A Long Day...

I haven't had much time to post in the past couple of weeks. Between getting ready for my Sweet Adelines competition next weekend, doing tours, cleaning house and holidays, there just hasn't been any time. I also have been so tired that I haven't felt very inspired.

Today is different, though. Today I began a 4-day tour with a group of 8th graders from New Hampshire. A very nice group of students -- fun, but not obnoxious -- and a great group of chaperones. It was a very long day, though -- I left home at 6:30 this morning and got back here at 9:30 tonight! It was quite an inspiring day in spite of it's length because this day, April 14, was very special. This is the anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln....and where did we go for our first stop but Ford's Theater, the site of his murder. Somehow, it seemed like fate that we should visit the very place where Lincoln was killed on the 144th anniversary of the event. We also visited the Peterson House across the street from the theater where Lincoln was taken after being shot and where he died the next morning. I don't know if the students felt the irony of this day, but I did. Of course, tie into it the fact that I recently attended the Inauguration of our first African-American President -- and a great admirer of Lincoln -- and it just kind of feels like all the pieces of a puzzle have come together for a perfect fit.

Oh, one more thing -- I'm going back to Ford's Theater on Saturday with my son to see a musical called "The Civil War". It's gotten rave reviews. One of the things that makes Ford's so interesting is that it's a historical landmark, but it's also still a full, working theater. If you've never visited it, I highly recommend it.

I'm really tired and the next two days are going to be just as crazy and full as today was. Perhaps I'll have some time this weekend to go back and finish my "coverage" of the Inauguration. If not, I'll get to it one of these days.