tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65347263923162320282024-03-13T09:23:08.314-05:00Lincoln Buff 2Thanks for visiting Lincoln Buff 2, where I share my passion for the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Whether you're just beginning to explore Lincoln's life or are a Lincoln buff, too, join me in learning more about our sixteenth president. Check out my bicentennial year posts, where some of the information is timeless. I'm also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lincolnbuff2, with more posts, not all Lincoln-related. Welcome! Ann Tracy MuellerAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.comBlogger225125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-11343065475978434472013-10-28T14:07:00.001-05:002013-10-28T14:17:26.539-05:00Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ props to find a home in Springfield<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
Do you follow the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Lincoln.Museum">Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum</a> on Facebook? If you don’t, you
should.<br />
<br />
Then you wouldn’t miss news like this exciting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/abraham-lincoln-presidential-library-museum/lincoln-coming-to-abraham-lincoln-presidential-library-and-museum/10152027899598885">announcement</a>:
“Key sets, costumes and props” from Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln” will be
displayed “for many years to come” in an exhibit, “Lincoln: From History to
Hollywood.”<br />
<br />
The sets for Lincoln’s office and Mary Lincoln’s bedroom will be in the
exhibit at Union Station, across 6<sup>th</sup> Street from the museum in Springfield, Ill.,
beginning in early 2014.<br />
<br />
The exhibit will also include costumes, such as Lincoln’s suit, some of Mary
Lincoln’s dresses and young Tad Lincoln’s Zouave uniform, as well as props like
the stethoscope used in the death scene, papers and magazines used as office
props, and the gloves Daniel Day Lewis wore in his Academy Award-winning
performance of Lincoln.<br />
<br />
Union Station will serve as a museum annex, with video presentations about the
movie to complement the exhibit.<br />
<br />
Admission for children will be free, when accompanied by adults, whose
admission charge is $5. A new “full experience” package offers museum visitors
a savings, though. For $15, which is $3 more than museum-only admission, adults
can see both the museum and its annex “Lincoln” exhibit.<br />
<br />
Spielberg and DreamWorks Studios are loaning the items to the museum, with transportation
costs covered by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, not tax
dollars.<br />
<br />
“It is an honor to have this exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum,” says Spielberg. “When we visited for research on the film,
it was our thought that there might be an opportunity to bring such an exhibit
to Springfield, and that is now a reality.”<br />
<br />
From one Lincoln buff to another, I say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kudos,
Mr. Speilberg! Your movie resurrected the Lincoln story, eliciting a new wave
of interest in the 16<sup>th</sup> President, his life and legacy. Thank you! I
can’t wait to see the exhibit.</i><br />
<br />
Visit the ALPLM Facebook announcement to read the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/abraham-lincoln-presidential-library-museum/lincoln-coming-to-abraham-lincoln-presidential-library-and-museum/10152027899598885">full
release</a>. Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-23327895799314053352013-10-22T18:26:00.000-05:002013-10-22T18:26:26.655-05:00A virtual tour of Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><br />
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<span class="share-body"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t you love the places technology can take us today – the way social media and video can show us sites we may never get to see otherwise, teach us things we may never otherwise know?</span></span></div>
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<span class="share-body"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2005, when the <a href="http://www.alplm.com/">Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum</a> opened its doors in Springfield, Ill., it hosted a conference with more than 20 leading Lincoln scholars. </span></span></div>
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<span class="share-body"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the presentations that touched me the most that day was a three-generation panel of scholars, which included a young scholar named Matthew Pinsker, prolific Lincoln author Harold Holzer (representing the in-between demographic ), and a gentleman who was then a patriarch of Lincoln scholars, David Herbert Donald, Pinsker’s mentor. I was glad I met the elder scholar that day, and received his autograph in my copy of his book, “Lincoln.” Donald passed away four years later, a few months after the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. </span></span></div>
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<span class="share-body"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the greatest changes we’ve seen in the way we can educate and inspire about the 16<sup>th</sup> president is through the use of technology – and Donald’s student is doing it well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinsker holds the Brian Pohanka Chair of Civil War History at Dickinson College. He is the author of two books about Lincoln, one of which is “<span class="italic">Lincoln’s Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home.”</span> He is also co-director of the <a href="http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/">House Divided</a> project, which provides 21<sup>st</sup> century tools to teach 19<sup>th</sup> century topics in grades K-12. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Check out one of the latest – an inside look at <a href="http://www.fordstheatre.org/">Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership</a>. Pinsker shared this post on LinkedIn today:</span></div>
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<span class="share-body"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is what a "virtual" field trip looks like... Check out short video tour of new Ford's Theatre Center for Education & Leadership, by @DickinsonCol prof Matthew Pinsker, via @Gilder_Lehrman <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/nus-trk?trkact=viewShareLink&pk=profile_v2_activity&pp=1&poster=219034578&uid=5798407424612245504&ut=NUS_UNIU_SHARE&r=&f=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elinkedin%2Ecom%2Fshare%3FviewLink%3D%26sid%3Ds5798407098018586631%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ft%252Eco%252FreSic0tl3i%26urlhash%3Dm5PM%26uid%3D5798407424612245504%26trk%3DNUS_UNIU_SHARE-lnk&urlhash=teNw" target="_blank">http://t.co/reSic0tl3i</a></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="share-body"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">See the 10-minute video here: </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/77437202">Teacher's Tour of the Ford's Theatre Center for Education and Leadership</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/gilderlehrman">The Gilder Lehrman Institute</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-24448098691640093842013-10-20T12:22:00.000-05:002013-10-20T12:22:54.072-05:00Back to Lincoln's haunts<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SddxRakjWxg/UmQQ69M1YlI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/BHbg6SEIN2s/s1600/LincolnWalksMidnight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SddxRakjWxg/UmQQ69M1YlI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/BHbg6SEIN2s/s320/LincolnWalksMidnight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nearly 100 years ago, Springfield, Ill. poet Vachel
Lindsay penned a poem, “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight.” In 32 lines of
verse, the poet spoke of the President stirred from his grave, walking the
streets of the city he called home for more than half of his life, restless
even in death because of unrest in the world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The central Illinois poet was troubled himself by
the discord in the world in 1914. World War I had begun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lindsay’s poem is powerful, but many of us who
frequent Springfield know that it wasn’t just on a night a century ago that
Lincoln’s spirit walked the streets of the capital city. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Those of us who spend much time there, who study the
16<sup>th</sup> President, his life and his legacy, know that, ghost-like being
or not, the aura of Abraham Lincoln lives on in the town to which and the home
of the people to whom he said he owed everything. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the rooms of the Old State Capitol or the
Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in his home
and along the streets he walked, if you stop, close your eyes for a second and
open yourself to the possibility, it’s not at all hard to see this tall, lanky
prairie lawyer in the city he called home. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because I live in mid-Missouri now, instead of an
hour from Springfield, as I did for more than a decade, I don’t get to return
to Lincoln’s adopted hometown as often as I once did. On Oct. 18, I returned for
an opportunity of which I’ve dreamed for nearly two decades. I visited
Springfield to speak about Abraham Lincoln. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The occasion was the national conference of an
organization in which I found tremendous value and through which I met vibrant
leaders, encouraging mentors and brilliant communicators, when I was a member
early in my corporate career—the Association for Women in Communications (AWC).
