Here I Have Worked . . .

. . . for one year and eight months. Today was my last day at the Lincoln Home! I am happy to not have to deal with all of the drama anymore, but I'm also kind of sad. Working at Abraham Lincoln's home was my dream job. But I guess it's a good reality check for me to realize that dream jobs aren't always everything you imagine they will be. It sounds like the perfect job--getting paid to learn about Abraham Lincoln, tell people about Lincoln, develop programs about Lincoln and the Civil War--but when you throw in all of the red tape that comes with a government job and combine it with crazy supervisors and grouchy visitors, it becomes anything but perfect. But it was a good ride while it lasted.

I was really only supposed to be there for two years anyway, as a term employee, so I really shouldn't be upset that my job has come to an end already. I guess what is the most frustrating thing is that the Lincoln Home had a chance to hire some really good people for the permanent positions--and they did hire a couple of really good people--but they also hired Kyle. Kyle gets paid more than twice what I made. He's a really nice guy, but he can't see or hear, and he talks constantly about nothing. He seriously won't stop talking--even when no one is there to listen to him. He has no regard for what time it is, so he never shows up where he's supposed to be, his tours of the home are waaaaaay too long, so he backs up our entire tour schedule, he doesn't know how to use the computers to issue tickets, and he either mumbles or talks REALLY LOUD because he can't hear. But he's the new Living History and volunteer coordinator at the Lincoln Home. (It's no surprise that Laura is the one who hired him.) It just doesn't seem fair that you can work so hard at a job and then get replaced by someone like that. It makes one feel very unappreciated. I think the best word to describe myself would be jaded.

Working at the Lincoln Home really has been a good experience for me, and it used to be a really fun place to work (before the dictatorship of Jason Boyd). I met some of my favorite friends while working there, and I took some wonderful visitors through the house. I must admit that I'm sick of eighth graders, but most people who visit the Lincoln Home genuinely want to learn more about Lincoln. I feel really bad for all of the unappreciated people who have worked and/or still work at the Lincoln Home. But maybe someday things will get better there. I know that people are working to make it a better place. I still love Abraham Lincoln, even though I don't read books about him for fun as much as I used to, and I feel really close to the whole Lincoln family after spending so much time in their home. I am honored to have worked at Abraham Lincoln's home and, of course, to have once again been a National Park Service ranger. Being a ranger was a childhood dream of mine. I'm grateful for the friends I've made at the Lincoln Home, the experiences I've had there, and the knowledge I've gained there. To borrow a phrase from Lincoln, I now bid the Lincoln Home an affectionate [although somewhat agitated] farewell. Now it's onward and upward from here!

Nothing to Lose

I didn't realize how long it had been since I wrote on the blog! I suppose that not too much exciting stuff has been happening around here lately--until today. Things can get interesting when you have nothing to lose :-) I am speaking, of course, of the Lincoln Home. Today was my second-to-last day of work. My Lincoln Home superiors "ran out of money," so they "have to" let me go. I think it's more that they "mismanage" money, but I'll write more about all of this after my last day tomorrow. So, back to today.

Yesterday I found out that Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the amazing book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, was going to be visiting the Lincoln Home today. I wasn't really supposed to know she was coming, but I brought my copy of her book this morning--just in case. Our "wonderful" Chief of Interpretation, Laura, was the acting Superintendent today, since our real Superintendent is out of town. She and our curator Susan (thank goodness Susan was the one actually giving the tour--Laura doesn't know anything about Lincoln) were going to take "a special VIP group" through the Lincoln Home at 9:30 today, but Laura refused to tell anyone who the VIP was. Laura was acting really strange and kept pacing around the Visitor Center. I told Ranger Bill, who was in charge of our schedule today, that the VIP was Doris Kearns Goodwin and that I really wanted to meet her, so he scheduled me to be in the Visitor Center at 9:30.

When Doris Kearns Goodwin arrived, she had an entourage which included actor Daniel Day-Lewis! It turns out that Doris Kearns Goodwin is a consultant for the upcoming Steven Spielberg movie, "Lincoln," and Daniel Day-Lewis will play Lincoln! (It was supposed to be Liam Neeson, but he dropped out.) So they were visiting the Lincoln Home today so that Daniel Day-Lewis could start to get a feel for his new character. (He looked pretty scruffy--we'll have to try to imagine him without the flowing hair and the earrings--then maybe he'll look like Lincoln. And he needs a beard.) When the VIP entourage arrived, they were in the Visitor Center for about 30 seconds before Laura whisked them off to the Lincoln Home. I didn't have a chance to even smile at any of the VIPs, although Doris Kearns Goodwin did wave to us lowly rangers stationed behind the information desk.

When Ranger Bill returned to the Visitor Center, I dejectedly told him that I didn't even have a chance to talk to Doris Kearns Goodwin, let alone get her to sign my book. (He was mad at Laura for not telling him who the VIPs were--or even that they were coming today.) He looked at me and said, "Tiffany, I think you should take your book and a pen, march down to the house, stand in the backyard, and when the group comes out of the house, you get Doris Kearns Goodwin to sign your book. What will Laura do, fire you?" I realized he was right--I had nothing to lose! So I did just that: marched down to the house, stood in the backyard, and waited.

