happy president’s day

Did you know that after Lincoln had succumbed to the wound inflicted by Booth, doctors took out his entire brain (or what was left) because they couldn’t find the bullet? There’s your “fun” fact of the day. I learned this reading Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation. Well, an excerpt from a diary cited in the book, anyway.

Reading it has made me look at Lincoln as more of a man than a legend. Not that the meaning or epic-ness of what he did has lessened at all, but it just got me really exploring the idea that he was a living, breathing person, with eccentricities and a sense of humor — not just a thoughtful, seated statue overlooking the Mall in Washington. I mean, we all know that but don’t often pause to think about it. That being said, I don’t think the above image is disrespectful cause… well, I’d really like it if someone drew me with a machine gun arm.

I kind of skipped a Happy Valentine’s Day post, but I was out pretty much the entire day. It was happy. I wanted to say though, that regardless of my relationship status on 2/14 every year (yes, even that one year), I still like Valentine’s Day, or at least the idea of Valentine’s Day. I know a lot of people hate on it, and sure, you can make into a Hallmark holiday if you want to, but in our increasingly busy day to day lives, making sure to set aside time to spend with a significant other should seem like a priority, at least on this one special day. Like anything else, you just have to remember to keep it real.