Please read this. . . by Geof Skinner
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(WARNING: this is probably going to be longer than normal, which will make up for last week's nearly complete lack of words.)
Seems there was this fella from Illinois. Folks, well, some folks, said he might make a good president. Maybe you heard of him.
His name was Abraham Lincoln.
As it turned out, Mr. Lincoln turned out to be a halfway decent chief executive. His leadership skills, which were many, took center stage in a highly acclaimed book titled "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," which was written by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
I had picked up a copy of "Team of Rivals," in hardback, during one of my frequent visits to a bookstore in Lexington, Kentucky, which I really like.
Then, for Christmas 2012, our grandson and his mom were kind enough to give me a softcover version of the book. I passed the hardcover version on to a friend, and kept the Christmas gift as a new special treasure, which, by the way, has become even more special.
When I learned that Goodwin had scheduled a stop in our neck of the woods, I wrote the date on my calendar and made plans to be on hand for her visit.
Goodwin, who has won a Pulitzer Prize, launched a new distinguished speaker series which made its debut last Thursday night at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which just so happens to be my alma mater.
Initially, I figured that I would just go and listen to Goodwin's talk, which was held in Shryock (which, as everyone knows, is pronounced "shry rock) (only kidding, folks, Shryock is one of the eight words in the English language which cannot be pronounced correctly by any living human being) Auditorium at SIUC.
Early last week, the university announced that "reporters, photographers and news crews" would be welcomed to attend a "media availability" with Goodwin. I figured that my current duties include reporting, photographing and news crewsing. So, on a glorious, sunny, warm and breezy Thursday afternoon in March, I motored to Carbondale to be available for the media availability.
The availability took place in the "Provost's reception area" at SIUC. Back in the day, when I was a student at the university, I don't know if there was a Provost reception area. If there was, I was never there. Then again, I was not a news crews at the time, either.
Before I journeyed to be available, I took the time to come up with a few questions to ask Goodwin. To be honest, I had never talked with a Pulitzer Prize winner. And I certainly had never chatted with an author who wrote a book which some guy named Steven Spielberg used as the basis for his film "Lincoln," which, by the way, according to a critic who works with me at The Paragraph Factory, is b-o-r-i-n-g.
I truly fretted over my prep work. I wanted to come up with at least one question which would not make me look stupid. I mean, we're talking a big-time famous author here, folks. I was representing all of Union County. Well, in my own, simple little mind.
I ended up with about half a dozen questions. And I figured I wouldn't get to ask a single one, because, if the media availability unfolded like other such events I've attended, I would be a teeny, tiny, albeit 6-2, fish in a large media pond inhabited by creatures with egos bigger than all 14 of the known universes.
Turned out that only about half a dozen media representatives made themselves available for this particular availability, not counting the local TV station news crew which showed up late, as they often do.
Doris Kearns Goodwin turned out to be very gracious and very willing to answer all of the questions which she was asked during a session which lasted for about half an hour.
She reflected on the "special emotional connection" that Illinois has with Abraham Lincoln. We are, after all, the "Land of Lincoln."
Goodwin is not happy with the current state of political affairs in Washington, D.C. She called the political environment in our nation's capital the worst she has seen in her lifetime. "I think that something is broken," she said. However, she suggested that if Mr. Lincoln would make an appearance today, "he would take it on."
The author and historian praised Mr. Lincoln for his "emotional intelligence" and called him an "extraordinary manager."
She was asked if Mr. Lincoln could be elected in today's political world. Goodwin said that while he might have to lose the trademark beard and hat, "I've got to believe he would be fine. He'd be perfect in the modern world."
As the availability began to wind down, the media representatives were told that there was time for one more question.
Well, here goes: yours truly had read in "Team of Rivals" that Mr. Lincoln liked to go to the theatre, which gave him an opportunity to, well, for lack of a better way to put it, get away from it all. Yours truly also knew that Goodwin was a big baseball fan – Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
So, I asked what I thought would be a far-fetched question: Did she think Mr. Lincoln would have liked to go to a baseball game.
"He would have loved baseball," she responded.
One last thing, before we mercifully wrap up my adventures in media availability.
Remember that softcover version of "Team of Rivals" which was mentioned earlier? The one which was a gift from my grandson. I took it with me, hoping that perhaps the author would be willing to sign it.
I shared with the author how I had come to receive the book. Without any hesitation, Goodwin did indeed sign my copy.