Anniversaries

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of my divorce becoming official. I'm not depressed about this. Ex and I actually get along better now then we did towards the end of our 9 1/2 year marriage, primarily because we don't see each other every day. Sure there is still some tension there between us, as I'm sure there will always be.

If I have any regrets regarding the dissolution of my marriage it would be the things I did to drive the wedge between us deeper and the way I handled it. Not very Christian-like to be sure. I also regret that my kids have to grow up dealing with a divorce situation. But they handle it well most of the time.

No, there's no chance of reconciliation, nor do I want there to be.

What is depressing is that I have been without a relationship since ex and I separated in August, 2003 and that (aside from one post separation instance) means that it has been 30 months since I have been intimate with a woman. Now I know that sex is not the basis for any lasting relationship and as a Christian, I know that sex outside of marriage is a no-no. Still, as a normal, healthy man this is a reality I deal with and something I think about.

In case you missed it, Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.

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Today also marks the 141st anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes ever committed in American history. And it happened to my favorite US President of days gone by.

The same calendar variation we're using this year was also used in 1865. Coincidentally, the date was also a Good Friday that year. April 14th, 1865 at 10:15 PM, Abraham Lincoln was murdered in cold blood at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC while watching the play "Our American Cousin," starring Laura Keene and Henry Hawk. Riveted to the on-stage action, Lincoln never saw Booth or the bullet coming.

One of the best books I've read on the subject is "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" by Jim Bishop. It gives an hour by hour look at the last day of Lincoln's life, and the preparations made by Booth and his conspirators.

Ford's Theater and the Petersen House are still two of my favorite places in DC to visit. I always make the time to go there, even though I've been many times.

Can you imagine how American history might have been different if this great man got to live longer than his 56 years? I can't either.

Abraham Lincoln died at 7:22 AM, Saturday, April 15, 1865. When Lincoln breathed his last, Secretary Stanton said of him, "Now he belongs to the ages."