Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction | Non-fiction: Adventure with a Purpose

  • Home
  • Mike Scott Thrillers
    • Held Hostage: Search for the Juncal
    • Water Crisis: Day Zero
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Heart of the Maya: Murder for the Gods
    • Wreck of the Huron: Cuban Secrets
    • Guardians’ Keep: Mystery below the Adriatic
    • Flooding Hollywood: Fanatics at the Dam
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
  • Withrow Key
    • Lyin’ Fish
    • Tales from Withrow Key
  • Thriller Audiobooks
    • Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
    • Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
    • Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
    • Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
    • Lyin’ Fish
  • Agent AJ West
  • About the Author
    • Scuba diving thrillers!
    • Six Questions with Eric Douglas
    • Publicity and Interviews
  • Nonfiction
    • For Cheap Lobster
    • Heart Survivor: Recovery After Heart Surgery
    • Oral History
      • Batter Up!
      • Memories of the Valley
      • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
      • Capturing Memories: How to Record Oral Histories
    • Dive-abled: The Leo Morales Story
    • Keep on, Keepin’ On: A Breast Cancer Story
    • WV Voices of War / Common Valor
    • Russia: The New Age
    • Scuba Diving Safety
  • Free Short Fiction
  • Collections
    • Mike Scott Box Set 3 (Books 7-10)
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 4-6
    • Mike Scott Box-Set 1-3
    • Tales from Withrow Key
    • Sea Turtle Rescue and Other Stories
    • River Town
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Overdue recognition for Lincoln’s Birthday

Overdue recognition for Lincoln’s Birthday

February 12, 2014 By Eric Douglas

This week, we have two very different holidays; President Lincoln’s Birthday (today) and Valentine’s Day.

Neither one is “holiday” in the sense of the word that anyone gets off of school or work for them or in the literal sense of the word which is “holy day”…yes, I know St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical holiday in honor of St. Valentine. It is safe to say the day has evolved as far away from the day’s original intent as to be totally unrecognizable.

Next week, we have another holiday: Washington’s Birthday or “President’s Day” a mashup of the two birthdays to give us a chance to remember and celebrate both presidents. The interesting thing is that while West Virginia calls it Presidents Day, and so do a lot of other states and cities, the federal government doesn’t. Officially, and according to the US Code, February 17 is Washington’s Birthday. The official list of holidays from the federal Office of Personnel Management includes this footnote:

*This holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.

Lincoln is arguably one of the greatest presidents the United States has ever seen and is definitely one of the most popular. I would wager school children (and most adults) could tell you more about Lincoln than Washington. Just a few months ago, we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Not of some important event or civil war battle, but for when the president stood up and made a very short speech. The only other presidential speeches I can think of that even come close are Franklin Roosevelt’s “Day That Will Live in Infamy” speech and Kennedy’s “Ask Not” speech. I don’t see anyone celebrating the day they gave those speeches.

In the grander scheme of things, the federal government has much more to worry about than whether or not we celebrate Lincoln’s birthday as an official holiday. Considering the job our leaders in the city named for Washington have been doing recently, I’d like for them to do ANYTHING positive. I really doubt Lincoln would care one way or the other. He is quoted as saying:

Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.

Abraham Lincoln

And once again, I think I have learned an important lesson from Abraham Lincoln..

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Get a free, exclusive short story!

When you sign up, you can download a free Mike Scott short story collection. Theses three stories are only available to members of the mailing list. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you or sell your email address. We hate that, too.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

How I got into diving!

https://youtu.be/gKhw-4tORAM

Real Thugs: A Cult of Murder — Small groups of travelers have disappeared all over the mid-Atlantic without a trace. When bodies turn up with what appear to be ritual markings, FBI Agent AJ West is on the hunt for what might be a serial killer. Or something even more sinister. It’s a race against […]

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

View Book

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Going to the circus! February 20, 2023
  • Cayman Cowboys is now an Audiobook! November 24, 2020
  • Halloween 2020 – as if reality wasn’t scary enough October 30, 2020
  • Real Trick and What Noise? October 30, 2020
  • Local Diving — Summersville Lake September 21, 2020

Blog posts, by category

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 ·