"I am not bound to win, but I'm bound to be true. I‘am not bound to succeed, but I'm bound to live up to what LIGHT I have." Abraham Lincoln
When I was very young, I fell in love with the legacy of Abraham Lincoln after reading a biography in a Best In Children's Books series. I grew up in ILLINOIS, the Land of Lincoln, and on a school trip in eighth grade to Springfield, I was fascinated to see the historical home where he had lived and raised his family and prepared for the presidency. Sometimes people forget that he was born in Kentucky, in a small cabin, before his family migrated north. He taught himself to read by using the family bible. This fact is as impressive to me today as it was when I first learned about it in the biography written for children. Throughout his life, he continued to seek knowledge and improve his education and studied law. He had great strength and at one time was even a rail splitter (he was also a land surveyor). I think that's how the Lincoln Logs toy came about. He also had a flair for storytelling, and of course, is well remembered for his expression and nobility in one of the noblest speeches ever made in our country, the Gettysburg Address, the speech given in 1863 at the dedication of the soldier's cemetey there. He had an amazing, I think, ability to hold his ground in a very rough society, and he did so with sincerity, wisdom and patience. In the midst of so much strife, he carried on and continued his course, sometimes very alone. His ultimate strength was his character.
So today, on your birthday, Mr. Lincoln, TOP HATS OFF to you, for your remarkable political skill, for your noble vision, and for your deep compassion for humanity.
P.S. It is also the FIRST birthday of my grandson, Lyric... SPEECH! SPEECH!
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