February 21, 2011

Presidents' Day

It's Presidents' Day here in the U.S., and for most people, that means the banks are closed, the post office is closed and government offices are also closed in observance of all American presidents who have ever held office.  When it comes to this holiday, I still think of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose individual birthdays were commemorated throughout the nation when I was in grade school.  But, I thought I'd show a different president today:  Thomas Jefferson.  He served as the third American president after being the first Secretary of State and the primary drafter of the Declaration of Independence.  This bust is located in the Gallery of Patriots within Gillespie Park, which was donated by the Sarasota Hispanic-American Civic Association in the late 1970's.   You'll find busts of Washington and Lincoln there as well.

8 comments:

cieldequimper said...

Enjoy your day! I just looooved yesterday's shot!

JDS said...

I'm with you. I was born in 1971, and when I was a kid we always talked about Lincoln's birthday and Washington's birthday. Now all you hear about is the generic President's Day, which bothers me because its very concept suggest that all presidents are equally deserving of history's reverence - which they are not. But now I'll get down from my soapbox and enjoy my day off.

Lorraine said...

We got 8" of snow for Prez Day. Wish I could veto it away!

Lois said...

I always liked Thomas Jefferson. This is a nice bust.

Birdman said...

Jefferson, quite a man and statesman.

Linda said...

What a coincidence - I was just reading yesterday about Presidents' Day, in Bill Bryson's 'Notes from a Big Country'. I can't imagine a 'Prime Ministers' Day' in the UK!

Jack said...

SRQ, I'll get right up on the soapbox with JDS and you. I think the idea of Presidents' Day demeans the truly great ones, like Washington and Lincoln. Sorry, but Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan don't warrant the same attention. On my blog I did a Lincoln stand-alone post on February 12 and a stand-alone Washington post will be shown tomorrow.

Leslie D. said...

I like Franklin D Roosevelt and Kennedy too. Chernow's book "Washington: A Life" is an amazing book by the way. Long, but amazing.