning of this year."

Neil got out his fat, wide carpenter's pencil and began scrawling words across the pages of a long, lined yellow pad: "(1) I was asked by Museum staffers, in early September, to inform them of the schedule for the coming holidays, to help them in making their personal holiday plans/arrangements; (2) I reviewed the Trustee Policy sheet, "Museum Hours As Impacted By Recognized Holidays"; (3) I reviewed past schedules; (4) I drafted my proposal for the winter schedule; (5) I shared the draft with staffers, calling on everyone -- union and non-union employees alike -- to notify me if anyone saw any inequity, impropriety, or error; (6) Suggestions were made only for shortening the memo. I shortened the memo. It was distributed on September 26th (attached); (7) Nothing was said to me of any problem with the schedules until I received your letter, now, formally calling the scheduling into question; (8) The schedules were constructed with the intent of following the guidelines of the official Trustee Policy, "Museum Hours As Impacted By Recognized Holidays," and with the intent of providing equity and fairness to all employees per the norms and patterns of established library scheduling practices; (9) Following the established pattern of many years, staff hours were distributed through the weeks of the holiday season in such a way that all would benefit equitably from the regularities and irregularities of both the holidays and the policy; (10)The memo, the policy, and the schedules are attached, along with the schedules of the preceding two years, which should speak for themselves; (11) There was no intention of not -- or of improperly -- observing the policy, or of not -- or of improperly -- observing the holidays. The intent was to properly observe both, and to be fair to all affected."

Neil closed the door to his office to have a moment's peace for contemplation of his measured response to Veronica Pillsbury's letter. Now there came a thumping on that door. Trustee and School Superintendent Michael Bonaventura was calling through it, "What's this I hear of Francie Hearst calling one of our teachers a bitch? There are witnesses! I'd never tolerate anything like this from any of my staff! Are you in there? Who is running this show?"

Neil opened the door. He sat Bonaventure down and tried to calm him. Bonaventura asked Neil if staffer Francie Hearst had indeed said aloud that a teacher, one Mrs. Farrell, was a "bitch." He repeated himself, this time spelling the word for Neil: "Witnesses have told me personally that she called Mrs. Farrell, in front of the young people visitng the museum as a class, a B-I-T-C-H." He 's going to bring in witnesses and, in the meantime, Bonaventura said as he went out, Neil could be contemplating "an appropriately serious reprimand."

The phone rang. Town Attorney Carson was returning Neil's call regarding the policy of the Trustees concerning public use of the museum's downstairs auditorium, which again was under discussion and review. At issue was the prohibition of the auditorium from groups requesting it for "partisan political purposes." The Board had initiated a policy decision to continue the prohibition in force, for obvious reason that "Once one group is let in," as Wheel Barrow had argued, "there wiIl be no availability to exclude others." Trustee Ben Mulvane had called for a removal of the ban, quoting the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (in "A Guide to Political Activity for State, County and Municipal Employees"), to wit, "Using a public building or any part thereof for political campaign purposes is prohibited, unless equal access to the building is provided to any group wishing to use it, under the same terms and conditions as other groups. Under no circumstances may any political fundraising go in a public building or any part of a public building occupied for a state, county or municipal purpose."

Ben Mulvane believed a more reasonable and just museum policy would provide for "equal access to the building to any group wishing to use it, under the same terms and conditions as other groups. In reviewing the formal position statement of the American Museum Coalition, adopted by the American Museum Coalition Council. The council position was, "If any room in a museum supported by public funds is made available to the general public for any non-museum sponsored event, the museum may then not exclude any group based on the subject matter to be discussed or based on the ideas that the group advocates. For example, if a museum allows charities and sports clubs to discuss their activities in museum chambers, then the museum should not exclude partisan political or religious groups from discussing their activities in the same facilities. If a museum opens its rooms to a wide variety of civic organizations, then the museum may not deny access to a religious organization."

The Trustees had asked Neil to make a formal inquiry of the Town Attorney regarding all this, and now he had him on the line. Carson promised to gather together all the information he could concerning any decisions in this area that had been handed down by the courts in recent years, which could be brought to bear in further discussion of this issue -- at his soonest opportunity.

It was now mid-May and Neil was in way over his head in promises to keep with a program series he'd helped develop for the museum, an "Introduction to Orientalism in the Arts in the Year 1912," in cahoots with Liu Pan Li, formerly a physician in China who'd become, in America, a watercolorist and Tai Chi advocate. She'd presented "orientalism in 1912," including a Tai Chi demonstration with Liu Pan Li and Melinda Swartzburg, an Austrian calligrapher and herbal health practitioner. The attendance was good and it looked like most people were pleased.

Toward the end of the evening program, Neil stood happily at the auditorium's entryway doors, eavesdropping on Liu Pan Li's telling anecdotes about one of her mentors, Thich Nhat Hahn. Relaxed by the soothing sing-song of her soft voice, he was stunned when the Fire Department stormed in. The newspaper reported they'd been "summoned to the scene by an unidentified caller to put a raging fire out."