Lincoln in 2010

As part of this summer's "History Comes Alive" program here in Springfield, we have Abraham Lincoln (portrayed by Fritz Klein) come to the Lincoln Home every Saturday evening. He gives his "Farewell Address" from the front steps of his home, and then he, the Lincoln Troubadours (our summer singing group), some costumed living history interpreters, and the public all parade over to the Old State Capitol (the parade even includes political banners!) where Lincoln gives his "First Inaugural Address" from the steps of the Old State Capitol building. It is quite the affair (one time I even ended up having to direct traffic because the parade was so big--I think that was illegal because I don't have the authority to direct traffic!). But anyway, last Saturday they experienced the complications of trying to fit 1860 Abraham Lincoln into the year 2010 with all of our modern electronic wiring, police cars, etc.

I was not here last Saturday, but my friend Melissa gave me a run-down of the funny happenings. Early last week lightning struck the now-vacant lot right next to the Lincoln Home. Ever since then, the alarm and HVAC systems throughout the park have really been acting up. So, sometimes alarms randomly go off in buildings, even when the alarm has not been set. The Springfield Police Department is wired-in to our alarm system, so they respond to any alarms here at the park. So last Saturday, Abraham Lincoln was waiting inside the home to be introduced by the Lincoln Troubadours. There was a crowd of about 100 people there in the street waiting to hear his farewell address. As the Troubadours were singing, two Springfield Police cars came roaring down the street and came to a stop right in front of the Lincoln Home. You can imagine everyone's dismay as two officers ran up to the front door, guns drawn, and knocked on the front door. (One wonders why they did not check with one of the rangers outside to see if there was a real problem before they headed up to the house.) Fritz Klein answered the door as Abraham Lincoln, and without missing a beat he said, "This is my house! I paid for it!" and slammed the door in the officers' faces. The crowd thought this was hilarious. The officers, however, were very confused, and turned around to talk with some of the rangers, only to learn that they had responded to a false "lightning-induced" alarm. They certainly weren't expecting to have Abraham Lincoln answer the door. When all was said and done, and the confusion cleared, everyone got a good laugh out of it.

Birthday Baseball

Happy Birthday on Sunday to Lindy! She's always been my late June birthday buddy :-) As a pre-birthday gift, Greg took me to Kansas City for the Royals vs. Cardinals game! It was so much fun. I took a couple of days off of work, and we left for KC on Friday. We stopped at a few antique stores on the way, and then we checked into our hotel. It soon became apparent that the hotels were overrun with Cardinals fans--not so good for Royals fans like Greg. When Greg and I went out to catch the shuttle to the game, everyone thought it was funny that he was in Royals gear and I was in Cardinals attire. People at the stadium were amused as well, so we had our picture taken by the field. Speaking of being by the field, our seats were AWESOME! We were three rows up on the third base side--the visitors side--the Cardinals side. I think that there may have been more Cardinals fans there than Royals fans, but either way the stadium was packed.

It was a beautiful evening for baseball. As you can see from this picture, the moon was just fair! :-) The big full moon came up during the game, and it was really pretty. We got to see our favorite Royals player, Zack Greinke, pitch, so that was an extra treat. (Zack is the one who signed autographs for us last summer when we went to Kauffman Stadium.) He rocked all evening, which was good because we like him, but it was bad for my Cardinals :-(

The Cardinals ended up losing 4-2, but it was still a fun game. I had hoped that since Greg and I were wearing opposing team gear, we would be on Kiss Cam, but we were not. Two Cardinals players, however, were--it was hilarious! But they did not kiss. I really like Kauffman Stadium. As you can see, the jumbo tron is HUGE and shaped like a crown. And they have cool fountains in the outfield.

Since the game we went to was on a Friday, we got to see Fireworks Friday fireworks! It was a fabulous fireworks show--a great ending to a great game. On Saturday we went to the Crown Center mall which is a gigantic shopping center in downtown KC. There were a lot of cool stores there. Then we went and met our friend, Niki Ryan, for lunch. Niki's husband Mike (who had just flown to England for a history conference and currently works at Harry Truman's house) used to be the supervisory ranger at the Lincoln Home (back in the good old days). We became great friends with Mike and Niki, and it was so fun to meet up with her. We had a delicious KC BBQ lunch at a place called Winslow's Barbecue. It was truly divine food, but it caught up with Greg and me on our way back to Springfield that afternoon. Our tummies were feeling a little rumbly on the road, but it wasn't until we went to bed that night that the BBQ came back to haunt us :-) But we recovered by Sunday afternoon. Thank you Greg for such a wonderful birthday trip!!!