The Springfield chapter of the organization served as host of the event, which
has been held in a number of large communities across the nation through the
years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my bucket list items was to speak on the
national level sometime, somewhere. Another was to deliver a speech about
Abraham Lincoln. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
I’d fulfilled the second of these wishes on a small scale on a number of occasions
when I lived in the Bloomington-Normal area. I’ll bet if you asked them, you’d
be surprised at the number of Sunrise Speakers Toastmasters members who could
tell you that I opened their eyes a number of times at our 7 a.m. meetings with
information that inspired them to learn more about Abraham Lincoln. As I shared
my lifelong passion for his story, I guess I whetted their interest in him a
little, too. If so, I did what I hoped. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, I’d never spoken about Lincoln in Springfield,
the city where his legacy lives and inspires every single day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On Friday afternoon, nearly 100 professional
communicators gathered to hear “What Communicators Can Learn from Abraham
Lincoln.” As I’ve studied Lincoln, I’ve noticed a number of similarities
between things he did in his life and things communicators do in theirs. I
believe there are 10 lessons that we can take from his life and example that
can help us in our own social media efforts, our careers and our lives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I won’t share them all here today, but will give you
a hint. For the last few minutes, you’ve been practicing one of them. To be
like Lincoln, read. Read every day – and share what you read. Share it in a
conversation over lunch or dinner, in a blog post or on Facebook, in a tweet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This weekend, more than 100 women from across the
nation gathered in Springfield to hear speakers, ranging from a Paralympic
champion to this communicator who is more than a little bit nutty over a
President from the Prairie State. I’d like to think they left with a bit more
enthusiasm and knowledge about Lincoln than they had when they came. I do know
they left inspired by the example, enthusiasm and nurturing of this dynamic
group of women – and thankful to the efforts of the Springfield Chapter who
showed them why the community and its people meant so much to the development
of the president whose legacy is honored there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, Lincoln does still walk in Springfield – and not
just in the light of the moon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>You'll also find a version of this post on my eclectic blog, "<a href="http://musingsonroute66.blogspot.com/">Musings on Route 66</a>." </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Would you like for me to show members of your organization what they can learn from Lincoln? Now accepting speaking engagements for professional conferences in 2014. Please send me email at lincolnbuff2 [at] yahoo [dot] com for more information. </i></span></div>
Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-89466473754886638802012-02-12T05:50:00.004-06:002012-02-12T06:05:02.420-06:00Happy 203rd birthday, President Lincoln<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1wTm8EqSRB0/Tzeq4USppyI/AAAAAAAAAew/cw4hbJjWUUY/s1600/Lincoln.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1wTm8EqSRB0/Tzeq4USppyI/AAAAAAAAAew/cw4hbJjWUUY/s320/Lincoln.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708218937211725602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">During the Civil War Sesquicentennial years, you won't find me blogging about Abraham Lincoln as much. I'm not a student of military history and many others scholars and bloggers who are much more knowledgeable are writing about this aspect of Lincoln's life. My area of interest and knowledge is Lincoln's early years, his time in Illinois, and Lincoln in literature.</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: italic;">So, currently, I'm devoting much of my writing time to my blog, "Musings on Route 66." When those musings bring me back to Lincoln, I'll post them here, as well. Today is one of those days. As I celebrate Lincoln's birthday in Springfield with many others who share my passion, may you take time to remember him too.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-style: italic;">The following post is from "<a href="http://musingsonroute66.blogspot.com/">Musings on Route 66</a>," where I also share musings on other things that interest or tug at me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Since I was a small child, I’ve been smitten with Abraham Lincoln.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Why? A combination of things, probably – things like parents who told me stories of the 16<sup>th</sup> President and took me to visit Lincoln sites, books that kept Lincoln lore alive, school trips, and living in Illinois, where his aura is so strong. Chances are many of you came to admire him by similar paths.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">But I like to think there was one more force even stronger in my Lincoln journey. I was born in a hospital about a block from Old Main at Knox College where a Lincoln-Douglas debate was held in 1858. I have my suspicions that almost 100 years later, there was a bit of “Lincoln dust” still in the air and it blew in the nursery window, landed on my shoulder and left me intrigued with the railsplitter for life. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">Because of this love for Lincoln, or what many call my “obsession,” I started a blog, <a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/">Lincoln Buff 2</a>, during the Lincoln Bicentennial year. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">In celebration of Lincoln’s 203<sup>rd</sup> birthday, I dug back into the archives for the blog post I wrote just after midnight on Lincoln’s 200<sup>th</sup> birthday. I spent that week in Springfield and savored all the excitement. Come along. Relive the adventure with me.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-weight: bold;">From Feb. 12, 2009: "Happy 200th birthday, President Lincoln!</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">"Here in the Land of Lincoln, the clock just struck midnight. The big day we've looked forward to and planned for is here. It's time to wish Abraham Lincoln a happy 200th birthday.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">“As I type this, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is hosting an all-night vigil for Lincoln. In conjunction with the vigil, original copies of the Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment are on display.<br /><br />“Until after 11 p.m., the line to view the documents wound through the lobby, down the hall, into an exhibit holding area and around the museum plaza. It reminded me of a visitation I once attended for a well-loved school teacher who died much too young. As in that case, the people coming today were there to pay their respects to someone whose life made a difference.”<br /><br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Feb. 12, 2012:</b> Those same <a href="http://www.sj-r.com/blogs/alo/x1341764524/Lincoln-Big-3-go-on-display-Thursday">three documents are on display</a> again this year, and the <a href="http://www.sj-r.com/blogs/alo/x370660694/February-ALPLM-artifact-Restored-13th-Amendment-and-more">13<sup>th</sup> amendment is all spruced up</a>, just waiting for your visit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The celebrations may not be as elaborate and as many this year as during the bicentennial year, but chances are that wherever you are, there are Lincoln birthday events nearby. A great place to keep up with Lincoln happenings year-round is the <a href="http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/news/news.htm">Abraham Lincoln Online</a> website. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And don’t forget to watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The State Journal-Register’s</i> <a href="http://www.sj-r.com/blogs/alo/">Abraham Lincoln Observer</a> blog where Mike Kienzler spreads the word about the latest, greatest and sometimes even not-so-great goings-on in the Lincoln world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Again today, I’ll use the words I used in 2009. I mean them as much now as I did when I wrote them three years ago:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Please join in a celebration of Lincoln's big day. If you can't, at least take a few minutes to stop and reflect on how the life of one individual can change the course of history. Lincoln mattered then and he still matters today. Remember the life he lived and emulate the values he espoused – hard work, honesty and lifelong learning.”<br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> <br style="mso-special-character:line-break"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">© Ann Tracy Mueller 2012</p> <p class="MsoNormal">(Image <a href="http://morguefile.com/archive/display/685012">via</a>)</p>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-46731676168505456392012-01-03T07:16:00.009-06:002012-01-03T08:00:42.472-06:00A new year, a new blogWhew! That was a year - 2011 was.<br /><br />I retired from one job, started another, finished renovations on a home, kept it in tip-top shape while anticipating potential buyers dropping in with little notice, and welcomed a new grandchild to the fold.<br /><br />I thought I'd blog here a little.<br /><br />Wrong!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Still loving the new job</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br />I absolutely, positively LOVE my new job as co-editor of Ragan Communications' <a href="http://healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Home.aspx">Health Care Communication News,</a> but it took me a bit of time to get in the groove. Working from home has a gazillion advantages. (Gee, I should write a blog post on them someday.)<br /><br />But it also has one drawback. You tend to just keep working. There's no "If you don't leave by such-and-such-a-time, the lights go out." There's no one locking the door. So, if you love what you're doing, you just keep doing it. I did (love it). I also often did keep working.<br /><br />And that, perhaps, is another reason why I neglected Lincoln Buff 2 blog. I guess you could say I felt unworthy to write about Lincoln once the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the sesquicentennial of the White House years started. My areas of knowledge, passion and expertise are Lincoln's early years, his time in Illinois, the allure and inspiration of the popular Lincoln. Those things were easy to share during the Bicentennial years. I loved finding and sharing information about events and books so that I could inspire others to learn about Lincoln.<br /><br />Here's the funny thing. I do essentially the same thing as a health care co-editor as I did during the Bicentennial. I find information people need, I write articles about it, I share. It's just what I loved when I was doing this blog every day. In a way, it's another reason why this blog is in a resting period. Research takes time. Doing it for two efforts? Takes more effort than I can give, I think. The job took priority and this blog lay dormant.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What I miss</span><br /><br />I don't feel badly about not writing about aspects of Lincoln that I don't fully understand. That wouldn't be fair to my readers. I do feel badly about letting down the readers who enjoyed my Lincoln-related posts and who may have been inspired to learn a little more about him because of my enthusiasm.