Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln did not escape his harsh, impoverished childhood without some self-consciousness. When, in 1860, John Locke Scripps suggested doing a biography, Lincoln doubted the value of going into his early life.

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“Why, Scripps, it is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of my early life. It can all be condensed into a single sentence, and that sentence you will find in Gray’s elegy: ‘The short and simple annals of the poor.’ That’s my life, and that’s all you or any one else can make of it.”

-- President Abraham Lincoln

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Of course, there is nothing truly short and simple about being poor and growing up poor. There is all too much in it, so much that we often prefer to keep quiet about it.

[Source: Michael Burlingame, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life”]

Sammy

I keep hoping that Sammy will mellow with age, but I am still waiting. I wonder how many years I lose off my life on account of his yowling in the very early mornings. On top of that grief, my days are degraded as I read and write with a cloudy, sleep-deprived mind. Does the love that I feel for these little furry beasties, my awe over their cuteness, make up for that? I am inclined to think that it does, but I suspect it is close call. I am sure you get a better return with dogs.

Spring

We have fallen into another rainy spell. These are not winter rains, though. These are spring rains. It is a bit cool, with a pleasing, invigorating nip in the air, but it is not wintry.

The year spins round so fast
The future already seems past.