Friday, November 21, 2008

My day with Abe


Just realized I never weighed in on my own reader participation question.

It's not too late. If you want to add your own ideas click here to see the original post.

But here's what I would do if I could spend the day with Abraham Lincoln:

We'd start the day with a trip to Starbucks. (I am always looking for an excuse to hit Starbucks, and don't you think he'd like to see the way that everyday Americans, even in the middle of a major economic downturn, stand in long lines to pay $4.00 for their daily caffeine fix?)

Then I might drive around a while, showing him all the other Starbucks within a two-mile radius, also with long lines.

After that, I would take him to Target. I think Abe would find it interesting to wander the aisles of merchandise, watching people push their red shopping carts around the store, seemingly talking to themselves. (I'd let him wonder a while before cluing him in about cell phones and wireless headsets.) I'm sure there would be something I needed at Target (there always is) so I'd show him how we use a small plastic card to pay for our purchases.

All of this would probably be a bit overwhelming, so after that we'd head back home to relax. First I'd show him the cover of Newsweek with the title "Obama's Lincoln," subtitled "The Strength of Humility: Channeling the 16th President." I think he would like to know that he is still a major player in American politics.

Then I would turn on my computer and show him the photos of my son dressed up as Honest Abe for Halloween. After that of course, I'd have to check my email. Then I'd show Abe how to surf the Web. I would probably regret this when he spent the entire afternoon Googling himself and trying to catch up on the last 143 years.

I'd finally tear him away from the computer in time for dinner, when I would take him out for pizza. As the day was winding down, we'd turn on the TV and flip through hundreds of incredibly useless channels. Then I'd let him have a turn with the remote, and being a guy, he would instinctively turn to ESPN and watch sports late into the night.

How about you? Where would you take Abe? What would you show him?

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