Posts Tagged ‘24 Television Show’

OK – I fall on my sword!  Was that me who wrote that Gettysburg never got snow like I grew up with in New York?

Robbie - The Snow Dog. At two feet he wasn't so happy to frolic ... it was over his inquisitive little head.

The Weather Gods proved me wrong – go figure. At my house we had over twenty inches the first go-round, and expect 8-10 more.  My plow guy didn’t get to us on his huge and demanding list until Sunday night, so I’ve been snowed in … imagine that.  You’d think that would give me lots of time to blog and Facebook, but it didn’t.

I chose to use the time to tackle a long-overdue a project.  I prepared a talk (PowerPoint) for Civil War Round Tables, and anyone else who will listen, on Lincoln’s personal security – or lack thereof. I became obsessed, and when that happens and I’m creating, I go into a bubble of intense focus until I’m satisfied with what I’m writing, photographing, or otherwise creating.

Work all night, sleep until noon, then back at it again … until it’s finished.  I made it, but it took a few days until I was pleased with the end result.  It timed beautifully with the snow.

When I research, or I should say, re-research an area of history, it is always fun, because each tid bit is like a new revelation.  Even if I knew it already somewhere in the historical archives in my mind – that quiet place I call my “history cave” – it’s still like picking up a bright new penny.  During this project, it was a piece of history that to me smacks of the stuff modern thrillers are made of … a real “24″ chair-grabber in the 1860s.

Abraham Lincoln

It has been called “The Baltimore Plot,” but should have been called “The Red Ballot.”  It is the story behind the assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln in February 1861, on his journey through Baltimore to his first inauguration in Washington.  This story has spies doing exceptional and dangerous undercover work, calamitous political intrigue, heros who save the day – indeed perhaps the country – in the nick of time, a romantic angle, and the strong ring of truth that resonates into our own time.

Are you intrigued yet ?  Well you’ll have to wait.  At least until tomorrow.  Then I’ll spin the “Tale of the Red Ballot.”