<br /><br />And, I miss my readers. Some of them have become such wonderful friends and mentors over the past three years.<br /><br />So, I'm back. I'm not laying Lincoln Buff 2 to rest. It's still my first blog, the one that helped me remember how much I love to write, that connected me with wonderful Lincoln enthusiasts worldwide and even helped create a few new ones. It will still be here for you to read, and I'll still do a post once in a blue moon, but I'd love it if you'd come follow me to my new blog.<br /><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where you can find me</span><br /><br />I just gave birth to my new blog yesterday. It's where I'll share my thoughts on all sorts of other things in my life. (Bet you didn't know that I do think about things besides Lincoln.)<br /><br />I do have other passions. In the coming weeks I'll share some of them on the new blog.<br /><br />I've envisioned a venue such as this for more than a dozen years -- a place where I could share the things I ponder, the things I write that are not Lincoln- or health care-related. And, believe me, these wheels are always ticking and, many days, these fingers are the conduit through which 1,000 words or more pour onto a page. Many go toward book manuscripts, some go into personal correspondence and some are just begging to be shared.<br /><br />Those beggers -- you'll find them in my new blog, <a href="http://musingsonroute66.blogspot.com/">Musings on Route 66</a>.<br /><br />Come along for the ride.<br /><br />Oh, and that house? It's still on the market. That new grandbaby? She still likes to be rocked. Her cousins? They like to go fishing or play board games with Grandma from time to time, too, so please forgive me if, once in a while, I step away from the keyboard to just be.<br /><br />For it's in being that we often find fodder for musings. Isn't it a wonderful thing?Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-22792982898366290572011-05-15T18:30:00.007-05:002011-05-16T06:06:33.706-05:00Lincoln Buff 2 writes anew<p></p><br /><p>I'm ba-a-a-a-ck!<br /><br />I started Lincoln Buff 2 in October 2008 as my contribution to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. For more than a year, I wrote of Lincoln events, books, sites, and more. I travelled central Illinois, and later went to both the east and west coasts visiting places with Lincoln connections. I met most of the leading Lincoln scholars and many enthusiasts. I built friendships and mentoring relationships I'll always cherish. I went to two events where President Obama was speaking, and even met Stedman Graham at one of them. (No, still haven't met Oprah, darn it!)<br /><br />A funny thing happened on the way to the bicentennial. I wrote more and more and fell even deeper in love with words and how they play together on a page. I also fell deeply and passionately in love with social media. Long after I'd run out of energy to write daily blog posts, I seemed to find abundant energy for Twitter. I've stumbled across people around the world to follow, or to follow me. I've even found a couple unlikely mentors who have propelled me to pursue my dreams. </p><br /><p><strong>Dreams do come true<br /></strong><br />One of those dreams was to write a book. My first manuscript, in which Lincoln plays a very strong part, is now with a publisher. When I get good news on that, I'll share it here. Lincoln hasn't come knocking at the door of the second book (still a work in progress) yet, and very likely won't. It's now longer than Richard Bach's 10,000 word "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Livingston-Seagull-Richard-Bach/dp/0380012863">Jonathan Livingston Seagull</a>" -- and growing every day.<br /><br />Another of my dreams, which includes a relocation to a home on a lake in Missouri, was to find a career with the portability to make that move when the time comes -- and, most importantly, doing something I love. I love writing. I love social media. I love companies with a vision in which I believe. </p><br /><p><strong>New moniker - Co-editor<br /></strong><br />On April 1, I began that career. I am co-editor of <em><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/">Health Care Communication News</a></em>, a Ragan Communications website to provide health care communicators with information they can use to be better communicators. </p><br /><p>On Friday, May 13, we unveiled our new website. I'd love it if you'd drop in for a visit. Believe me, even non-health care communicators, even non-communicators, will find stories they'll enjoy. We publish daily, we do a ton of stories, and we enjoy writing them. We select the images to accompany them, and we try to make that fun, too. </p><br /><p><strong>You can still read my words</strong></p><br /><p>So, if you started reading my blog because you loved Lincoln, but you kind of liked my words, too, and how I had fun playing with them, drop by our health care communication website, read a story or two, and if you like them, leave a comment, please. We love comments.<br /><br />You can also still follow me on Twitter as: </p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://twitter.com/LincolnBuff2">@LincolnBuff2</a>, tweeting about a wide variety of things, often things to uplift, inspire, or inform, or </li><br /><li><a href="http://twitter.com/RaganHealth">@RaganHealth</a>, tweeting links to stories on all of our Ragan websites, kibitzing with health care communicators, and retweeting links I think our readers will enjoy. </li></ul><br /><p>Just to get you started, here are some of the health care stories I most enjoyed writing these past six weeks. I think you'll like some of them, too.</p><br /><ul><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/6788.aspx">Blogging frontier health care practitioners connect with their founder</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/6785.aspx">Remember the invisible man? He’s interactive and online!</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/6786.aspx">300-pound blogger inspired by most ripped Congressman</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Main/Articles/6772.aspx">Ragan.com by remote: The power is out, but the news is on</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Mobile/Articles/6758.aspx">Do you have social media stress disorder?</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.healthcarecommunication.com/Physicians/Articles/6768.aspx">5 things docs should do to cut the jargon</a> </li></li></ul><br /><p><strong>Lincoln is still with me, honestly</strong></p><br /><p>Don't worry. I haven't forgotten Lincoln. He is with me everyday, really. Back when I worked as a communications analyst at an insurance company, I had a big penny on my desk to remind me to pursue my dreams. I also had a lot of other Lincoln-related items, including a desk calendar from one of my readers, who has become a friend. In more than one room of my house are bookshelves with Lincoln books. Heck, he's even on one of my favorite T-shirts. Some of those desk items are not yet unpacked from the box where I put them when I left my old job, but the penny and the calendar are here with me every day to remind me that Lincoln will always play a role in making my dreams come true, no matter what they are. </p>For, if a grocer from the prairie could become the President of the United States, another former grocer and insurance scribe 150 years later can surely see her dreams come true, can't she?Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-11376664541748413442011-03-31T05:05:00.012-05:002011-03-31T05:55:39.168-05:00Career number three, watch out! Here comes Ann.<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtAutMuBjFc/TZRW2nLiy9I/AAAAAAAAASo/zowHHGh2Pmo/s1600/Ann%2BMueller-resize.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 154px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590188533703953362" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FtAutMuBjFc/TZRW2nLiy9I/AAAAAAAAASo/zowHHGh2Pmo/s200/Ann%2BMueller-resize.jpg" /></a> <br /><p>Hello, world. Wonder where I’ve been? Who I am? Where I’m going? <br /><p>Me, too. <br /><p>To my many loyal readers who came every day during the bicentennial year looking for information on Lincoln events, news of Lincoln celebrations, reviews of Lincoln books or a look at Lincoln sites and a bit about scholars, thank you. You motivated me, you sustained me. You made all the work seem like play. <br /><p>For more than a year, from October 2008 to February 2010, this blog was my life. Sharing with you my passion for Abraham Lincoln drove me, sustained me. Then, for a while, I took a rest. I needed it. Next, with the help of my family, we set about some renovations here at home to prepare for a coming transition. </p><br /><p>Finally, I was off in pursuit of my next goal – what I would do for a living when my husband and I relocate from our home on the prairies of Central Illinois to the rolling hills and calming waters of Mid-Missouri. It’s a return to roots for me in a sense, as my grandfather left Missouri for Illinois and my grandmother nearly 100 years ago. <br /><p>What I didn’t expect was for the goalpost to drop clear off the field, to be replaced by a backstop, a basket, a goal net at the end of an arena. <br /><p>In the past year, seemingly out of nowhere, I had an opportunity to write a book, to apply for a coveted fellowship and to post for a marvelous new career. The book’s still a work in progress, the fellowship pursuit moved to the back burner for another time and the new career starts now. I can’t wait. <br /><p><strong>The first day of the rest of my life </strong><br /><p>As I publish this post this morning, I’m about to head off to my last day of work at COUNTRY® Financial, where I’ve spent the last 13 and a half years. When I began this blog, I took great care never to mix my blogger life with my professional life. I never wanted anything I did here to reflect in any way on the very fine organization for which I worked. Yet, always, I kept in mind that as a COUNTRY employee, even in my off hours, I was representing the organization. So, I avoided controversy, used appropriate language, wrote so I would never be embarrassed if my mother read what I wrote. (She does, so that was good on more than one account.) <br /><p>If this is the first time ever you’ve heard what I did for a living, it’s as I intended – not because I wasn’t proud of where I was, but on the contrary, because I respected a fine organization and wanted never to do anything to disappoint it (the old mother rule again – works pretty well in life, I think). <br /><p>At COUNTRY, I had the opportunity to use what I learned in my first career – almost 30 years in customer service at a supermarket – and to build further the skills for a career that didn’t even exist when I started stacking the blocks. I worked first in the Loss Reporting Unit, fielding calls from clients calling in claims, then in the Customer Service Center, assisting clients when their financial representatives weren’t available, and finally in Communications, where I wrote for our corporate intranet and worked on other communication as well. <br /><p>Now, at the stage in life when some choose to retire, I take those skills and move on. Monday, April 4, is the first day of my new life. I start my third career – one with yet another well-respected organization whose Vision is one in which I believe. <br /><p><strong>My cube just got bigger </strong><br /><p>As I retire from COUNTRY today, I’m stepping out of a fabric-covered cubicle and into a space with no boundaries. I’ll be co-editing the <a