When History Meets Reality

Today was AWESOME! But it was also another reminder of how sad the current IHPA situation is. I met more wonderful people today--people who are losing their jobs at the end of the month :-( It totally breaks my heart to see all of this unfolding. These are real people with real lives--they've got families to provide for, parents to take care of--and now they're getting the figurative carpet pulled out from under their feet because of some dumb bureaucratic issues in Chicago. Fewer people will be laid off than they originally anticipated, but that doesn't help the people who are still getting laid off. Not only are these people losing their jobs, but sites like the Pierre Menard Home are literally just closing their doors. Who is going to make sure the sites aren't vandalized? Who is going to make sure that people don't come and steal all of the collections? If they open the sites again in the future, who are they going to hire to run them--if their previous employees have all moved on with their lives? Those who truly care about the sites--the people being laid off--are sad to just walk away from places and things they care about, but they don't have any choice.

This morning Linda and I left bright and early for Ellis Grove, Illinois, which is about three hours south of Springfield. It was a beautiful drive, and we ended up in the Mississippi River flood plain which, no matter where you are along the river, is spectacular. The Pierre Menard Home, Fort de Chartres, and Fort Kaskaskia are all within about 10 miles of each other right along the river. We spent most of our time at the Pierre Menard Home helping the site manager decide what to do with all of the collections in the house. We brought down a bunch of packing supplies so that the collections can be as safe as possible under the current circumstances. The Pierre Menard Home is a great French Colonial house that looks like it was plopped down in Illinois right from central Louisiana. It is in a wonderful location and overlooks the Mississippi River. The site manager there, Andrew, is one of the people being laid off. He kind of looks like a softer version of 24's Jack Bauer--with a goatee. He was the nicest guy, and now he has to figure out what to do to take care of his family. It is really very sad.

After we got our work done, we met the Fort Kaskaskia people in Prairie du Rocher (which, in Illinois, is pronounced "roach-er"). We went to this cool little bar/restaurant--in a small town, those are the places that always seem to have the best food! The place was awesome, and we all had the famous "Rocher Melt." A Rocher Melt is a cheese burger served on Texas toast and topped with mushrooms and onions. It was awesome. For dessert, Linda and I had to try the coconut cream pie, and it was FREAKING AWESOME! It was about five inches high--topped with coconut meringue, and it was fresh out of the oven. I think it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. The Fort Kaskaskia men were hilarious, and we all had a good time chatting. Linda and I left Prairie du Rocher at about 2:00 and made it home to Springfield by 5:00. We had a great time chatting and, once again, I learned many things. I think I have learned more in the last two weeks than I did during a whole semester at school! :-) Unfortunately I've also had to learn about the reality of the history world--which can be quite ugly when the wrong people (like Gov. Blago) get involved. I sincerely, sincerely hope that all of the people being affected by this unfortunate turn of events will be able to move on with their lives and find success and happiness in whatever they do. Though I am sad that the history of places like the Pierre Menard Home is basically getting thrown into the trash, the saddest part of the whole thing is seeing the people whose lives are being significantly disrupted.

Tomorrow Greg and I are going to take a mini road trip to Charleston! We are excited to visit some of our favorite Charleston people: Dr. Small and Mr. Riccio, as well as the wonderful, cute, and kind Stowell Family! We are planning to stop in Tuscola for the best Reuben sandwiches in the entire world, and we'll also have some of our favorite Thai food in Charleston. Good times.

General Sherman's Flowers

Today was so much fun!! My internship seriously rocks. Linda took me over to the Abraham Lincoln Library to visit her friends in the conservation lab. They showed us all of these cool projects they're working on. It takes some serious skill to be a conservator. On some of their damaged documents, they have to use a microscope to help them remove tiny strands of paper one at a time! The coolest thing they have in their lab right now is this wicker basket with a few dried flower petals in it. It doesn't look like much, but when you learn what it is, it's super cool. It was the basket of flowers placed on Abraham Lincoln's casket by General William T. Sherman in 1865! The thing I love about hanging out with the Sprinfield history crowd is that it's a group of people who are as interested in Abraham Lincoln as I am. :-)

Tomorrow Linda and I are off to southern Illinois to the Pierre Menard Home. It will be a great trip, but it's kind of sad that we have to help them pack up all of their artifacts to prepare for the site to close at the end of the month. Next Wednesday we get to go on another road trip up to Galesburg to help them pack up their things at the Carl Sandburg Birthplace and the Bishop Hill settlement. I wish that these sites weren't closing, but the trips will be fun. Linda and I are also going to go shopping while we're in Galesburg :-) Tonight Greg cooked some really delicious fish, and the other night he made some really delicious stir fry. He is quite the chef! Well, I'm off to bed to rest up for tomorrow's fun day.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Unfortunately, the corruption of the Illinois government is not only affecting the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, but it is seeping down into it! Remember how Linda and a number of her co-workers will be laid off at the end of this month? So, you can understand my confusion when a rather snooty lady whom I had never met before introduced herself to me as "the new employee." Turns out, she's the new "Deputy Director" of the agency. Her salary? 100 grand per year. Hmmmmmm. How does that work? She's buddies with the new IHPA director (who is probably one of Blago's buddies). She doesn't know anything about history or the agency, but she's buddies with the director, so she's qualified for the job--in the world of Illinois corruption. It's enough to make a non-corrupt person sick. There is this really nice lady named Kathleen who works with Linda. Today was Kathleen's last day of work because of the "budget cuts" (or budget redirects as they should be known). So Linda, Kathleen, and I went to lunch and had a fun time together. It makes me so sad because these people who are being affected negatively by this whole situation are such good, nice, wonderful people. It doesn't seem fair. Kathleen was worried about the cool plants she has in her office. She said she doesn't have room for them at home, so I told her that I will take them home at the end of the month and take care of them. Linda and I are going to have as many good times as we can before our lasty day of work on November 26. I am especially excited for this Friday when we get to take our road trip to the Pierre Menard Home!

