Thinking Out Loud, Volume DXXIX

A nation divided. A home divided. Can either survive? At a cemetery, a crowd has gathered for a somber occasion, hoping to hear something that will bring them some peace of mind. It's about 3:00 pm and the slight hum of soft conversation becomes silent as a man by the name of Edward Everett steps to the podium and for two solid hours delivers a rousing 13,000 word speech that is well received by by practically everyone in attendance; and he's just the first speaker. The next one to speak is a man of significant importance. In a mere ten sentences he addresses the question that is on everyone's mind: "Can we as a nation withstand such division and hatred?" Things aren't going well at home. There's tension between Mom and Dad. They're putting on a front when the kids are watching, but in the darkness of the night, behind closed doors, there's mostly silence. Each one of them believes the other one has fallen out of love, when the truth is they are both deeply in love, and the pain each one is feeling is very real. The nation I'm speaking of is yours and mine, and that event took place almost 153 years ago as President Abraham Lincoln followed a well received two hour speech with ten sentences that even to this day many students have to memorize. It's known as "The Gettysburg Address" and it came about during a time when our citizens were killing each other, even to the point that it pitted brother against brother. Never before or since has our country been so divided. The home I'm talking about is yours and yes, even mine. I have to admit that early in our marriage we went through a period when we weren't sure whether or not we would make it, and if you've been married any length of time, you can likely recall those same kinds of situations in your own home. Here's the truth: More than a century and a half after President Lincoln uttered those immortal words in a Gettysburg cemetery that afternoon, we're still standing, even through all the government corruption that followed "Honest Abe's" term in office. Here's another truth: In just a few short weeks, Angie and I will be celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary, and we're more in love now than we've ever been. President Lincoln addressed the question of "whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure." Can we endure? Well, here we are. Just look at us! One hundred fifty-three years after that famous speech and two hundred forty years after our inception, I think we can. Can my home endure? Well, after forty-four years of marriage, we're still going strong! As I type this, under my breath I'm singing the words to a song by Elton John: "I'm still standing better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid." Preston