b'parting wordsrick turschman Assistant Manager for SecurityRetirement wasnt really on Rick Turschmans mind, A CLASSICAL GUYbut when COVID-19 hit on the heels of some healthThe third floor of the museum was always my favorite challenges, he decided the time was right to stepIm a classical guy. Im especially drawn to Hudson River away from the job he held and loved for more than School works, something about the broad landscapes. 13 years. Rick earned a degree in history from WesternTheres one painting in particular Ive always loved New England College but was always drawn to law [Francis Seth Frost, South Pass, Wind River Mountains, enforcement. After two-plus decades in retail security,Wyoming, 1860]; I call it Wind River for short. If I found he became manager of security operations at themyself upstairs with a few minutes before closing, Id Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 2003sit on the bench opposite the painting and try to find (long after the infamous 1990 heist!) and in this envi- something in it Id missed the time before. ronment Rick found a new calling. A few years later, personal reasons drew him back to his native westernWHAT HELL MISSMassachusetts and he reached out to Ann Mayo 83,There was a time when Id get cards from graduating manager of security and guest services, whom hedstudents, just thanking me for being there. I miss that. met at a workshop, and learned about a newly createdI also really appreciated the chance to experience position at SCMA. From that point forward, the twoso many interesting and different exhibitions over shared a small officeand a big passion for their work. the years. Some really stick with you, like the show a few years ago featuring artifacts and art from ancient A CHANGE OF PACE Rome [Leisure & Luxury in the Age of Nero: The Villas In retail, everything was always rush, rush, rush. As aof Oplontis Near Pompeii]you cant get much more director of loss prevention, no matter how hard youclassical than Roman statues! Or the psychedelicwork, problems and issues persist. It was relentless.posters from the 60s in the Summer of Love exhibi-But a museum environment is the oppositeits peace- tion, which brought me back to my college days. A ful and tranquil, with people coming in looking for anbig part of my job was overseeing events like Night At experience, not because they need this or that. TheYour Museum; I loved to see students dressed to the best part was seeing guests discover just how good anines and having fun. Ill miss the good feeling of lock-museum SCMA actually isyou hear them say, I didnting the door at the end of a successful event like that. realize you had so much! and Id say, Yes, we do! May I suggest a place to start? LENS ON LIFEPhotography has always been a hobby and Id often THE SQUIRREL WHISPERER walk the Smith campus, taking shotsI was honored I used to park in the garage and walk across campuswhen one of the boathouse photos was made intoto work, and at some point, I started feeding peanutsa postcard for sale in the SCMA shop. I keep ato squirrels along the way. I ended up training sev- camera in the back of my car for those serendipitous eral squirrels to come when called and sit like a dog,moments when the mist is coming off the water orwaiting for the peanuts. Each year Id see some ofthe light on the horizon is just right. I drove back roads the same squirrels and train new ones. Eventually theto work past a little pond, and sometimes Id spot a trees they lived in were cut down and that all came toblue heron and pull over to take a picture. I rarely got parting wordsan end. But a few of my colleagues and some studentsset up in time to get a good shot before it flew away, continued to give me gifts like little wind-up plasticbut I never stopped trying. squirrels or erasers shaped like peanuts. 85'