Tad, the "marked character"

[Jim Page]

While at one of the Smithsonian museums one afternoon, I saw Tad Lincoln's gold pocket watch on display. There was nothing drawing attention to it; it was just sitting in a glass display case with a bunch of other stuff that made no impression on me at all.

For some reason, seeing this delicate, elegant and obviously expensive watch made quite an impression on me. It was something I never would have associated with the Tad Lincoln I had read about. Knowing a bit of his background heightened the poignant contrast between such a precious object and Tad's limitations, his uninhibited and often funny behavior and his short, tragic life.

If I remember correctly, it dated from a few years after his father's death; probably bought for him by his mom.

I looked on the Web for a photo of it to share with you all, but wasn't able to find it. Oh, well.

--Jim