When I was a little girl, we had the big, illustrated book about Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Paurin d'Aulaire. I loved the pictures, especially how Lincoln looked so kind and strong and singular. I felt connected to him (the strange way I felt connected to blue whales and elephants). As an adult I have always admired him in a broad way, but I have to admit, I didn't know much about him or his life. When I went to Hawaii in 2010, we went to the Punchbowl, which is a big memorial to WW2 veterans. And I read this quote:
A couple of years before this, I had read Killer Angels. It made me very curious about Gettysburg. I wanted to go there and see where the hills and battles were and feel the ambient emotion that I thought must be present there. I wanted to imagine Longstreet brooding and see Pickett with his curls charging the Union forces and I wanted to see Little Big Top, where Chamberlain led a desperate group into battles with bayonets because it was all that they had.
So....
In 2012, we decided to take a trip across the county, calling it "The Circle Tour." We all picked where we wanted to visit. Beulah chose New York City, Janey wanted to see Niagara Falls. Husband wanted to go to Nauvoo. Cheeseball and T-Bone were game for just about anything but wanted Washington, DC the most. Goose wanted Mt. Rushmore. I wanted the Sacred Grove and Gettysburg. We were able to see all those places and more and packed it into 13 days on the road and in hotels. It was amazing, truly, and I made the family listen to Killer Angels as we traveled.
I had also started to read Doris Kearns Goodwin's book on Lincoln's politics Team of Rivals. It was a very, very good read and Man it made me love Lincoln. His genius and sacrifice and wisdom and amazing craft with words were inspiring.
So, on our trip we visited the Lincoln Memorial, and on the walls on either side of Lincoln are his.Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address. Beautifully written with an unmatchable economy of words. Lincoln was goooood.
A couple of days later, we drove into Pennsylvania and stayed at a fine Motel 6 in Gettysburg (the best Motel 6 we've experienced, btw, with donuts and juice in the morning and an indoor pool and spa that smelt like water chestnuts!). The next day we drove to the visitor center and visited the battleground, using a CD for an audio tour. It was fascinating. We met civil war reenactors and saw cannons and I did get to Little Round Top.
A year ago, we went to DI and T-Bone showed me a framed copy of the Gettysburg Address. How I love that boy! We bought it for a dollar and put it up on our hallway way. Whenever I read it, I am moved and am grateful for Lincoln's vision of keeping our country together and proving that government of the people can work. I am glad my kids are being encouraged to memorize these words, there weren't many better written. Ever.