href="http://www.ragan.com/Main/AboutUs.aspx">Ragan Communications</a> website for healthcare communicators, and my cube is wherever I can research, write, post stories. It can be my home office, my deck, a coffee shop or conference – anywhere I can be connected and connect. <br /><p>When I was a new communicator, my manager and coworkers introduced me to Ragan newsletters and webinars. Later, they shared information they learned at Ragan conferences and sent links to communication-related articles on Ragan’s websites. Now, I’ll be attending some of those conferences myself, writing for the website, building relationships with readers as starved for helpful information as I once was, still am. <br /><p>What I’ll be doing for Ragan is really much like what I did here during the Bicentennial – finding information my readers need and want and sharing it with them. <br /><p>Please come visit our healthcare communications <a href="http://bit.ly/15VRu0">website</a> and snoop around on our other Ragan websites, listed at the top of the <a href="http://www.ragan.com/">Ragan.com</a> home page. <br /><p>And follow me on Twitter as <a href="http://twitter.com/RaganHealth">@RaganHealth</a>. <br /><p>Don’t forget to tell your friends or family members who are healthcare communicators to follow me there. In this day and age, that moniker fits many – not just marketing or public relations people at hospitals, but doctors, nurses, health departments, pharmaceutical representatives - essentially anyone, anywhere who communicates with the public about healthcare, through traditional or social media or, yes, even in person. <br /><p><strong>Lincoln Buff 2 isn’t dead yet </strong><br /><p>In case you’re wondering about Lincoln Buff 2, don’t be too alarmed. She’s still kicking, just less frequently and with different moves than during the bicentennial year. I still tweet as <a href="http://twitter.com/LincolnBuff2">@LincolnBuff2</a>. I’ll still drop in here from time to time and you’ll still find me cropping up at Lincoln events here and there. <br /><p>This Lincoln jaunt has been an unbelievable journey. I set out in search of Abe and found Ann. And, she’s having a blast! <br /><p>Thanks for joining me on my trek. You’ve made it all the more amazing. <br /><p>Hugs, <br /><p>Ann <br /><p>P.S. Wonder why the big smile? You would be, too, if you were retiring and heading for an opportunity doing something else you love almost as much as Lincoln. Yes, I am in love with social media, too. You can tell my hubby if you want, but I think he's already figured it out. ;-) </p>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-17050845231155659662011-02-12T05:26:00.005-06:002011-02-12T06:37:39.626-06:00Happy birthday #202, President Lincoln!Here in Illinois, where we grow up living and breathing the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, the prairie lad who made it from a log cabin to the White House, it's not hard to forget what February 12th is, even though someone, sometime, somewhere created some joint birthday celebration and called it President's Day.<br /><br />Yep, you can't even walk or drive past a vehicle in the Prairie State without being reminded it's the Land of Lincoln. And, that's okay with me. I can be assured that, thanks to my license plate, no matter where I travel on this nation's highways, I'm evangelizing for my pal, Lincoln.<br /><br /><strong>Lincoln lives</strong><br />Today, folks, Lincoln turns 202. I know, I know, as my coworker friends and old school chums, who constantly rib me, would remind me, "No, Ann, he's not 202. He's dead, remember?"<br /><br />And, you know what I've got to say about that? John Wilkes Booth may have snuffed the life out of his body, but no one will ever kill his spirit, quelch the "right to rise"* which he so strongly represents. In 1950s, when I first discovered Lincoln, the 1970s when I introduced him to my own daughter, the 1990s, when I shared his story with my first grandson, or the 21st century when we celebrated the bicentennial of his birth and began using all kinds of new technology and mediums to share his story, we can still learn from Lincoln, we can still be inspired by his story.<br /><br /><strong>Take time for Lincoln </strong><br />Dear reader, today please take a minute to learn something new about Lincoln yourself. Find a Lincoln story you didn't know, discover a Lincoln letter or speech, learn a lesson from the life he lived. Then, when you do, tell someone. Teach a child of 4 or a grandparent of 94.<br /><br />Find the Lincoln site nearest you and take your friends and family along to visit. Drop in at a senior center or a nursing home and let someone with Lincoln-like wit and wisdom tell you what they remember learning about our 16th President, how he inspired them.<br /><br />Watch a documentary, read a book, pen your own tribute to Lincoln. But don't let this day pass by without stopping to reflect on how different this country, this state, perhaps even our lives would have been if this man had never lived or risen to a stature not unlike many of his statues - larger than life.<br /><br /><strong>Join us in Springfield</strong><br />As for me, you'll find me in the same place I was last year and the year before and a Lincoln's birthday when I was a child and Illinois kids still got his birthday as a day out of school - in Springfield. There's tons to do down there all day today, much of it free of cost. If you're in the neighborhood, check out this <a href="http://www.heartoflincolnland.com/2011/02/09/lincolns-birthday-events-in-springfield-for-2011/">blog post</a> by my Lincoln blogger colleague, Chris Umhoefer, on his Heart of Lincoln Land blog. I'll be at events at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln's Home and more. Hope to see you there!<br /><br /><strong>Follow me on Twitter</strong><br />I'm also on Twitter as <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/LincolnBuff2">LincolnBuff2</a>. Though my tweets since the bicentennial have become much more eclectic, reflecting many of my interests - books, museums, National Parks, aviation, social media, and my favorite authors, such as Richard Bach and Richard Paul Evans, I still remember Old Abe from time to time.<br /><br />Today, as I attend events in Springfield, I'll try to tweet when I can. I don't have a snazzy new 3G or 4G phone yet, so my Twitter application is a bit clunky and uncooperative at times. I'll tweet some, though. Please, don't hesitate to tweet a link to this article or retweet my Lincoln's birthday tweets.<br /><br />Happy Lincoln Day, blogosphere! Ann<br /><br /><br />* "Right to rise" is a term made famous by Lincoln scholar, Gabor Boritt, a Hungarian refugee, whose own story of rising above adversity is told in a marvelous documentary, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhei4Z8B7gI">Budapest to Gettysburg</a>, directed by his son Jake Boritt.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-68056317710583489312011-02-10T20:39:00.006-06:002011-02-10T20:51:56.435-06:00Honor Lincoln and help break world recordHey, friends.<br /><br />Our buddy Abraham Lincoln's birthday isn't until Saturday, but tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 11, 2011 at 11 a.m., Central Time, you can join in and give him a gargantuan birthday gift. As part of the kickoff of the Civil War Sequicentenial and on the 150th anniversary of the day Lincoln said farewell to Springfield, you can help break a world record.<br /><br />At the Great Western Depot, known as the Lincoln Depot, and at sites all around the nation, people will gather for a simultaneous reading of Lincoln's Farewell Address. This speech is still one of the ones that always moves me the most. I can't read it or hear it without getting tears in my eyes.<br /><br />You can learn all about the celebration, rules and more at the special <a href="http://extras.sj-r.com/lincolndepot/">website</a> dedicated to the event. And, be sure you watch the video, where my friend, Lincoln, (Fritz Klein on other days) delivers his very powerful performance of the speech.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-10685877682016982912011-01-28T23:47:00.011-06:002011-01-29T00:38:59.853-06:00New year, new motivation, even new linksNothing like waiting until nearly the end of the month to write my first blog post, huh? Especially when I haven't written one for more than three months. What a slacker...<br /><br />Well, I'm back, folks. I won't be writing as often as I did during the bicentennial, but I will try to write more often than I did in 2010.<br /><br /><strong>Redefining my mission</strong><br />One of my biggest questions these last few weeks, months has been what my mission should be going forward. During the bicentennial year, I devoted nearly every waking, non-working moment of my time to my Lincoln mission. I wanted to make sure you, my visitors, had all the information you needed to get to the events in your communities, know of the tributes across the country, not miss out on celebrating Lincoln at 200 years. I had a blast! Hope you did, too.<br /><br />From October 2008 through December 2009, I did more than 200 blog posts, attended more events than I can remember, met many people I never imagined I'd meet, and visited Lincoln sites I'd only dreamed of ever seeing. Most days, I was lucky to get four or five hours of sleep a night. And, you know what? It was worth it! I loved what I was doing. I did it as much for me as I did for you.<br /><br />The reality of it, though, was that I couldn't keep that pace up forever. In 2010, I caught up on family, home renovations and more. I did a lot of soul searching trying to determine what my role should be going forward, what this blog should be. I knew there were several big years coming up between fall 2010 and 2015 - the sesquicentennial of Lincoln's inauguration, journey to the White House, Presidential years, assassination and train trip home. Add to that the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and it makes me want to take a nap just thinking of how much there is to be learned, rediscovered.<br /><br /><strong>New motivation</strong><br />Don't worry. My mission has always been to use my passion for the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln to inspire yours. That hasn't changed. What has changed is the medium through which I feel I can best do this and move toward my dreams.<br /><br />I love Lincoln. If you've read one blog post or 100, you know that with all certainty. I have another love, writing - and this blog has been an incredible outlet for that. But, last fall I had an opportunity of a lifetime - a chance to write my first book, one about Lincoln. My manuscript finished, I sent it off for some review, and am now back at work on revisions.<br /><br />It was time to reassess where I need to put my time, my energy, my talents. I struggled with this. I love my readers, I loved blogging, but I knew with the sequicentennial coming, to cover it, I'd be back where I was in 2008 and 2009. I just can't do that - and write my books.<br /><br />And, besides, the Lincoln I know best is the popular Lincoln, the Illinois guy who made it big against all odds, the self-made man, lifelong learner from humble beginnings who inspires and motivates. I don't know politics, I don't know the Civil War, I am not nearly as familiar with the White House years. So, it was time to step back and say, "Ann, you've got to let others do this."<br /><br />There are other folks writing about Lincoln now, and even more writing about the Civil War. I urge you to seek them out.<br /><br />In the meantime, I'll drop in from time to time, to alert you to a new book or a Lincoln event. But for the most part, my energy will be to finish this book and write the next one. Hope you'll all be around to read it when it's done.