On Monday evening Greg and I enjoyed more baseball with our good friends David and Teal. We went to a Springfield Slider's game and enjoyed watching the Sliders whoop up on the Hannibal Cavemen. Then yesterday on my actual birthday (it has kind of felt like a birthweek instead of a birthday!), we got to hang out with David and Teal one last time before they left to move to Atlanta today :-( I am so sad that they are gone. They could have stayed here if the Lincoln Home people had been smart enough to keep David, but our good supervisor Barbara didn't get here soon enough to save him (though she wished she could have). Greg and I helped David and Teal finish cleaning their apartment, load the last boxes into their moving truck, and then we went out for a delicious birthday/farewell dinner. They even got me a Dairy Queen Blizzard cake! (Teal and I were Blizzard buddies.) We had a wonderful evening together, and we wish them the best as they embark on a new adventure in the South. Thank you to everyone for your kind birthday presents, phone calls, cards, and messages!! I have the most wonderful friends and family in the whole world. Being 26 seems good so far, except that my right knee literally started giving out yesterday. I think it is saying I have climbed the Lincolns' stairs a few too many times!

Field of Dreams

Earlier today I had the opportunity to watch Dad's BYU devotional talk--it was WONDERFUL!!! Great job Dad. You are an excellent speaker and an even better teacher. Thank you for the inspirational words you shared. Speaking of Dad, Happy Father's Day to all of you dads last Sunday! I am lucky to have an incredible dad and grandpas who are/were exemplary fathers. And Greg is a good father to our animal children too :-)

Herbert Hoover once said that each day should be filled with "adventure and great undertakings." So, this pat weekend Greg and I, along with our good friends David and Teal, heeded President Hoover's advice . . . and went to Herbert Hoover's house! Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is located in West Branch, Iowa, and it was a very neat place to visit. The site includes the house where President Hoover was born, his father's blacksmith shop, the schoolhouse where he attended school, and the Quaker meetinghouse where he attended church. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is also on the property, which is a very cool place. I feel bad for President Hoover. People blame him for the Great Depression, but it wasn't his fault, and he did many things during his life to help people all over the world. We were also able to visit his grave site there in the beautiful setting of the Iowa fields.

Speaking of Iowa fields, our next stop was the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa! We got to play catch on the actual baseball field where the movie "Field of Dreams" was filmed. We wandered out into the corn, but it only came up to our knees, so it didn't have quite the dramatic effect that the movie did. That movie used to scare me to death when I was little! I was pretty afraid of ghosts, and so I thought it was a really scary movie, but I remember Mom and Dad watching "Field of Dreams" with me and telling me that the baseball players were nice ghosts. It was fun to be there and especially to play catch with Greg, David, and Teal.

Next it was off to McGregor, Iowa, where we were to spend the night right outside of Effigy Mounds National Monument. Some of the Iowa towns we drove through along the Mississippi River were absolutely stunning. I couldn't believe we were in Iowa! The terrain gets very lush and hilly as you go north along the river. In the process of looking for a deal, we ended up at a place called Holiday Shores Motel (there aren't a lot of lodging options in McGregor). Let's just say that the one redeeming feature the motel had was this nice view from our room--you can't beat that! We were literally staying right on the Mississippi River. Though our motel wasn't the best, the town of McGregor was very charming. It almost even had an Old West feel to it. That evening we ate dinner at a fun place called Old Man River.

The next morning we went over to Wisconsin for breakfast, then came back to Iowa and Effigy Mounds National Monument. It is beautiful!!! We had to hike up some pretty steep hills to reach the Indian mounds, but once we were up there we had an unbeatable view of the Mississippi. The river is very wide there, with a lot of large islands and bridges. The Indian mounds there are shaped like animals, which is totally intriguing. How did they know how to make the mounds, which only look like animals when you see it from far above?

We spent a few hours at Effigy Mounds and then hit the road. I was beginning to feel my legs itching. I assumed that I just acquired a large amount of mosquito bites, but there was some poison ivy along the trail, and I hoped I didn't accidentally hit it with my legs--more on this to come. After leaving Effigy, we drove to LeClaire, Iowa to visit Antique Archaeology, home of the new History Channel hit TV show, "American Pickers." All four of us love "American Pickers" so it was fun to be there at their headquarters and see some of the finds they've made. They have the best job ever--rummaging through people's old stuff looking for treasures. Their headquarters looks a lot smaller in real life than it does on TV, so both David and Greg were quite certain that this was not the same building you actually see on TV. But, when we watched the show last night, Greg admitted that he was wrong and it was actually the same building we visited. After our Antique Archaeology adventure, we headed back to central Illinois and had dinner at Athens' new hit restaurant: Uncle Tykie's Pizza and BBQ. Then our mini trip came to an end. It was so much fun! We will really miss David and Teal when they leave for Atlanta in just one more week :-(

Back to the bites on my legs. The itching got progressively worse as the trip continued, and last night I sprayed some Bendadryl anti-itch liquid all over myself--this usually does the trick. But, I was up all night itching (the big thunderstorm didn't help me sleep either), and when I got up this morning, my legs were all swollen and red. I either have about 100 mosquito bites, or else some sort of poison ivy induced rash--not sure which. So I called in sick to work (didn't think I would be much use to them today) and went straight to the store for some Calamine lotion. I don't think I've used that stuff since I had the chicken pox a long time ago, but it is heavenly! I also took some Benadryl, so immediately after Dad's devotional talk, I zonked out for the entire afternoon. My legs still itch, but the lotion helps a lot. I think I'm going to go put some packs of frozen veggies on my legs.

