1865 Lincoln and the Civil War

In January of 1865, with General Lee getting cornered by Grant and Sherman, Lincoln was feeling pretty confident.

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When some White House callers expressed anxiety about the military situation, Lincoln went to a map, showed how Grant had Lee trapped at Petersburg and how Sherman was moving thither. Lincoln remarked that his own situation, after being elected twice to the presidency, called to mind “an old fellow in the early days of Indiana who had been a wicked and lascivious sinner, and had joined the church and was getting baptized. The preacher had dipped him in a river, and he had come up gasping and rubbing his face, and then calling on the preacher to dip him again and baptize him once more. The preacher said once was enough. But the old fellow insisted.” So the preacher dunked him again. “As he came up and rubbed the water out of his eyes and mouth and got his breath, he blurted out, ‘Now I’ve been baptized twice, and the Devil can kiss my ass.’” Lincoln pointed to a spot on the map “and said that when Sherman’s army got to that place the war would be ended. ‘And then,’ said Lincoln, ‘the Southern Confederacy can kiss my ass.’”

-- Michael Burlingame, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life”

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A/C

I popped on the air-conditioner yesterday afternoon. Pop was gone, and I did not really want to play tough guy through another humid afternoon. As the house cooled down, I thought our luck was holding out on the a/c, another year without needing to call the repairman. Later in the evening, however, I noticed that the carpet around the a/c closet was soaked. We had a leak. The repairman came this morning, and it looked like it was not going to be an expensive job - just 50 dollars. However, it is still leaking, even if only a very tiny bit. If it were me, I probably wouldn't hassle the repairman, but Pop naturally wants his money's worth. So, we're not out of the woods yet on this, but I am thinking that we will be alright this summer after a little bumpy start.