<br /><br /><strong>New links</strong><br />I have updated some links on my blog and you'll find I've also rearranged the left-hand navigation some. With the bicentennial past, some of those websites are no longer available. I've removed dead links. I also added some Lincoln sites I overlooked in the past. Because there are so very many Civil War blogs, I've provided you one-stop shopping with a link to one website which lists a number of Civil War sites.<br /><br />I haven't forgotten you, folks. Please don't forget me. At Lincoln Buff 2. you'll still find links to lots of information you need and lots of interesting information about Lincoln in my more than 200 earlier blog posts. Thanks for visiting. AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-3432324356879083552010-10-22T00:02:00.003-05:002010-10-22T00:15:14.892-05:00I am an authorI looked up author in the dictionary: the writer of a literary work (as a book).<br /><br />It doesn't say "published book." It just says "book." I wrote one, folks. Typed those precious three letters -end- about an hour ago.<br /><br />So, I guess I am an author.<br /><br />I can't yet share much, but I can tell you you'll find Lincoln in this book, he'll inspire you and you'll learn from him. Along the way, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll stop and think.<br /><br />There's more to this whole writing process than meets the eye, folks - tears, exhilaration, doubt, certainty. And, at the end there is one tremendous sense of satisfaction!<br /><br /><strong>Next steps</strong><br />This was but one step in an ongoing process. First, you fight the ideas. Then, once you find it, you fight to keep the words from rushing out at times when you can't capture them. Next, you make it the biggest priority ever, so you can write, write, write. You write till you drop. You write till you're done. Then you type -end-.<br /><br />It will rest a bit now, then undergo sculpting, rest a bit again, get some polish, and travel away.<br /><br />I'll let you know how the journey goes. I can tell you I'm very proud of my little gem.<br /><br />Thanks to all who offered their support. I did it!<br /><br />AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-48639263173542913082010-10-09T08:02:00.003-05:002010-10-18T22:01:13.783-05:00In the zoneTo fulfill a lifelong dream and, hopefully, to entertain and inspire others, I am now working on a manuscript. I must make it a priority, or it will not come to be as it is destined. I must be: In. The. Zone.<br /><br />So, effective immediately, I will not be checking Twitter or my other social media vehicles. Writing is, it must be - for me, at least - a very solitary journey.<br /><br />Distractions are DreamKillers, so I must slay them first.<br /><br />Encouragement, on the other hand, is a DreamBuilder. I need it. If you are so inclined - or destined - to encourage me, please post a comment on my blog. I will not check daily and I may not reply often, but I will read every one, and they will fuel the writer that is me, and I will be forever in your debt.<br /><br />If I can leave you with one final thought, as I begin this journey, it is this: Listen. Do you hear who you are or are supposed to be? Do you see your dream - off there in the distance? What are you doing to make it come true? Isn't it time to start?<br /><br />And, of course, I'd be remiss in not saying, look every day for the lessons you can learn from our friend, Mr. Lincoln, and hear, and use them in your lives.<br /><br />Outta here and in the zone...<br /><br />Hugs,<br />AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-8232871101676540622010-10-03T21:14:00.004-05:002010-10-03T21:39:23.523-05:00Long gone - Gone longerTo all my readers: My apologies for not posting more frequently in 2010. This has been a busy year for my family and me, and I readjusted priorities for a while.<br /><br />I wanted to let you know they've shifted again, but keep your fingers crossed. You just might have something pretty doggoned cool to look forward to.<br /><br />I am now writing again - but in a different medium.<br /><br />I've been blessed through my late-in-life writing and research career with some of the most magificent mentors ever - brilliant, gifted, supportive, prolific writers. They've been with me as I tried to find myself, provided me with information I sought and, above all, encouraged me with great sincerity to pursue my dreams. I have, and it has been good, great, quite often even greater than great.<br /><br />Now, with a subtle nudge (Okay, it wasn't subtle. It was a push off a cliff without a parachute.) from another incredible mentor, I am writing - <strong>a book</strong>! The words are coming in torrents and I think, I believe, I know, this is the story I was supposed to tell all along. As one of my oldest (in time, not age), dearest friends told me when she heard, "Ann, you've been writing <em>around </em>writing long enough!" And so, I write.<br /><br />If I achieve my goal, it will teach, entertain, make you laugh, make you cry and fulfill one of my greatest dreams.<br /><br />Yes, if you were wondering, Mr. Lincoln is in it - and a suprising supporting cast. No, none of them are vampires.<br /><br />Thanks for dropping by. Thanks for your support. Don't forget - learn something new, every day - every single day. And, if it's about Lincoln, all the better.<br /><br />Please know, I will be back in the blogosphere eventually. It's been too great a part of my Lincoln life to leave behind.<br /><br />Till next time,<br />AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-63971815650029246222010-06-30T22:20:00.004-05:002010-06-30T22:40:55.349-05:00A few good Lincoln books for the long weekend<p>Looking for a good book to take to the park or beach or to read on your deck or in your comfy chair? During the bicentennial year, I shared my take on some of my favs.<br /><br />Check out my reviews here: </p><ul><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2008/11/reading-lincoln.html">Lincoln the Lawyer </a>by Brian Dirck and Lincoln Legends: Myths, Hoaxes and Confabulations Associated with our Greatest President by Edward Steers, Jr. </li><li><u><span style="color:#810081;"><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2008/10/be-like-lincoln-read.html">Lincoln</a></span></u> by David Herbert Donald </li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2009/08/poet-paints-lyrical-lincoln-portrait.html">The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage</a> by Daniel Mark Epstein </li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2009/01/holzer-does-it-again.html">Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861</a> by Harold Holzer </li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2009/06/1-president-2-authors-43-americans.html">In Lincoln’s Hand: His Original Manuscripts</a> by Harold Holzer and Joshua Wolf Shenk</li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2008/12/thanks-kunhardts-for-building-on-legacy.html">Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon</a> and other books by Philip B. Kunhardt III and family members </li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2009/05/mcpherson-succinctly-packages-lincoln.html">Abraham Lincoln</a> by James M. McPherson </li><li><a href="http://lincolnbuff2.blogspot.com/2008/10/shedding-light-on-lincolns-darkness.html">Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness</a> by Joshua Wolf Shenk </li></ul><p>If you’re a first-time visitor to my blog, you’ll find more than 200 blog posts on Lincoln Buff 2. As you have time, check them out. I’ve always hoped that my enthusiasm for Abraham Lincoln’s story is contagious. By reading my posts from the past couple years, you can relive the bicentennial through my eyes. Thanks for visiting. Enjoy the journey – and come back often.</p>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-28709694862513609982010-06-29T22:33:00.004-05:002010-06-29T22:52:23.111-05:00I'll be back...Thanks to Mike Kienzler, who writes The Abraham Lincoln Observer blog for The State Journal-Register. You'll find The ALO at http://blogs.sj-r.com/alo.<br /><br />I appreciate your words of congratulations, Mike, and your challenge to get back into the blogosphere. Although my time is somewhat limited of late, I think readers will find much of interest in my earlier posts. <br /><br />So, come back again folks. My next post, to be published later this week, will lead you to my reviews about a handful of the scores of books written about Lincoln in recent years. I can bet with great certainty no matter what your interest, you'll find a Lincoln book you'll enjoy among those I'll share. <br /><br />Keep your eyes open - and come back to see what I've found to share with you. <br /><br />In the meantime, keep on reading something every day - even if it's Twitter or an online news source. Now, like never before, people across the world are sharing a wealth of information. Make sure you take the time to take advantage of the opportunities in your path.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-25835127639629456212010-06-27T19:53:00.004-05:002010-06-27T20:13:56.145-05:00Lincoln Buff 2 Bicentennial Campaign was a winner<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/TCf2s3PXSaI/AAAAAAAAASM/AOJ41UdKDlc/s1600/2010+Apex+quarter.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 138px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 144px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487625921577306530" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/TCf2s3PXSaI/AAAAAAAAASM/AOJ41UdKDlc/s200/2010+Apex+quarter.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I was gone when the mail arrived yesterday, so someone else brought it in the house. Imagine my excitement when, on my kitchen counter, I saw a large white mailer with a yellow sticker bearing the words, "APEX Award Notification." I'd entered my Lincoln Buff 2 Blog and Twitter account in the Twenty-second Annual <a href="http://www.apexawards.com/">APEX Awards</a> for Publication Excellence: A Competition for Communications Professionals. I must admit I'm pretty darned excited my work earned these laurels.<br /><br />From October 2008 to December 2010, I posted more than 200 blog posts and too many tweets to count in celebration of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. I presented the two as a Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign in the Special Purpose Campaigns, Programs and Plans category. I was one of five winners in my category. One of the others was from ESPN!<br /><br />The APEX Award drew more than 3,700 entries this year in 11 major categories, 127 subcategories. Grand Awards went to 100 people for outstanding work. Awards of Excellence, like mine, recognize exceptional entries - 1,132 in all.<br /><br />Thanks, APEX for the opportunity to enter your competition and for recognizing my efforts in keeping the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln alive 200 years after his birth.</div>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-50028601814847206312010-04-15T21:48:00.013-05:002010-04-16T19:27:01.445-05:00Vampire Hunter author haunts Chicago's Lincoln book store<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/S8fcJqlUc2I/AAAAAAAAAR8/l21LuMqjoQE/s1600/Vampire+Hunter.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 90px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 135px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460575131817767778" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/S8fcJqlUc2I/AAAAAAAAAR8/l21LuMqjoQE/s400/Vampire+Hunter.jpg" /></a> I thought I'd heard it all until a few weeks ago. I was shopping with my grandson in a gift shop at the Indiana State Museum while visiting the Lincoln exhibits there. A shopper picked up a copy of Seth Grahame-Smith's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." I remarked, "Amazingly enough, that's becoming pretty popular, even though it's fiction."