Political Morsels and Other Droppings

 I would like to wish a happy 200th birthday to two people I look up to: Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin.  Both men made a great impact to mankind. Unless you’re the type of person who flies a Confederate flag outside, believes that Earth has only been around for 6,000 years and that the first dude’s name was Adam and the folks for a feminine cleansing product got their inspiration from a chick named Eve. Yes, I know that if it really did happen, I’m going to hell for comparing Adam and Eve to  feminine products that leave you fresh and clean… yet somehow, I’m okay with that.

I like Abraham Lincoln. Then again, who doesn’t? Oh, okay, aside from John Wilkes Booth. Then again, Johnny boy died on the porch of Garrett Farmhouse in Virginia, as those of us who read Assassination Vacation would know. So, he doesn’t count.  One of my favorite spots in D.C. is the Lincoln Memorial.  I love walking to the top of the steps, peering at President Lincoln for a bit, and then I find a spot off to the side, at the top of the stairs to hang out and watch the tourists as they get to see him for the first time in person.  I am fortunate for my proximity and really should pay him a visit more often than I do.  I remember when I was really young, my mom piled all of us in the car and we drove to Gettysburg. My mom’s not an amusement park type of gal. Nor will you see her inside a movie theater. Her thing was to visit battlegrounds. It’s all well and good now. However as a kid…. Gettysburg seemed like the most boring battlefield of them all with way too many statues cluttering up the place.  Seriously, you can’t spit without hitting twelve statues.  Anyway, the best part of Gettysburg was visiting a gift shop where I got to pick out one thing: Abe Lincoln postcard. Yep. I think I still have it around here somewhere.  I even recall that on a family trip back in ’89, seeing Mount Rushmore. President Lincoln was my favorite carving into the mountain.  It also was one of the high points on the trip. Well that and visiting the Paul Bunyan Amusement Center, which I think had closed down a couple years ago.  Anyway, the point in all of this is that President Lincoln did a lot to bridge a divided country back together and we all should tip our hats in his honor.  

Now, why do I like Charles Darwin? How can you not dig a guy who came to the conclusion and was able to demonstrate that all species have evolved thanks to a little thing called natural selection? Not to mention, he wrote a book about earthworms… okay well them and the effect that they have on soil, but still.  I mean, do you watch the happenings of earthworms? I sure as hell don’t, but he did!!! Natural Selection and earthworm poop…. how great is that????  That alone is reason enough to eat a slice of cake. Really, go get some!

Filed under: Droppings, political morsel Tagged: | Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Confederate flag, Lincoln Memorial, Summer's Eve