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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Joseph Mason, post: 1539599, member: 13529&quot;]Bluumz - As you are aware, I didn&#039;t initiate this thread. I ran across it by accident months after someone else had posted my photograph and invited comment on it. The tone of the subsequent comments deserved to be responded to in kind. Rancor and belligerence is a two way street. If you can&#039;t take it - don&#039;t dish it out. That&#039;s what I&#039;ve encountered from day one in dealing with the Lincoln community. That&#039;s why my website looks the way it does. It&#039;s going to remain that way until they exhibit some willingness to engage in reasonable objective conversation. </p><p>Digging your heels in on this nonsense about Mary&#039;s inaugural gown and seed pearl jewelry pursuant to the 1861 inaugural ball is the antithesis of that quality. Ditto their ridiculous claims about the height disparity (lack of) and unwillingness to concede that Mary is seated on a cushion - and coupled with the documented contemporaneous accounts that Abe&#039;s height was disproportionately in his legs - leaves little doubt in the minds of reasonable people that there is a substantial height differential (14 inches). Some won&#039;t even concede that Abe is holding a glove in his left hand that is draped over the bench, insisting instead that the item is in fact a &quot;hanky&quot;. (Laurie Verge - Dan Weinberg -Tim Bakken). Or that his right hand clutching the cane is gloved. Or that the two different gowns that are pictured on this thread with both purporting to be Mary&#039;s inaugural gown are blue. People are entitled to their own opinions and observations, but I take offense when someone attempts to insult what little bit of intelligence I have by trying to convince me that those gowns are blue. They&#039;re clearly white.</p><p>Cherry-picking images that reinforce one&#039;s narrative is not conducive to seeking the truth. There are roughly known 130 images of Abraham Lincoln. For every image someone wants to post that fails to show the cleft in his chin, I can throw two up there on the screen that does show it. That same exercise holds true with most of Lincoln&#039;s scars and identifying characteristics, but it&#039;s meaningless unless it&#039;s directed at an objective audience. </p><p>You folks can beat around the edges of the argument with the clothing and lace and width of lapel and other extraneous issues if it makes you feel better and smarter. I&#039;m hanging my hat on one fundamental premise that I consider to be incontrovertible; it is humanly impossible for a man and woman to resemble Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, possess every known scar and identifying characteristic unique to both individuals - and possess not a single scar or identifying characteristic foreign to either individual - and be anyone other that the famous first couple.&nbsp; If you can&#039;t wrap your head around that, then that&#039;s your problem. By the way, are you insinuating that I&#039;m on here trying to convince people I&#039;m some kind of fancy-schmancy scholar?&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Cause I ain&#039;t![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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