<br /><br /><div>The clerk behind the counter quipped something like, "Yes, Lincoln hunted vampires because his mother was killed by one." </div><div></div><div>The shopper, a gentleman likely in his forties, looked at her with wide eyes and asked, "Really?" </div><br /><div>Now, I've met gullible people before, but this guy took the cake. I'm not sure what shocked me more - that he didn't know what fiction was or that he believed there really are vampires and Lincoln's mother was killed by one!</div><br /><div>I guess that's one reason why I take a step back when I hear that someone's doing a work of fiction about Lincoln. There are enough myths already, going back to the days when Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon, began interviewing people who knew Lincoln. Herndon's early oral history project, begun shortly after Lincoln's death, has been invaluable to researchers. It must be treated with skepticism, though, for at least a couple reasons - because, as my mentor John E. Hallwas teaches, memory constantly reshapes itself and because some people created their own Lincoln lore to paint their relationships with Lincoln in a brighter light historically.</div><br /><div>Yet, I think this Grahame-Smith guy may just have something here. This book seems to be going great guns - and the author is cropping up at book signings all over the place. Heck, my buddy Michael Krebs (aka Mr. Lincoln) even appears in a promotional <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X58RPS665V0">video</a> as the vampire hunter. </div><br /><div>I guess my friends at the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop think the book's got value, too. Daniel Weinberg is one of the nation's leading Lincoln authorities and his Virtual Book Signing has hosted Lincoln authors from Harold Holzer, James McPherson and Michael Burlingame to Senator George McGovern. He sits on all kinds of Lincoln-related boards and things - and, through the years, has earned the respect of hundreds of Lincoln scholars, enthusiasts and collectors. </div><br /><div>I'm betting Weinberg knows what I suspect - that any way we can get people enthused about Lincoln is good. And, if it takes a work like this one to reach an audience who really hadn't thought much about our sixteenth president, then that's okay.</div><br /><div><strong>Watch Virtual Book Signing</strong></div><br /><div>This Friday night, <strong>April 16, 2010</strong> at <strong>6 p.m</strong>. Central Time, he's welcoming Grahame-Smith to his book-filled sanctuary in the Windy City, where the aged wood throughout creates a warm welcome. You can join them - right from the comfort of your own computer. Just log on to <a href="http://www.virtualbooksigning.net/index.html#april">Virtual Book Signing</a> from home. Don't worry if you're late, as you can join it anytime during the program. </div><br /><div>We'll get to hear all about this latest Lincoln book. What's even neater is that you can ask a question yourself if you'd like - right during the show. And, you know what? They'll try to get to your question. They've read mine during several book signings.</div><br /><div>So don't forget now - Friday, April 16, 6 p.m. Chicago Time. (Isn't that what CT stands for?) </div><br /><div>But, do me a favor, would you? Please don't be as gullible as that guy in the museum gift store. Shoot, he even had my seven-year-old companion laughing! </div><div></div><div>By the way, Seth, good luck. Hope we run into each other on the Lincoln circuit. I just pray you don't sic your vampires or vampire hunters on me. I'd kind of like to live to see that grandson grow up. </div><br /><div>Know why? He's a Lincoln buff, too!</div><div> </div><div>© Ann Tracy Mueller 2010</div><div> </div><div><strong>Note:</strong> To Anonymous, who submitted feedback today about a Civil War diary. I note that this same comment was posted to an article yesterday and stimulated a great deal of discourse. I do not have the time nor the energy to moderate a large flow of comments with folks arguing back and forth, so I have rejected your post. Though there are others who welcome and thrive on such conversation, I'm sorry. I just don't. Best wishes to you, Ann</div>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-18274386358252828302010-04-12T23:30:00.008-05:002010-04-13T00:19:29.275-05:00It’s only just begun – Lincoln’s legacy beyond the Bicentennial<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/S8P2rwm5R5I/AAAAAAAAAR0/Ld5M1MrqaIQ/s1600/Bicentennial.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 115px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 69px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459478404946020242" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1qImn49Zpow/S8P2rwm5R5I/AAAAAAAAAR0/Ld5M1MrqaIQ/s400/Bicentennial.jpg" /></a>The first message started like many others over the past couple years: “Hi Ann! We'd love to have you add our upcoming event to your blog!”<br /><div><br /><div>The follow-up message contained the one word I knew I’d dread when I saw it – <strong>"closing."</strong> </div><div><br />I became interested in the Bicentennial nearly a decade ago, when I first read of plans for a nationwide celebration to honor Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday. I set into place a seven-year plan, vowing to do “significant Lincoln-related work” myself by the time Feb. 12, 2009 rolled around. That plan didn’t play out exactly as I planned, but it turned out pretty good after all. </div><div><br />Little did I know then that I’d be writing a blog about Lincoln nearly every day for a year. Heck, back then, I’d never even heard of a blog! </div><div><br />Now, the official Bicentennial is coming to a close, and I’ve been asked to invite you to the last big hurrah! I didn’t want to just share the canned news release many others might share. I wanted to give you a “value-added version,” so I went right to the top. </div><div><br />U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Co-chairman Harold Holzer, also author of more than 30 books on Lincoln, came through for me with a wrap up I think you’ll all enjoy. And, Matt Pinsker, who will speak on Lincoln in the digital age at the closing event, provided some insight on where we’re going from here. I think you’ll enjoy reading what both of them had to say. </div><div><br /><strong>The Bicentennial Commission’s closing program<br /><br /></strong></div><div></div><div>The commission wants you to know:<br /></div><br /><div>“On behalf of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, you're invited to attend the Commission's closing program on April 19, 2010 from 12:00 noon. - 1:00 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Building in Washington , D.C.“We will celebrate Lincoln once more, reflecting not only on his life and legacy beyond this Bicentennial year but also challenging the latest generation to apply Lincoln to our present and continue to struggle for ‘a more perfect union.’<br /></div><br /><div>“Join us for an engaging presentation by Matt Pinsker, Brian Pohanka Chair of Civil War History at Dickinson College and author of “Lincoln 's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home.” Dr. Pinsker will share his thoughts on the impact of an emerging digital age of Lincoln scholarship. He will then open the floor for questions and conversation with the audience. We hope you will join with fellow esteemed scholars, elected officials, students and community leaders for this exciting event.<br /></div><br /><div>”For more info and to register, please visit <a href="http://www.lincolnliveson.com/" target="_blank">http://www.lincolnliveson.com/</a>.”</div><br /><div>Here’s the scoop:</div><br /><div><strong>Monday, April 19, 2010</strong><br /></div><div><strong>12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.</strong><br />US Department of Agriculture Building</div><div>Patio Room1400 </div><div>Independence Ave., S.W.</div><div>Washington D.C. </div><div><br /><strong>Harold Holzer wraps up one heck of a present</strong> </div><div><br />Harold Holzer has been there for me time and again over the past few years, patiently answering what seemed to be a gazillion questions. This time, I asked him if he would address the life of the commission - how it was born, what it hoped to achieve, an example or two of how it morphed to be perhaps even better than he'd imagined, what it feels like to have to "close" it.<br /></div><div>Here’s what he had to say:</div><div><br />“I’m proud that the Commission—a truly creative and diverse group of scholars, collectors, and Lincoln authorities—together with a very devoted and energetic staff, not only fulfilled each and every one of its legislated mandates, but helped stimulate other individuals and organizations around the country to make 2009 a truly unforgettable ‘year of Lincoln’ nationwide. As our final report will show, we certainly organized countless events from coast to coast, worked on the Mint’s new pennies and the Postal Service’s new stamps, and staged widely attended town halls to continue Lincoln ’s ‘conversation’ about America ’s ‘unfinished work.’ </div><div><br />“Few of us who participated will ever forget Denyse Grave’s concert at the Lincoln Memorial, or President Obama’s 200th birthday speech in the Capitol Rotunda—official events, and great ones. But much of what we’ve done can’t adequately be recorded in a report: it involved encouraging, promoting, and supporting state-by-state initiatives to commemorate Lincoln, to help promote individuals and communities, or simply getting the idea circulated that Lincoln’s big birthday was approaching, and then participating with gratitude as corporations, libraries, museums, and theaters responded with remarkable programming of their own that added inestimably to the celebration and the legacy. Thus we’re not only proud of our own work, but thrilled that so much happened in so many other quarters, at least in part as a result of the groundwork we laid from 2001 on. These results included more than 200 new books, plus TV documentaries, museum exhibitions, new plays and dance works—a fantastic legacy.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>“Am I said it’s ending? Well, I will of course miss the formal interaction with my colleagues and the staff, but I’m also sure many of these relationships will continue. Lincoln people stay in touch, work on projects together, meet at conferences and such. That will continue as long as we’re standing. </div><div><br />“For another thing, while the Lincoln Bicentennial may be ending, the Civil War sesquicentennial is only beginning. And while no national commission was established to manage that anniversary, state commissions have sprung up in the key battlefield states to organize events and conferences. November marks the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s election, March 2011 the 150th of his inaugural, and April the 150th of the start of the war. So we’re already in a new cycle that will carry enthusiasts through 2015. Is it confusing? Well, it just requires us to sort of close down the old computer and reboot with new software, at least metaphorically speaking. Now everything tracks to the anniversary of the war. The good news is that we have a new opportunity to remind people how important this history is.