I have received several condolence calls today.
I thank those of you who have taken the time to reach out.
April 14th is a date heavy with meaning.
After Spring has Sprung, April has Fooled, Passover has passed the Last Supper, and HE has risen . . . (usually he has) . . . there comes . . .
Ford’s Theater, The Blood-Stained Rocker . . . and of course . . .
THE BLOODY PILLOW.
This April 14th looms larger than ever – being the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Assassination.
We Americans like to count our tragedies (and victories) in lump sum mostly even numbers >>> so this day April 14 2015 rings loud for Lincoln lovers everywhere.
150 YEARS LATER …> the Cult of Lincoln is bigger than ever!!!
Last week I was walking in my bar sprinkled neighborhood and saw a t-shirt hanging in a window with Lincoln’s face and this directive:
Drink Up Bitches!
Lincoln’s face can be seen on polo shirts, dress shirts, and a zillion t-shirts featuring our 16th Prez playing drums, holding guns, brandishing swords – and adorning the ever popular “FreeThe Sleeves” sleeveless t-shirt.
When the hell did this dude with the beleaguered face get so hip?
I could go into cycles and psychology and Illinois and Obama . . . but will save that for another day.
While commemorating this tragic assassination and ruminating upon what happened to Reconstruction without the guiding hand of Father Abraham —
And please feel those feelings – they are deep deep “What Ifs” submerged just beneath the surface of the American Consciousness . . .
I want to encourage you historical sleuths, Lincoln freaks, and intrigue nuts to look up the history between the assassinator John Wilkes Booth’s family, and that of the esteemed Barrymore Family.
I have always found JWB’s family history (look up John Wilkes of England) to be a fascinating twist in this story of murder at Ford’s Theater.
I don’t think that many folks today realize how well known the Booth actors were in their day. They were the movie stars of their time – the premier Acting Dynasty in the United States.
It’s as if today, a Baldwin brother assassinated . . . well . . . not exactly, but I think you get my point.
Today, I mourn a shot that heard round the world because it so instantaneously changed the face of America. We will never know how this nation would have recovered under the guidance of a man so able to bring together disparate views and warring factions.
The evening of April 14, 1865 was the end of many dreams and sent our young nation off on a very different trajectory – all by the hand of one famous actor man.