My! My! Time Flies!

Time does indeed fly! That's why it has taken me so long to get our wedding pictures online :-) I've posted a number of pictures here, and you can see more by clicking on the "Wedding" and "Road Trip" photo albums on the wedding website. Today a new Enya CD was released. It's called "And Winter Came," and it features my new favorite song: "My! My! Time Flies!" You can listen to a sample of the song by clicking here. It's so cool.

Today is Veteran's Day! As it did on Election Day, the state of Illinois closes down on Veteran's Day, so I'm here at home bundled up in my blankets because it is cold and rainy outside. The title of Enya's album, "And Winter Came," is very appropriate :-) Gas is down to $1.87!!! Hooray! The last time I remember it being below $2.00/gallon was in 2006 when Mom and I were driving home from Mississippi and it was $1.99 in Dallas. Yesterday was a fun day at work. Among other things, I got to go through some boxes of old broken china dishes and piece them back together. I loved it--it was like a gigantic historical puzzle!

I am sad that Barack Obama won the election. It's only been one week since Election Day, and I am already sick of hearing everything that "the President Elect" is doing every single second of every single day. You turn on the TV, and it's like, "Just one moment ago we received reports that President Elect Obama left his kitchen and went into the dining room where he is currently sitting at the table with his beautiful wife Michelle and adorable daughters Malia and Natasha. The girls love their father very much. He is such a family man. We'll keep you updated on any new developments." And I'm tired of hearing how "American" he is just because he is part African-American. You would think that killing unborn babies or babies that survive abortions would not be considered very "American"--but I guess that's what America is becoming, unfortunately. Though there is quite a concentration of Republicans in the Springfield area, most of Illinois is beside itself with joy that their senator will become President (even though he didn't do anything to help the state when he was a senator). Now Governor Blagojevich gets to appoint a new senator to fill Obama's spot--great. I'm sure he'll pick a winner. Maybe he'll even appoint himself. Anyway, that's my soap box speech for the day. I just really, truly don't care what kind of dog the Obamas are planning to get for the White House, but I can't avoid hearing about it and it's making me crazy.

On a more positive note, here are some wedding pictures!

A Bird's Eye View of Springfield

Just when I thought that my job with Linda couldn't get any cooler than it already was, it did! Today was so much fun. This morning Linda took me over to the Old State Capitol building, and her friends who work there took us on a tour of all of the building's restricted areas--including the cupola! It was so neat--you could see forever from up there. Here is a picture of the "new" Illinois State Capitol building (finished in 1876) from the cupola of the Old State Capitol.

After visiting the cupola, I got to go onto the balcony overlooking the House of Representatives chamber where Abraham Lincoln's casket was placed during the viewing held here at the Old State Capitol. Then I got to go to lunch with Linda and several of her museum curator friends. The lunch conversation was awesome! One of Linda's friends, Susan, is the curator at the Abraham Lincoln Home National Historic Site. She was telling us about buying birthday presents for the whole Lincoln family that will be opened and placed in the home on President Lincoln's 200th birthday in February. How fun to get to buy birthday presents for the Lincolns!!! She said that she was going to buy some toys for Tad, and she was thinking of purchasing some monogrammed handkerchiefs for Robert. She was going to buy a ring for Mary, but wasn't sure what to buy for the rest of the family yet. Lunch was very fun (and delicious), and then we went back to work (which was also fun).

Later this afternoon, we got to go to a reception at the old Union Station Depot which is just across the street from the Lincoln Museum. We even got to take a sneak peek up into the forbidden clock/bell tower! Here is the view of the Old State Capitol from the train station tower. We ran into Bryon Andreasen at the reception--he's the bishop of the ward here and also works at the Lincoln Museum. He and Linda are friends, and the three of us ended up in the clock tower at the same time. There was only room for three people up there--it was quite a tight fit, but the view was worth all of the climbing (up stairs and ladders) that it took to get up there. What a fun adventure! There was even an Abraham Lincoln look-alike at the reception. But it wasn't the same look-alike (who also looked like Mitt Romney) who was at the stamp ceremony last week. There are tons of Lincoln re-enactors. They are everywhere, and they attend every single event--no matter how big or small--in the area! It's kind of funny. Good times. Next Friday I get to go on a road trip with Linda to the Pierre Menard Home! I love this job. Unfortunately it's getting COLD here! I'm afraid that winter is coming.