“Never forget who was there for you when nobody else was.” - Anonymous

From “The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

26 November

Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiver-in-Chief, First Installment

The Civil War broke out a few weeks after Lincoln’s inauguration in 1861. To fight that war required volunteers who were prepared to interrupt their lives in a most profound way. That degree of commitment called forth gratitude from the Commander-in-Chief, but unlike other Presidents thanking troops for going into harm’s way [“the enemy is disorganized and has land we want;” “we need to get our oil from under their ground,” etc] Lincoln’s gratitude was real. That’s why, in that first year of the war when volunteer regiments arrived in Washington, D.C. in ever-increasing numbers, the President made it his business to thank each one personally.

Stay tuned: second installment tomorrow.

"Nobody can feel as sorry for me as I can." - Anonymous

From “Lincoln 365,” by Arnold Kunst

November 27

“I have now come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying; and for this reason; I can never be satisfied with anyone who would be block-head enough to have me.” - Abraham Lincoln 

“Hiding in my room, Safe within my womb,

I touch no one and no one touches me.

I am a rock, I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;

And an island never cries.” - Paul Simon

“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” - The Buddha

From “Lincoln 365,” by Arnold Kunst

November 26

“Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Calmness is the cradle of power.” - Anonymous

“The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

25 November

“Time is an infallible corrosive. It will invariably show a thing to be what it really is: ripe with promise, putrid with death. And the winner’s patience goes far beyond what you might think is ‘enough.’ Most important, he doesn’t commit to what’s known these days as a significant other until he knows, and he’ll know with the passage of time – substitute wishful thinking because you just CAN’T wait will prove ultimately to be very expensive.” – Arnold Kunst

“No one knows what to say in the loser’s locker room.” - Muhammad Ali

From “Lincoln 365,” by Arnold Kunst

November 25

“Truth crushed to the earth is truth still and like a seed will rise again.” - Jefferson Davis

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” - Albert Einstein

“The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

24 November

“The winner enjoys simple pleasures with his wife and kids.” – Arnold Kunst

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” – Atticus Finch, “To Kill a Mockingbird”

“The Human Condition: A User’s Manual,” by Arnold Kunst

23 November

“Be very careful to share your goals only with people you’re sure have your best interests at heart - people who listen well, people who encourage well. Keep your own counsel around the others.” – Arnold Kunst