Living A Dream

As everyone does, I have many dreams for myself and my family. On this trip I got to see a dream come true. I have always wanted for my kids to travel all over the world but not just to anyplace but places they have studied about during the school year. This year Tristan learned all about Abraham Lincoln and how he was shot at the Ford Theatre. Grandma Jo was nice enough to buy our tickets to go to the theatre where he was shot and the Inn across the street where he finally died. 

There was a super long line so we waited and waited. The kids did their best to entertain themselves. It was a pretty warm day.

Lincoln loved going to the theatre to get his mind off all his troubles for a short time. He had heard great things about this play and it looked like things were finally going well at war so he just wanted to relax for a bit.

When we entered the theatre one of the guides told us all about Booth the man who shot Lincoln. At the time he was a very very famous actor. He was like our Brad Pitt today. The day Lincoln was coming he wasn’t even suppose to be there but happen to come by the theatre for something, when Mr. Ford mentioned it to him. No one knew that he was a revolutionary for the South and really believed that Lincoln was breaking this country apart. If he just got rid of him the whole country would be so overjoyed at what he had done to save us all that he would forever be seen as a HERO.

So when he kept going into Lincoln’s private box no one thought anything of it. This was Booth’s theatre where he acted in many plays. He knew the play that was on that night and knew exactly when he was going to shoot him-during the funniest line of the play, so the laughter would muffle the sound of the gun shot. When he did go up to the box right before this part in the play no one in the balcony thought anything of it because again he was a VERY famous actor. Lincoln did have one body guard with him, but back then they really didn’t have any security other than one or two people at the most. The guard had gone to get some coffee next door but even if he had been there it wouldn’t have made a difference because the guard would have probably let him in on any excuse, again because of who he was.  He jammed the door shut with a long metal bar he had put behind the door earlier that day and shot him in the back of the head and the bullet never exiting. Lincoln had invited General Grant to attend the play with him but Grant’s wife hated Mrs. Lincoln so she told her husband there was no way in hell she would sit next to that woman for three hours. So a different couple went-can’t remember who. After Lincoln was shot the man jumped up to fight Booth but was stabbed with Booth’s back up weapon. Booth then jumped out of the box on to the stage and jumped on his horse that was waiting in the theatre stables right out back. 

When a doctor was finally able to reach the President they thought he had been stabbed because of all the blood on the ground not realizing it was from the other man. They then took the President across the street where he died nine hours later. They found Booth 12 days later hiding in a barn that they set on fire to get him out. He shot at the police who shot back and killed him. The guide said he must have been so shocked to have been hunted instead of praised for what he did. Few people helped him, but the few that did where prosecuted.

The box is decorated exactly as it was the night of Lincoln’s assassination. The picture in front is the same one of George Washington that was there that night.

 

 

Tristan was listening to every word-IT WAS AMAZING!!!

My Love suggested we go next door to the Hard Rock Cafe for some shakes while the line across the street went down. We realized Jared, Troy, Gary and Jo Ann had been there 19 years ago right after Jared’s mission and it was the first time Gary and Jo Ann had ever been to a Hard Rock Cafe.

My Love walked around and took picture of some of the things on the walls.

 

 

The kids colored while we waited for our delicious shakes and desserts.

 

We then went across the street to the Peterson house where Lincoln died. It’s amazing how close all of this is from The White House.

The actual bed he died in is at a museum in Illinois somewhere.

The day was wonderful. That morning we had a private tour from a woman in Jo Ann’s ward that is a NASA scientist who is on loan to The White House. We couldn’t take any picture of the East Wing so we have nothing but the pictures in our heads. Maria and Esher didn’t go with us, so Gary dropped them off at Ford Theatre. We saw the President drive by when we were waiting for Jean, the scientist. He was on his cell phone. Jared,Tristan and Paris had gone to get a bite to eat so they missed seeing him drive by. So weird to be right there where all of this world stuff happens all day long.

The girls are in front of the White House where we had just come out the front doors right behind them.

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