When the group emerged from the house and Laura saw me out there, she gave me the stink eye. But I just stood off to the side, out-of-the-way, and didn't do anything to interrupt Laura's moment of glory. Doris Kearns Goodwin, however, saw me, smiled, pulled a pen out of her purse, and right in the middle of one of Laura's sentences, walked right over to me. She said, "Would you like me to sign that? I saw you standing over here, and you looked cold." I told her that I would be honored if she signed my book and thanked her for all of the excellent work she has done. She was SO NICE!!! I didn't have a chance to meet handsome Daniel Day-Lewis, but at least I got to see him :-) Victory was mine! I ran into Laura later, and she asked very harshly, "Did you get your autograph?" I just smiled and said, "Yes I did." She said, "The reason I didn't want anyone to know about this was that I didn't want the media to find out or anything." What, did she think we would call the local newspaper if we found out who was coming? She doesn't trust any of us, or appreciate any of the work we do. But I don't care because I got to go out in a blaze of Doris Kearns Goodwin glory today! And, this was all very timely because today was the 147th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, and today was the day of the official announcement that Daniel Day-Lewis will indeed be Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming "Lincoln" movie! It was a good day.

A Meowy Scawy Howloween!

We had a meowy scawy Howloween around here today! Lily dressed in her Howloween best to celebrate the big day.





And Little Spike enjoyed being a little football again--he loves his football outfit! Here he is with his "Little Toot" book, which was a gift from my friend Susan. Little Spike is known as "Little Toot" to all of the Lincoln Home rangers because of his infamous tooting incident involving poor David Bell.


And, making his Howloween debut was Squirrel Spike! His favorite part of the costume is the giant acorn which doubles as a chew toy or a pillow.








We thought about going trick-or-treating in hopes of finding some kitty or doggy treats, but everyone is a little too under the weather around here. Maybe next year? We wish you all a meowy scawy Howloween!

The Quiet Game

This is the kind of week we've had around here :-) Everyone is sick (including Big Spike--he probably ate another dryer sheet). I walked into the bedroom this afternoon and came upon this scene. Big Spike is also on the bed--he's just under the covers, and Lily was asleep in her kitty bed. Everyone is pooped! I stayed home from work last Saturday (a week ago today) because I was getting a sore throat. On Sunday my sore throat had gotten worse, and then my right ear started to swell up. By Sunday night, my ear was HUGE, red, hot, and hurt a lot. Greg thought I had mumps or meningitis, so in a panic we went to the Prompt Care doctor. The doctor said I had "Cellulitis of the Ear." I said, "What is THAT???" She said it's just an infection of the skin. It probably originated from a little scratch I had on my ear. So she gave me some antibiotics, and Greg and I spent the rest of the evening looking for a 24-hour pharmacy.

My sore throat turned into a cold on Monday, but at least the antibiotics started working and my ear started shrinking. I stayed home from work again on Tuesday, but felt a bit better on Wednesday. Wednesday was a good day--I thought I was on the mend. So I went to work again on Thursday. But Thursday was a bad day. (Although something really good happened on Thursday--I saw my little friend Sterling Stowell from Charleston, whose class came to visit the Lincoln Home!) It seems that since I started working at the Lincoln Home, I lose my voice at least once a year. I could feel my voice going on Thursday afternoon. I told Jason Collins, who was in charge, that I was losing my voice, but he said we didn't have enough people working to be able to let me leave. So instead of going home, I had to give five back-to-back tours! On my last tour, I literally couldn't talk. I felt really bad for the people on my tour. I basically had to talk in a loud whisper. Seven different people suggested that I should try some tea with "honey and whiskey" in it when I got home. I just smiled and whispered, "Okay, thank you for the suggestion." Needless to say, I did not go to work on Friday or today--still no voice.

And now Greg is sick too :-( We're quite a pair. Last night Greg wanted me to ride down to St. Louis with him because he had to pick up Mrs. Evers. Unfortunately Mrs. Evers passed away in Texas and had to fly to St. Louis. She and I played the quiet game on the way home. I think it was a tie! So it's been pretty quiet around the house today, except for the occasional coughing/sneezing fit. We should probably put a quarantine sign outside so that no little kiddies come trick-or-treating here and get our germs!

Voyager

I have a confession to make: I've become a little bit nerdy. (I guess I've always been a little nerdy about things like history, but I have entered a new world of nerdiness.) I always thought that "Star Trek" was only for nerds, but Greg got me hooked on one of the Star Trek sagas: Voyager. It is SOOOOO good! The show ran for seven seasons, and for the past few months I have been watching it on DVD. "Voyager" has been my key to unwinding after a long day of dealing with grumpy visitors at the Lincoln Home. But the other day I finished the series. I was sad it was over and started going through Voyager withdrawals. So I found some novels written after the series and have been reading them all weekend (but I've had a good excuse to spend all my time reading--I've been home with a nasty sore throat for the last couple of days). I'm contemplating watching some of the other "Star Trek" series, but I don't think anyone can compare to Captain Janeway and her crew. I highly recommend "Voyager" to anyone who needs a fun and exciting diversion from real life :-)