Happy 203rd, Abe!

Today, as you may or may not have been aware, was the 203rd celebration of a historical great.

I wasn’t much mindful of the significance of today until noon,  when I sat down to eat lunch with a friend.

“It’s TODAY!” she exclaimed, looking up from her Poli-Science notes in the midst of our conversation. Her face lit up as though she’d recollected an untroubled moment and opened a monumental jar of sunshine. “Abe’s birthday! Today!”

Puzzled yet intrigued by her excitement, I inquired what significance the date was to her.

She explained to me everything, every thought and feeling that she procured from a man that was, in her eyes, divine. “I am not a religious person,” she told me in the midst of her elucidating, “but to me, Abe is beyond human.”

I was appalled by her admiration of the former president, and continued to listen as she rattled off fact, after fact, after fact about Abe. His depression, his unhappy marriage, his presidency, his glory. In that seven minute conversation, I learned more about Abe than any I’ve learned about a single president in any given high school or college history course. The fundamental principal of the conversation, however, was that Abe really did no wrong – he was just an all-around swell guy who may or may not have put on a face to make it through each day, but dammit if he didn’t do it well and with great honor.

This girl isn’t crazy, despite having dreams of Lincoln consoling her, and crying at the sight of his blood-stained relics in D.C. She’s wise, and insightful, and completely enamored of a man that, in her eyes, is highly commendable – and she wouldn’t be wrong.

She handed me a penny as she got up from her seat, saying “Now he’ll always be with you!”

And he was. I pulled it out of my pocket tonight and smiled, knowing that Abe had graciously celebrated his big day with me – his impressive 203rd!

Be sure to post a birthday well-wishing on his Facebook wall.  : )

Abe’s Babe (not really, but I couldn’t resist the phrase),

jc