<br /><br />“Besides, the ALBC will in a sense continue its work in new forms. The ALBC Foundation will live on and support important initiatives. And the ALBC website, <a href="http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/">http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/</a>, survives and thrives. I urge everyone to log on after April 19 to read our final report and make use of its many enduring and important features. </div><div><br />“As new technologies develop, our goal will be to make sure that Lincoln has a place in their content. Whatever the medium, Lincoln will always be part of the message—always part of the national conversation—not only because he believed ‘we cannot escape history,’ but because he believed so earnestly in ‘a vast future.’<br /><br />“Let me end with one cautionary note. This connection between history and the future is important—crucial, really. We can’t make proper use of the past unless we learn from it—and apply it to the present. It doesn’t require us to rewrite history; but it does call on us to analyze and understand it with honesty and sensitivity. Just a few days ago, I’m afraid, the State of Virginia began promoting its upcoming Civil War observances by talking cheerfully about secession and state’s rights, and all but ignoring the issue of slavery. The official explanation was that the idea is to promote tourism, so why bring up all the old ‘unpleasantness’? Well, because the issues of freedom, opportunity, and self-determination are as important—and sometimes as open to challenge—now as then. The debate over the Civil War may go on. But the battles are over—the main issue has been settled —and let’s never forget what that involved, or all these commemorations will have no value at all.”</div><div><br /><strong>Matt Pinsker forecasts Lincoln studies in the digital age</strong></div><div><br />When the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened five years ago this month, I had the opportunity to meet a patriarch of Lincoln scholars, the late David Herbert Donald, as well as Holzer and Pinsker. I was excited that this article seemed to cry for comments from the two living scholars, and I wanted to share a little of Pinsker’s expertise on Lincoln and technology with those who can’t make to the closing. </div><div><br />I wrote to him, saying, “A few years ago, someone like me, who is not on the staff of a university with sabbaticals and university grants, would likely never have been able to do significant research on Lincoln . Because of time and financial constraints, I couldn't have gone to where these collections were housed. Yet, with all the resources that are now digitized, it opens doors in ways we might have never imagined. </div><div><br />Then I asked,“How do you see this changing Lincoln scholarship, and even more, how do you see it changing how we can keep the legacy alive in new ways and through new mediums?”<br /></div><div>Pinsker wrote back:</div><div><br />“As you wrote [above], the future of Lincoln studies is likely to be quite bright because more people have more access to more evidence than ever before in the history of history. This flattened hierarchy and information superhighway will lead to both good and bad developments -- in addition to the new voices and new documents, for example, we will also have to address a growing problem of bad information that goes ‘viral’ (to use the expression of the day) and creates myths and misunderstandings faster than ever before. </div><br /><div>“It's also true that new information doesn't always translate into better understanding or fresh concepts. For that, I believe we still have to rely mainly on the creativity and persistence of trained scholars, but I do believe that training these scholars for the next generation means teaching them not only about the fundamental precepts of history and historiography but also about the new digital tools and their application for subjects such as Lincoln.<br /><br />“My particular view is that new tools will help us decipher the political Lincoln in a fashion that will revolutionize perceptions about his leadership because it will reveal his behind-the-scenes actions in ways that have previously been obscured.”<br /><br /><strong>This Lincoln general store isn’t closing</strong><br /><br />For nearly 30 years, I shared one of Lincoln’s early professions. I was a grocer. The store where I worked didn’t close at night. It was open 24 hours. They say old habits die hard. Sometimes, I think they live forever. So, folks, the bicentennial may be “closing” in a sense, but Lincoln Buff 2 blog isn’t. Just as we shut a few cash registers down during the slower hours of the day, my posts have slowed some. I won’t be writing two or three a day now, as I did sometimes in February 2009, but I’ll still be watching for Lincoln events and publications, I’ll still share them, and I’ll be beginning work on my next Lincoln venture.<br /><br />Who knows? Someday, you may even pick up a Lincoln book and see the author is Ann Tracy Mueller.<br /><br /><em><strong>Blogger’s note:</strong> Thanks to Harold Holzer and Matt Pinsker and to Malorie Janasek of Jasculca/Terman and Associates, Inc. for their generous sharing of information and perspective.<br /></em><br />© Ann Tracy Mueller 2010</div></div>Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-48846267747811548642010-04-05T22:44:00.001-05:002010-04-05T22:46:15.899-05:00Lincoln goings on here and thereIt’s now been more than 200 years (201, actually) since Abraham Lincoln’s birth on Feb. 12, 1809, but events celebrating his life and legacy are far from over. Whether they’re billed as Lincoln Bicentennial events or just Lincoln-related happenings, you can find a bit of the sixteenth President here, there and everywhere.<br /><br />I’m afraid I’ve let many of my loyal Lincoln Buff 2 blog followers down in recent months as I tried to catch my breath from more than a year of Lincoln events, blogging and Twitter - and attempted to get back to a more normal semblance of life. I’ve had nearly a non-presence in the blogosphere, but have attempted to flutter around in the twittersphere.<br /><br />I’ve caught my breath a bit now, so it’s time to catch you up on some upcoming Lincoln-related events.<br /><br />Here are some of the things you won’t want to miss in April 2010. Be sure to click on the hyperlinks (where available) to learn more about the events. The best thing about them? These three are all free!<br /><br /><strong>April 7, Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.</strong><br /><br />White House correspondent Helen Thomas will make a trek to the same college on the prairie where Lincoln delivered his “Discoveries and Inventions” speech 151 years ago. Thomas will deliver the <a href="http://phi-alpha.blogspot.com/2010/03/phi-alpha-to-host-lecture-by-helen.html">Phi Alpha Lecture</a>, speaking on the American presidency at 7 p.m. in Rammelkamp Chapel. She’ll also be inducted as an honorary member of Phi Alpha Literary Society, which named Lincoln an honorary member in 1859. The event, open to the public, is free.<br /><br /><strong>April 11 – Decatur Public Library, Decatur, Ill.</strong><br /><br />Dan Guillory, professor emeritus at Millikin University, and author of “The Lincoln Poems,” will present “Housepoems,” original poetry in honor of National Poetry Month at 2 p.m. in the Madden Auditorium of the Decatur Public Library on Sunday, April 11. The reading is free and open to the public.<br /><br />The collection includes humorous and meditative poems on subjects as diverse as food, cats, birds, wild animals, death, weather, gardening, marriage, cars, friendship and the general passage of time. The poems are the product of a “poetry diary” project.<br /><br />Guillory has won awards or grants from the Illinois Arts Council, the Academy of American Poets, and the American Library Association. He is the author of seven books and one audio book. His newest work, “People and Places in the Land of Lincoln,” will be released in May.<br /><br /><strong>April 13 – Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.</strong><br /><br />Harold Holzer, co-chair of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and author of more than 30 books on Lincoln, will speak about <a href="http://www.news.appstate.edu/2010/04/02/historian-harold-holzer-2/">“Why Lincoln Matters—To History, To Our Presidents, and Us.”</a> I can tell you from experience, this is an interesting presentation. You’ll hear how Lincoln’s appeal and legacy, which have provided inspiration for more than a century and a half, continue to move and guide yet today. And best of all, this event is free, too!<br /><br />Among my first book reviews in the late 1990s was a piece about one of Holzer’s early Lincoln books. When the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2005, I got to meet him and a number of other Lincoln scholars. I’m still in awe at the support I get from this fantastic group of men and women, as many of them have stepped up to mentor me over the last few years. And I continue to be thankful for Harold Holzer’s encouragement and support.<br /><br /><strong>More to come<br /></strong>I’ve got news of other Lincoln-related events coming down the pike, so come back in a few days. I won’t stay away so long next time. AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-13665035360264984132010-03-06T07:39:00.007-06:002010-03-06T08:20:44.791-06:00Southern Politics and Mary Chestnut today's Virtual Book Signing topicsIf you haven't watched a <a href="http://www.virtualbooksigning.net/index.html">Virtual Book Signing</a> from the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, you don't know what you're missing. Daniel Weinberg and Bjorn Skaptason always stimulate thought and interest as they interview authors live online during these book signing events.<br /><br />Today, <strong>Saturday, March 6,</strong> at <strong>noon Central Time</strong>, they'll welcome authors Michael Perman and Julia Stern into the store. Perman will discuss his book, <strong>Pursuit of Unity: A Political History of the American South</strong>, and Stern will offer insight into her critical analysis, <strong>Mary Chestnut's Civil War Epic</strong>.<br /><br />If you can't watch it live online - or make it to the store to see it in person - you can always view the signing later on the website. Earlier book signings with many notable Lincoln and Civil War authors are archived on the Virtual Book Signing website, so you can watch them when it is convenient for you. This one will be, too, in a couple weeks or so. Be sure to check it out.<br /><br /><strong>Political history, the Civil War and me</strong><br /><br />Until just a few years ago, I was one who never wanted to read about the Civil War - or any war, for that matter. That may seem odd, considering my interest in Lincoln, and how interrelated his story is with the story of our country's conflict. But, it was the popular Lincoln who drew me in as a child, the Lincoln with ties to my native state and my hometown who tugged at my heartstrings, and the self-made man Lincoln who motivated me, like Galesburg poet Carl Sandburg, to pursue the study of the sixteenth president. Those ugly things - politics, slavery, war? I left them for others.<br /><br />Yet, as I became more than just a casual Lincoln enthusiast and instead a student in earnest of his life and legacy, I realized that those things I'd avoided were necessary evils. Without understanding the political Lincoln, the injustice of slavery, the dynamics and logistics of the Civil War, I couldn't truly know the man whose story inspired me.<br /><br />A Civil War book club at the McLean County Museum of History a few years ago helped to set me on a path toward greater understanding of the War Between the States. One of the books we read was <strong>The Private Mary Chesnut: The Unpublished Civil War Diaries</strong>. Suddenly, the conflict was more than the names of battles and generals which it had been in my high school and undergrad history classes. It was the stories of real people and the impact all this had on their lives.