On this day in 1974, eleven year old David Stern (still sporting a full head of hair) walked onto the campus of Northeastern University. His poem about Abraham Lincoln was chosen as one of the top ten Lincoln poems at Hayt Elementary School in Chicago. The top ten poems were taped for broadcast by WBEZ radio. Little Davey got to ride in his first cab that day. Little Davey was on the radio for the first time that day. Little Davey's sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Reese, bought him lunch. And little David Stern paid tribute to the greatest President this country has ever known with a full, firm voice. His poem, by the way, was the only one of the ten that used the word "bald". It would haunt him the rest of his life.
(See "The Bald Handbook)
And now, here it is, an award winning birthday tribute to the 16th President of the United States. Happy Birthday, Abe.
Honest Abe he was called
and we are sure he was not bald
when he was young he read and read
even when he was in bed
but until the day he died
he had still never lied
He was one of our leaders and a good one at that
who always wore a very high hat
and justice he wanted and justice he got
except for a man with a dangerous plot
John Wilkes Booth was a very bad man
and surely not a Lincoln fan
He put agreat leader into his grave
who wanted so much to save every slave
Rick's notes: All of Dave's friends can recite this poem from memory. Let's just say, that he likes to say it. In fact, we have a recording of the grown up Dave reciting the poem to appropriate music.
Click on this link, and you can hear it too... http://amishchicago.com/AUDIO/Abe-Lincoln-Poem.mp3
