Studio 360

You asked for stories about our experiences with the Lincoln Memorial. Here's mine:

In 1931, when I was three and the Lincoln Memorial was only a few years older, my parents made a trip to Washington DC, and took me along. As they stood at the Memorial along with other tourists, in awe of the place and of the great man, my cheery little voice piped up, “That man has a very big front porch!” Some embarrassed laughs. I never would have remembered the incident if it hadn’t become part of the family lore, but I wonder what I would have thought if that magnificent place had remained in my memory when I learned a few years later about Lincoln’s humble beginnings in a log cabin.

A listener who has never seen the Lincoln Memorial would be left with the impression that the Lincoln Memorial is ugly; none of your contributors complement it.

Rather, the Lincoln Memorial is the most beautiful building in the country and perhaps the most profound. Your otherwise excellent story misses the fact that the Lincoln Memorial links the Mall to Arlington National Cemetary. In that sense it is a monumental tomb. It houses the memory of a man, who your story says, calls out the 'angelic' impulse in all of us. Its a non-tomb tomb fit for all who strive to meet the ideals of our constitution.