Learning about America by Learning about Lincoln

[L Verge]

I laughed at the reference to the Lincoln socks because last week, a member of the Surratt Society knocked on the visitors' center door on a day that we were not open to the public and I was alone. I hesitated about answering for a minute, but am glad I did. She had brought me a pair of knee-highs with Lincoln in top hat and frock coat woven into them. And no, I will not be wearing them at the 2016 conference!

The reference to the quiet inside the Lincoln Memorial reminded me of visiting there as a child and also as a teacher and then later with my daughter and her friends on a twelfth birthday when they played D.C. tourists. On every occasion, the majority of people get quiet as they reach the top of the stairs and walk into what I call "the temple." I don't think that they are out of breath; I think respect is literally forcing them (even unruly teenagers) to become quiet.