Traveling to a City that has only 6 outgoing flights a day is hazardous at the best of times. At worst, it takes roughly 18 hours to get out. So my advice, if you ever happen to go to Springfield, IL, drive from St. Louis.

Otherwise, great couple days.

18 hours. 6 historic sites. 4 films. 3 odd conversations with costumed interpreters. 1 horseshoe sandwich. 2 portions baked ravioli.

Hitting the Lincoln trail was intense. And, different for me in the sense of never having visited such a tightly knit set of sights in a short period. I’ve had packed museum days, but they usually have had some variety. In Springfield, it is all Lincoln, all the time.

A few things I picked up:

Lincoln as a suitor. Lincoln’s first love died early in life due to disease. It was the second major loss in his life, after the passing of his mother when he was 9 years old. Some period of despondency followed, but on moving to Springfield the young Abraham was again able to muster the courage to go after the ladies. He met his future wife, Mary Todd, at a dance. He’s said to have told her, “I want to dance with you badly.” She apparently said, “That is how he danced, badly.” The two were soon engaged. Lincoln however got cold feet and the relationship soured and split for a time. During this period, Lincoln hollered at Mary’s cousin, and Mary became the object of affection for Lincoln’s adversary Stephen Douglas. Neither of these relationships flourished and Mary Todd soon became Mary Todd Lincoln. They moved into a room above a tavern, and had their first child.

Lincoln as a father. A man who allowed his children considerable freedom to act how they wanted and amuse themselves in any manner. We learned at the Lincoln Hernden law office that the boys often spent the afternoon tossing ink pots around the office.

I’d known that Lincoln was a humorous man. And, that he was a bit depressed. The nuances of his private life were newly discovered, and nice to begin to fill out my picture of him. Also remarkable is the number of jobs he had… surveyor, post master, store owner, lawyer, President. Those are just a few.

I’ve got pictures, but they are on the Museum camera. I’ll put them up when I get them off.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 00:30 and is filed under Lincoln. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.