Does it count?

lincoln

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
– Abraham Lincoln

Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was born on this day in 1809. He died from a gunshot wound on April 15, 1865, just days after Generals Lee and Grant met at Appomattox.

No one can say that Lincoln didn’t make the most of his years. We can only speculate about what the rest of his presidency and life would have looked like.

I note that Lincoln was 56 when he died. I recognize that age.

Regardless of how many years I have left, it is highly unlikely that I will have the impact of someone like Abraham Lincoln, and it is definite that any impact won’t be in the political realm.

Lincoln dealt with challenges of the presidency like no other had before or has since. Certainly, many presidents have led this nation through times of war…or into war.

But for Lincoln, the enemy came from within.

Ooo…that’ll preach. Or at least write.

We know the stories of Lincoln educating himself by the light of the fire. He was certainly a determined man.

It is hard to imagine any other president leading this country through those times. Maybe that’s because the stories, and pictures, and films are so ingrained in our minds. But Lincoln was at the right place, at the right time.

Like I said, I’m not going to have the impact of Abraham Lincoln. But I can have an impact of my own.

I don’t know how many years I have left, certainly fewer than I’ve already had. So, I need to make them count.

I’m making them count today because I’m heading off to a state park to do some preparatory work for a training I’m conducting next week. My co-trainer and I will go through the material and map out a strategy.

I’m making them count tonight because I’m going to see a friend perform in a series of one act plays. I value her work, and she values mine.

I’m making them count this weekend because I’ll be moving ahead with plans for an upcoming event, rehearsing my current show, filing our tax returns and, with any luck, trimming back the grape vine.

None of those really have anything to do with keeping together a war torn country. Well, maybe the taxes.

But they’re all significant. And they’re all part of making things count.

And while they’re counting, there will be a little music.

On this day in 1924 George Gershwin performed the premier of Rhapsody in Blue in a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music” in Aeolian Hall in New York.

Have a listen to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra


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