44. Making the world a better place

Making the World a Better Place Do something everyday to make the world a better place.

"I am not afraid to die and, in fact, would be more than willing but I have an irresistible desire to live until I can be assured that the world is a better place because of my having lived in it."

quoted from the real Abraham Lincoln

43. Abe was the first to...

Abe was the First, Most, Best... more ways that Lincoln was a unique man

Republican president
Tallest president
First to grow a beard
First president to be put on an American coin. The 1909 penny on the

occassion of his 100th birthday. There had been Indians on the pennies ahead of Mr. Lincoln. The only president to hold a patent on anything. ABE was issued a patent in 1849 for a device to lift boats up out of the shallows. The first president to be assassinated

42. On the wings of an eagle

On Wings of an Eagle a poem by Homer S. Sewell III

On wings of an eagle I can fly into the sunset. I can become someone special. I can love someone special.

On wings of an eagle I will touch someone's life today. I have NO limits on who I can become On wings of an eagle.

I will read lots of good books. I will have respect for myself, parents, teachers And all those around me. I will stay away from drugs, alcohol, tobacco and violence. I know I can fly to the moon and back On wings of an eagle.

written by Homer S. Sewell III, aka Abraham Lincoln

41. The origin of "Taps"

The Origin of Taps a moving story of Capt. Ellicombe's Confederate son

Capt. Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moan of a soldier who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union, or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention.

Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.

The captain lit a lantern. Suddenly, he caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was partially granted. The captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for the son at the funeral. That request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate.

Out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him one musician. The captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of his dead son's uniform.

This music was the haunting melody we now know as "Taps" that is used at all military funerals. In case you are interested, these are the words to "Taps":

"Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lakes, From the hills, From the sky. All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh."

40. Lincoln and education

Lincoln and Education a quote from the real Abe on the subject of education

"Upon the subject of education, . . . I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in . . . For my part, I desire to see the time when education, and by its means, morality, sobriety, enterprise and industry, shall become much more general than at present, and should be gratified to have it in my power to contribute something to the advancement of any measure which might have a tendency to accelerate the happy period."

Abraham Lincoln 3/9/1832