Lincoln Discussion Symposium

Kudos, Laurie! In Feb.2009 M.O. touched the Queen's back, this was and is against Royal etiquette. The yellow press was "not amused".

Oh, and it had nothing to do with the exchange of Christmas gifts? What 87 year old Queen wouldn't want an iPod for Christmas?

Oh, don't underestimate her. Maybe she's fond of gadgetry. Did you know that she was trained as a car mechanic during WW II?

I will probably be in the minority here, but I am a great fan of Queen Elizabeth II and find her the epitome of the type of person who commands and gets respect because of the way she earns it. I suspect that, if we really knew everything about her life, we would find that she has dealt with it in a most admirable way. I wish we could say the same for some of our leaders.

Laurie, I agree, and I take my hat off to her sense of duty.

Which First Lady made this statement about aging?

"I'm growing old willingly; I grow old not unwillingly."

COOL statement! (Sure it wasn't Margaret Thatcher or Scarlett O'Hara?) Nancy Reagan?

Eleanor Roosevelt?

Good morning, Eva and Laurie. I am sorry, but all guesses are incorrect.

Hint #1: It was a 19th century First Lady. She made the comment to a pastor.

Oh, I really suspected hidden defiant irony...

Hint #2: She was born in 1803.

Was Mrs. Buchanan this distinguished lady?

Sarah Polk?

Kudos, Laurie. You got it. Sarah Polk made her comment about aging to Reverend Peschau. Reverend Peschau had been a former pastor of the German Lutheran Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

I love that minister's name, Peschau. I don't know how he pronounced it, but when I was growing up, the old-timers would use the term "pe-shaw" when they thought someone was not telling the truth.