Shall never perish from the earth
We met him today! Abe Lincoln! I don't know why Giles doesn't look very thrilled in the picture but it was very thrilling to meet him today. He was actually Fritz Klein, a Lincoln reenactor who was at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum today as part of a Lincoln exhibit.
He spoke to a fairly large crowd of more than 100 school kids. We had front row seats thanks to our wonderful friend, Joanne, who works there! I thought it was very stirring. He teared up when he talked about his momma and how some of her last words to him were to be good to his family and be good to everyone! He also teared up when talking about losing two of his sons.
He spoke a lot about how much slavery disturbed him as a young child. How his father was against it. And how anger boiled in some to drive us to horrible acts to preserve that way of life, slavery. He also acknowledged that he stood in a place, the OKC National Memorial, to honor the victims of someone else's anger. (Someone who claimed he learned how to be an animal/terrorist in the US military during the first Gulf War ... but that's another thought for another day).
He was good natured and powerful. He ended with the Gettysburg Address. I know he was an actor, but he did it so well ... he teared up (we were on the front row) again during the speech.
I'm sure I loved it more than the kids. Since I was tearing up too! But hopefully they'll remember it, and remember those who've led ... and those who lost so much in order that - under God - our government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Posted in: on Friday, April 20, 2007 at at 7:27 PM
