"I'm a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let him down", this is a famous quote by one of our nation's greatest Presidents Abraham Lincoln.  I know there is a movie that is being released about him and I was thinking about the turmoil he found himself in during his Presidency, including one of his greatest achievements of the emancipation of slavery.  These days a President can be scrutinized in the public media for the smallest of things, that I cannot bring myself to imagine what President Lincoln must have dealt with during those changing times.  I admire him for what he stood for and his beliefs that were so strong to his core values that, that he became the catalyst for change that to this day stand as part of our country's own virtues.  I remember being at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., a couple of years ago and was struck by an exhibit devoted to him and his wife.  They had silverware and clothing that had been theirs on display and I could not believe that I was looking at something that was utilized during that time frame that was still so impeccable.  Being so close to objects that had such history that one could almost touch, was mind boggling to me and I was so appreciative of the work that had been done by historians that felt that all of these things would be able to help tell the story of such a great American leader.  I would consider President Lincoln a righteous, honest and brave person and as I walked through the Lincoln Memorial and saw the Gettysburg Address carved into the walls of that great structure, the meaning of the words resonated even more to me.  This man was so ahead of his time and I felt badly that he died not of natural causes and that his life was cut too short.  He did so much while he was alive that I wonder what other great things he may have accomplished had he had more time.  With regards to his quote, I thought to myself about the fact that if you have someone who believes in you, it causes you to work harder to not let them down.  President Lincoln, had so much belief in his friends and conversely they did so in him.  I hope that we all remember what a great individual he was and we continue to share the greatness that he brought to our country that elected him to the highest office in the land, while he changed the course of our history.