Abraham Lincoln

On Facebook I saw a post which asked, “If you could sit on a bench and speak to anyone from history who would it be?” My answer, Abraham Lincoln. As I imagine it, as I would sit on a bench, a ray of sunlight would illuminate the bench and from an etheral mist, he would appear and take his station beside me.

"Are you Abraham Lincoln?"

"Yes."

"No seriously, are you Abraham Lincoln?"

"Yes, son, I am he."

"Are you THE Abraham Lincoln?"

"Yes, yes, I am Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America."

"Are you Abbey Lincoln?"

"No, that was a Black Jazz singer. I am ABRAHAM Lincoln; born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, February 12, 1809, I was President during the War Between the States."

"So... you're Abraham Lincoln, the guy from the penny?"

"Yes, yes, I am Abraham Lincoln. I delivered the Gettysburg Address. There's a big memorial of me in Washington D.C.. There's even an aircraft carrier named after me. There was a stupid movie about me hunting vampires for some reason. I married Mary Todd who quite vexed me with her spending habits. John Wilkes Booth shot me at Ford's Theater. As I slipped from this mortal coil, my John Hay said 'Now he belongs to the ages.' My visage is carved in the mighty stones on Mount Rushmore. I know all of that because I, even I, AM Abraham Lincoln. Are you now satisfied with my identification, my fellow citizen of the Republic?"

--pause—

"Yes."

"Good, good, good."--The Great Emancipator sighs.-- pause-- "As long as I am here, and you know for certain that I am Abraham Lincoln, do you have any more questions for me?"

"Only one question." 

"Go ahead."

-- I clear my throat-- "If you could sit on a bench for an hour and speak to any in history, who would it be?"

--The re-encarnated Commander in Chief scratches his farrowed brow before he answers, "Thomas Jefferson. I would ask him, what think he of this American Experiment." He nods. "Yes, yes, that is what my soul would seek, his assessment of this union."

--a few moments of silence.--

"If I could speak with Thomas Jefferson I would ask him the same thing."

"That is a admirable query." –

"Nope, on second thought, I'd ask him... are you Abraham Lincoln?" JG 2-23-2016