Months went into planning for this and I was nervous about giving my own three minute speech in front of my family members, friends, and historians.
My grandfather had the honor of giving the commencement speech at my mother's school, Ferry Hall Prep. in Lake Forest, Illinois, in June of 1953. At last week's library re-dedication, my mother read from that speech. Everyone I spoke to agreed that those words still resonate to this day.
When I was in elementary school and middle school, years before there were such things as personal computers or cell pones, the rote method of learning names, events and dates, was so tedious it made my head hurt. Most of my teachers in District 186 were so close to retirement they were mostly mentally checked-out anyway. So, I developed an aversion to history education.
I never met my grandfather, Benjamin Thomas. Not until long after high school I finally learned the significance of Ben Thomas' impact on the history of Abraham Lincoln. I still haven't read his books.
Yet, here I am, writing pitiful blogs, blurbs, vlogs, tweets and memes. Nothing worth fawning over.
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