The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art

Beautiful artwork spoiled by employees!

As you enter the museum, your surroundings begin to tantalize you with beauty around every corner. Then you look left, you look right... and realize you must have stepped into a bank vault! There are monstrous guards everywhere! So you think to yourself "surely, this is a treasure that deems guarding" and you try to ignore their dirty stares as they visually brisk you for the bombs and guns they are so sure you must be carrying. Turning your back on the creepy guards, you step up to the admissions desk and are greeted by a creature that, judging by the smell, must be rotting from the inside out. "Who am I to judge someone on their cleanliness alone?" you say to yourself. So holding your nose, you politely accept a ticket for the price of $5. Stepping into the galleries (and away from the front desk) is like stepping into heaven! Beautiful masterpieces of Tiffany surround you and take your breath away! You float from room to room on a cloud of multicolored ecstasy... until your cloud collides with a cleaning woman dusting! Of all the museums I have visited through my travels, I had never seen a custodian dusting in the middle of the day until now! I found her to be extremely rude! She was not only pushing dust into the air and aggravating my asthma, but additionally she was blocking my view and murdering the already tattered atmosphere! Surely this woman could refrain from performing her duties while a customer is in view if only to save face for the museum. Apparently the employees have total disregard for paying customers! Moving into the chapel, again you momentarily forget the harshness of the employees as the beauty enfolds your heart! What a sight! Just as you begin to forgive the employees and relax, one of the MANY creepy guards you have been trying to ignore comes up to you and accuses you of trying to take a picture! Knowing you are not a child, and you have visited many a museum without every encountering a rude guard before, you calmly try to explain to this person that you don't even have a camera with you. This does not matter to them in the least, for they are determined to accuse someone of breaking one of their many rules. After you are unreasonably accused of breaking a rule, you next step into the Laurelton Hall exhibit. Masterpiece! A feast for the eyes! Until you spy more guards. Holding your tongue, you move through the galleries, trying to enjoy the magnificence Tiffany intended, but instead your eyes cant help but pick up the not very subtle way the guards are following you. Finished with the artwork, still trying to enjoy yourself, you step into the gift shop. You note that the shop is smaller than most museum shops but packed from floor to ceiling with interesting, beautiful, and fun items. Upon exploring, you encounter a shop girl with the smile of a hunting crocodile and the greedy claws of a hungry crow spying a freshly killed animal. Though she unsettles you greatly, you are pleasant with her and explain that you are "just looking". As if her expression wasn't unsettling enough, as you tell her you are without need of her help, she gives you a look that says many things: "You are too stupid to see how you need my help! You are too poor to be able to afford anything! Get out, you're taking up space!" While understanding that Winter Park, FL is a rather snobby place in nature, you see that this woman (if she can be called such a thing) is Queen Nasty herself. Refraining from bowing to her highness, you excuse yourself and head towards the door. On your way out, you spy a beautiful wooden box that you have seen in a shop down the street. Out of curiosity, you check the price, only to find that the box has been marked up 300%! It's a wonder the shop girl has treated you this way when surely they must be desperate to sell anything at these prices! Overall, my day was ruined by my visit to The Morse Museum! Perhaps the owner of the museum should re-evaluate how he wants his guests to be treated.