Laugh with Lincoln on his 200th Birthday

On 12 February 2009, 200 years after his birth, Lincoln is a figure cast in bronze and chiseled in white marble. The cover of the recent USA Weekend magazine featured a photo of his monumental memorial and proclaimed that “this great president’s legacy remains immortal.”

The problem with immortality is that by placing someone there, we risk losing sight of the real human. And thus we look to our trusted historians to bring us the depth behind the frozen images, to—in the words of David McCullough—make the past as interesting as it actually was.

One facet of Abraham Lincoln often left out of sober remembrances was the man’s dry humor.

Immortal laughter

The famous historian of images, Otto Bettmann, would often begin his speeches the following way: “Abraham Lincoln said, ‘No short speech can be all bad.’”

Years ago Levenger sold a set of refrigerator magnets sporting food quotations. One was by Lincoln: “If this is coffee, please bring me tea. If this is tea, please bring me coffee.”

Amidst all the great histories of Lincoln, including Ron White’s new bestselling biography and Jay Winik’s captivating April 1865, I’m proud that Levenger is playing a small role through our loving revival of an elegant biography from 1893. It was written when Lincoln was still remembered by living people as a flesh-and-blood person. It serves as a fascinating, feet-on-the-ground account that those who admire the tall man will savor. And we were fortunate to have Ron White write the foreword to our new edition.

Like many Americans, I can’t read, or hear, the Gettysburg Address without choking up. But let’s laugh, too, along with our beloved president. (And in February 2009, most of us could use a laugh.)

In one of Lincoln’s debates, his opponent accused Lincoln of being two-faced. Lincoln paused and then replied, “If I had another face, do you think I’d wear this one?”

Happy Birthday, Abe!

How about you, dear reader? Is there a favorite quote that brings you both solace and smiles? Just click on the Comments link below. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you’ll connect to Comments).

Comments

[Kim]

So it's not a quote, but I would have loved to have seen the look on Pres. Lincoln's face at Gettysburg when he walked up to the podium to give a 2 minute speech after the 2 hour blowhard speech (can't remember that politician's name) and the look on both of their faces when he walked back to his seat. In two minutes, Pres. Lincoln far surpassed two hours of verbiage.

[Rosemarie Kibitlewski]

I heard this attributed to Lincoln

Good things come to those who wait - but only those things left behind those who hustle...........

I've always like that!

[Claire]

In my job, where no two days are ever the same and where deadlines sometimes get pushed to limit, I love this quote:
"God preserves his order despite our chaos."
Remembering this helps preserve my sanity.

[Sallie]

My favorite Lincoln quote is this:

"I have been driven many times to my knees
by the overwhelming conviction that I had
nowhere else to go."

[Tom Allen (Propmaster) "In Treatment"]

I am a huge fan of the Gettysburg Address and love reading anything about Lincoln. An account of some of his antics in court in his early days as a trial lawyer have come in handy in my job in props. It seems that Abe would light up a cigar just as the prosecutor was starting his closing remarks. He had inserted a thin wire the length of the cigar. As he puffed away the wire kept the ash from falling off. One by one the jurors would start to notice the ever-lengthening ash and start to stare at it while completely ignoring the prosecution's argument. By the time the prosecution rested not a single juror was paying the slightest attention to him. They were all waiting to see if the ash would ever drop. I have used this trick in movies when a director wants a cigar or cigarette to have a particularly long ash. So much for honest Abe. I enjoy the Well-Read Life. Keep up the good work. Tom