CARdinals

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMDEN!!! I can't believe you are 8 years old already! You were such a sweet little baby, and you just keep getting sweeter each year. We are so proud of you, and I can't wait to see you next month!

On Wednesday, Greg and I had a fun trip to St. Louis with our good friends David and Teal. We are very sad that David and Teal are moving to Atlanta at the end of the month, so we are trying to fit in as much fun with them as we can before they leave. Our day began at the Pink Elephant Antique Mall on the way to St. Louis--Teal and I had been wanting to stop there forever, so this was our day. The antique mall had many interesting things, but the decorations outside were what made it really intriguing.

Then it was off to Grant's Farm in St. Louis! I hadn't been to Grant's Farm since Mom, Dad, and I were in St. Louis a few years ago, and Greg, David, and Teal had never been there before. It was so much fun! We got to see many exotic animals and we enjoyed the beautiful setting (although we could have done without the intense heat).

Our (well, at least my and Teal's) favorite part was seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales! They are SOOOO beautiful, and we even saw some cute little (actually not so little) babies. They are such powerful, beautiful horses, and they have quite the setup there at Grant's Farm. The farm is on land that once belonged to Ulysses S. Grant and is now owned by the Busch family. After Grant's Farm, we had a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then it was off to the stadium for the Cardinals game.

Though it was a warm day, it turned into a perfect evening for baseball. David and Teal are big Phillies fans, and we had planned to go to the Cardinals-Phillies game in July, but since they'll be gone by then and they are fellow baseball lovers, we thought it would be fun to catch a game while they're still here. The Cardinals were playing the Mariners, and we almost got to see an Albert Pujols home run, but then they decided that it wasn't really a home run. The Cardinals ended up losing the game, but it was still really fun to be there.

We enjoyed trying out our new camera at the game. Now that's what I call a zoom!! We could see Albert in great detail. After the game was over, we returned to the car, which was still locked but . . . we found the contents of the glove compartment and center console dumped out. Uh oh. We realized that someone had broken into the car, but we couldn't figure out how. Thankfully none of us had any valuables in the car, but we couldn't figure out why they didn't take the GPS or Greg's phone. When a police officer came to talk to us he said that they were probably just looking for guns. Oh, great. He also explained to us that the thieves have a way of getting in through the lock and disabling the car alarm. So that was creepy, but luckily the car and all of our stuff is okay (except we need to get the glove compartment fixed--it was locked, and the thief pried it open). So the whole thing turned into quite an adventure!

And then if the car break-in isn't disturbing enough, I went to work on Thursday to find the following memo from the National Park Service director, Jon Jarvis. Funny that we didn't get any memos like this from Fran Mainella or Mary Bomar (who had both been appointed by President Bush). So get ready to be disturbed:





MEMORANDUM

To: National Park Service Employees

From: Director Jarvis

Subject: National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month 2010

The month of June has been designated as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. This designation is meant to recognize the impact of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals have had on Amerca and the word. The international theme for this year is "One Heart, One World, One Pride." This theme will provide numerous opportunities for dialogue and promoting a better understanding and appreciation of the struggles, significant accomplishments and contributions of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender individuals to this Nation and the world.

President Barack Obama his proclamation dated May 28, 2010, designating the month of June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, states, "LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LBGT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, our friends and neighbors. Throughout my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us--the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance--we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union."

The National Park Service joins President Obama and the rest of this Nation in celebrating LGBT Pride Month. I believe that observances should be times for the reaffirmation of our struggles and determination to change attitudes and heighten the understanding of the LGBT individuals and their experiences. So join the National Park Service and me in observing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month by participating in programs and observances in your area."

No thank you! What is becoming of our country?

The End of the World

Does this not look like the end of the world? It felt like the end of the world. Yesterday afternoon Greg had to go to Athens for a funeral, so I was at home with the animal children. It had been raining on and off throughou the day, but at about 5:15 Greg called to say that he was on his way home and there were some black clouds coming. I looked outside and could see some really, really dark clouds. I turned on the Weather Channel, but there were no warnings, so I went back to whatever I was doing. Then Greg called back and said that the clouds were looking really crazy--kind of like a tidal wave.

So I went out in the front yard and saw THIS!! The storm was moving so fast. It was completely calm outside, and all I could hear was a low, constant rumble of thunder. There was lightning up in the giant cloud coming at me, but it wasn't raining or anything. So I just stood there and watched this freaky, tornado-dropping-looking cloud fly over. Greg got home just as it passed over the condo. Then . . . the rain came. Behind that cloud was a heck of a thunderstorm. The wind was blowing like crazy, and there was thunder and lightning everywhere. It was the weirdest thing--seeing that wall of a storm come over, and immediately behind it was crazy weather. The only thing I can think of to compare it to when it was coming at me is a flock of dementors from "Harry Potter." It was really scary, but at least the world did not really end.