<br /><br />It will be interesting to learn of Stern's critical work on Chestnut's piece - a project, that will surely move me ,as a regional literary critic, to take a second look at Chestnut's work. As for that political history stuff, thank goodness for people like Perman, who understand those things and, through their gifts as writers, work to make it more understandable for those of us who are political illiterates.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-5064847886891332132010-02-11T23:30:00.005-06:002010-02-12T05:19:10.053-06:00Happy 201st Birthday, Abraham Lincoln!Here in Illinois, it's now Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday. Please join me in wishing him a happy one.<br /><br />It's been quite a year, hasn't it? Those of you who are Lincoln buffs like me are well aware of many of the Lincoln events across the country and, yes, even around the world in celebration of the bicentennial over the past year or so.<br /><br />This Lincoln buff just about wore herself out celebrating.<br /><br />My bicentennial tribute began in the fall of 2008, when my community college offered a course on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. My blog began in October of that year.<br /><br />Since then, I've been to both coasts seeing Lincoln sites and attending Lincoln events and I've made it to as many as possible here in Illinois. I've made Lincoln buff friends across the country and around the world - with new-found friends in England, Ireland, Australia and Brazil, as well as many states across the country.<br /><br />To those of you who've followed my blog or offered comments, encouragement, information or advice, thank you. You made it all worthwhile.<br /><br />To those who hosted me at Lincoln sites and answered my questions or welcomed me into your homes, your hospitality was such a gift. I appreciate it so.<br /><br />To my family, I love you. You've been along for the ride and often had to make sacrifices so that I could attend events or write about Lincoln. Thanks for sharing me.<br /><br />To all who kept coming back to see if there was anything new to read, thanks for your loyalty. You've surely noticed my invisibility from the blog for the last couple months. As my travels wound down last year, the holidays arrived. It was time to stop blogging and devote time to my family. My husband and I really enjoyed our time with our daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, and were thankful we were all together.<br /><br />In the midst of the holidays, I learned I'd had my first paper accepted for a scholarly symposium. I revived another favorite subject of mine, the literary legacy of a late Peoria Journal Star columnist, Rick Baker, who wrote in a style similar to Mike Royko. I've spent several weeks making sure my first paper is worthy of the esteem of other Illinois history and literature buffs. In the process, there was no time for the railsplitter. (I'm sorry, Abe!)<br /><br />The paper is now done, though, and it's time to get back to Lincoln. My posts in 2010 will be less frequent that in the first year of the blog, but more often than in the last two months. I'll write about some of the places I visited, some of the Lincoln scholars I've met and some of the Lincoln books I added to my library in the past couple years. I'll get back to my mission of keeping the legacy of Lincoln alive.<br /><br />If you're planning to attend the 30th Annual Illinois History Symposium in Wheaton on March 7-9, you'll have to come hear my Baker paper. It's a dry run for the Lincoln papers I hope to present at future symposiums and conferences, but don't worry. I didn't cut corners. I intend to prove this old granny can research, write and present with the best of them.<br /><br />Happy Lincoln's birthday 2010, everyone. Thanks for visiting my blog. AnnAnn Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-61650126516210526562009-12-05T10:47:00.006-06:002009-12-05T11:16:37.675-06:00Watch Virtual Book Signing Dec. 5: The Maps of ChickamaugaOne of the best things about the world of Lincoln enthusiasts is the neat people you meet. Among those I count as my friends is Daniel Weinberg of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago. Dan and his staff host <a href="http://www.virtualbooksigning.net/">Virtual Book Signing</a>, a wonderful online program where they interview authors about their latest books.<br /><br />If you've got time at noon Central Time today, Saturday, Dec. 5, log on to watch the interview with Dave Powell, author of The Maps of Chickamauga: An Atlas of the Chickamauga Campaign, Including the Tullahoma Operations, June 22 - September 23, 1863. Now that's a title!<br /><br />Information on the Virtual Book Signing Web site says The Maps of Chickamauga is the third in a new series of campaign studies that take a different approach toward military history. The book explores this largely misunderstood battle through the use of 126 full-color maps, graphically illustrating the complex tangle of combat's ebb and flow that makes the titanic bloodshed of Chickamauga one of the most confusing actions of the American Civil War.<br /><br />One of the really cool things about watching the book signing live is that you can submit questions for the author. I've done it before, and, when time allows, they really do answer them - right while you're watching. It's pretty neat. But, if you are just too busy holiday shopping or decorating to watch the book signing live today, don't despair. After a few days, the signings are archived. You can watch many past book signings with numerous Lincoln, presidential and Civil War authors.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-24831612734055077172009-12-01T06:18:00.003-06:002009-12-01T06:29:23.151-06:00Are you reading Lincoln?Those of you who visit Lincoln Buff 2 regularly have noticed my recent absence from the blogosphere. I hope you all enjoyed my blog posts and tweets from Washington, D. C. and Gettysburg in November. I promised you more in depth accounts of the places I saw and the people I met. They're coming ... really.<br /><br />Right now, I'm catching up on things I missed during my two-week Amazing Abe Adventure - things like raking leaves, going grocery shopping, paying bills and reading a book for which I've promised a book review. The leaves are raked, the pantry is stocked, this month's financial obligations are met. Just one major obligation remains to be fulfilled, and I'm about 50 pages from the end of the book. So, it won't be long and I'll be back.<br /><br />In the meantime, are you reading Lincoln? In the sidebars to my blog, you'll find lots of suggestions of books by my favorite Lincoln authors and of blogs and research sites where you can read more about Lincoln or, in some cases, read his own words. So, don't set Lincoln aside in my absence. Keep on keepin' on with your own Amazing Abe Adventure in this bicentennial year. Remember, books are adventures, too.<br /><br />Till next time....Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-12251958988420353062009-11-22T20:04:00.003-06:002009-11-22T20:21:32.391-06:00On to the next Abe adventureThe Amazing Abe Adventure 2009 has drawn to a close. In its place, I face the reality of laundry to be folded, bills to be paid, a return to work. My two-week Lincoln adventure in Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg will be replaced with real life, with Lincoln squeezed in between the must-dos.<br /><br />What will my next Amazing Abe Adventures be? Trips, books, speeches? Yes, I want to. Yes, I plan to. Yes, I'm hoping.<br /><br />During the Washington, D.C. stint of our trip, I realized there is much more there I need to see and do, including using my new Library of Congress reader card. Having one and "getting the taste a bit" convinces me I've not seen the last of the manuscript room.<br /><br />The Lincoln Forum Symposium was all I'd hoped it would be and more. It won't be my last. And, now that I know of the other interesting commemorative activities Gettysburg hosts each year, I am convinced I'll want to return there as well.<br /><br />I'm also looking forward to visiting Lincoln's haunts in Kentucky and Indiana, including making time to see the Library of Congress Lincoln exhibit when Indiana hosts it.<br /><br />And then there's the blog, Twitter, book reviews, scholarly papers, my planned Lincoln books - three or four, at least - and giving speeches about Lincoln again.<br /><br />Yep, my next Abe adventures have just begun. Sometimes, as on my recent trip, I'll meet myself coming and going. If, however, I can continue to live my mission of spreading enthusiasm about the life and legacy of Lincoln, it will all be worth it.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534726392316232028.post-80298769060012937572009-11-19T22:28:00.006-06:002009-11-19T22:57:46.076-06:00Gettysburg commemorates with classIt's our last full day in Gettysburg and leaving is hard. In just a few short days, I've grown quite fond of this town where Lincoln's 10 sentences still resonate and the spirits of those who fought and died still radiate.<br /><br />Why is it, do you suppose, that on the days we turn out to commemorate our veterans or war dead, the sun seems to shut its eyelids and release its tears? It happened last Wednesday at Arlington and again today at Gettysburg. The drizzle didn't stop the ceremony, though, and Gettysburg did it up right. I <a href="http://twitter.com/LincolnBuff2">tweeted</a> during the event, so you can get a flavor of it there. I'll write more in a future blog post.<br /><br />Thanks to the rain, I had to do a little "hair repair" before going to my next event - the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania's luncheon at Gettysburg College. Talk about doing something right - this event was so jam-packed and enjoyable that I was nearly an hour late meeting my hubby and didn't even realize how much time had passed. Met some very interesting, very talented, very promising and very well-loved folks. Can't wait to tell you about them, but I'll have to save these stories, too, for another day.<br /><br />I spent my afternoon in downtown Gettysburg, visiting the newly restored Wills House, the train station and a yummy restaurant the townies choose. We closed our day at the historic Majestic Theatre, where we heard a world-class world premiere of a musical production, a very inspirational talk by author Jeff Shaara, a very, very funny acceptance speech by young author Nick Taylor, recipient of the Michael Shaara award for Civil War Fiction, and a speech by Michael Burlingame that entertains no matter now many times I've heard parts of it. And, Michael, you've got another feather in your hat. You just may have hooked my hubby on Lincoln!<br /><br />The Amazing Abe Adventure is winding down and I'm starting to feel like an unwound wind-up toy. It's been a long couple weeks, but a time I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Hope you felt a little of my excitement along the way and share even more of my enthusiasm for Lincoln. If so, the late nights and early mornings were worth it. Come back to visit the blog again. I'll try to tell you more about many of the people I met, talks I heard, things I experienced.<br /><br />I'll be leaving Gettysburg, but I don't think it will ever leave me. I won't even try to put into words the power of this place. I just don't think it can be done.Ann Tracy Muellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07858866489224167041noreply@blogger.com2