...The Schoolyard's Up and the Shopping Mall's Down...

My ♥GF♥ and I got back from Springfield last night, Lincolnized enough for at least the foreseeable future. The new Presidential Museuem is state-of-the-art and worth a morning or afternoon for any history fan. A few blocks away Lincoln's house and neighborhood is, well, Lincoln's house and neighborhood. A young ranger conducted the tour of the place and a bunch of unassuming senior citizens were following along dutifully. When she was finished with the tour, I heard some of the seniors citing quotes from obscure Lincoln family correspondence and the arcana of Central Illinois history, like hardcore Trekkiesers dissatisfied with the scripted comments of a Paramount tour guide. It takes all kinds of geekery to make the world a fun place.

If you find yourself visiting, make sure you check out the Prairie Archives bookstore, which has lots of real cool stuff and reminds me a lot of Bookman's Alley. I got a two-volume bio of Thomas Jefferson for six bucks, a two-volume bio of Charles Dickens for two bucks, and good-condition copies of Capt. Storm #1 & #2 for nine bucks. (Note -- this is DC's Capt. Storm, we're talking about, not Marvel's Capt. Savage.)

Here's a Salon article on Springfield.

The two books I am most interested in going through (haven't started either; been meaning to for some time) are David Herbert Donald's Lincoln and Merrill Peterson's Lincoln in American Memory.