In the Land of Mary Todd Lincoln

I'm in Springfield for the next three days. The staff meeting went well. The staff likes me. They really like me!

The pastries I ordered didn't show up, but the concierge was a good concierge and remedied the situation right away.

I'm going to be soooo busy with this conference the entire time. I got up at 5:45 this morning, picked my boss up at 7:00, drove the 200 miles to Springfield, hosted the staff meeting, then we all had a business dinner tonight with our funding agency.

Tomorrow, I have to set up our display table, assign staff members to occupy it, attend conferences and then there's a semi-formal awards dinner tomorrow night.

Friday, is more of the same.

I was SO hoping to see the new Mary Todd Lincoln exhibit downtown while I was here. Doesn't look like I'm going to get to do that.

How sad. I love everything about that woman. She's one of the many insane, tragic women in history that I adore. (Along with Janis Joplin, Karen Carpenter, the philosopher Simone Weil, and sometimes my boss).

Really. My life would be so dull without these wonderful women. I SO want to see the fan that Mary Todd Lincoln was holding when her husband was assasinated. (It has blood on it).

She lost three of her sons when they were children, her husband was assasinated, then her only remaining son placed her in an asylum.

The woman knew of affliction.

I love the fact that she used no punctuation. (What was that about?)

I should just send my boss back on the train and stay for an extra day in Springfield.

Just me and my Mary.

I see that Sally Field is playing her in an upcoming movie about the Lincolns. Don't you think that's an excellent choice? I see another Academy Award in her future if she can pull it off, don't you?