50 States Day 88, Springfiled

Day 88 Around Springfield, 19 Miles

 

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count; it's the life in your years."

~Abraham Lincoln

 

 

Springfield is the home and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. So they really outdid themselves on the Lincoln Museum. Upon entry, one is greeted with Mr. Lincoln and his wife and children, life size. Quilter Girl and I wandered through the place and time flew. This museum brings Lincoln to life, and teaches while entertaining.

From documenting his humble cabin to the presidency, the museum illuminates Abe's life. In one section, there are political cartoons from the time of his presidency and they are hateful, some even depicting him as a devil.

I felt a lot of pain in that place. Lincoln struggled in politics, losing many races, failing in a business, losing his first love to death. He wins the presidency and shortly afterwards his son passes away. Within a month of his inauguration, the South fired the first shots of the Civil War, and his political life was steeped in chaos and conflict from both sides. He got re-elected. (Why would you run again?)

At last, he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation and it didn't get any better. Many thought it was too wimpy. Others didn't want it at all. Finally, the North won the war and he acquired freedom for the slaves.  

Later, during a speech, he mentioned he would like to see blacks able to vote. John Wilkes Booth, an actor in the crowd, decided that was enough and shot him during a play.

Ironic how a man can be so successful amidst hatred and conflict, despair and depression.

The museum takes you through the war years in detail and illustrates it through multiple medias. Excellent work. Worth the admission, and worth a trip. Well, no use visiting the museum and missing his grave. It's a monument, so what? But surprise, a curator sat by the monument inside the uh, monument. Someone asked him a question about Lincoln's son Robert, and he launched into a history lesson filled with anecdotes, details and his opinions for probably twenty minutes. Very enlightening. Funny the places that stand out.

We rode through the heat and I won't whine about it because my Vegas friends have piled on about my heat whining. So we enjoyed the 104 degree day in the full sun with not a cloud in sight or a whisper of wind.

Lincoln's house is a house on a corner. That's cool, but it's a house on a corner. We checked in for tickets but the next tour was in forty five minutes, so instead of waiting in the nice, cool 104 degree balmy day we elected to get some grub and head back to the joint.

Below we have more bikes, previous blog.