If You Don’t Have A Photo to Prove It . . .
Andy with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (left) and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (right).
Inside the historic site that houses Abraham Lincoln’s tomb.
Photos courtesy Andy Chandler
Combat photographer Dickey Chappelle advised journalists that: If you can’t prove it happened with a picture, it didn’t happen.
Fall is a fun time to be a photographer; it’s as if nature is a canvas backdrop for a cornucopia of colors. It was into that backdrop that I found myself at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Ill.
The rolling hills and fall foliage during Lincoln’s time were just outside of town, make me understand why Abraham and his wife Mary would come here often to go for walks together. They’d decided this would be where their finally resting place is.
If anything, the tomb is a historic site that’s unique in that it is large enough to have its own guide. It is a collection of statues and tributes to a man who shaped the country for the coming generations, both in terms of the slavery question, but also in terms of how the union would continue to be.
After photographing for a bit, I stepped outside. Coming in my direction was an entourage of about 20 or more people. I noticed the earpieces as well as the holstered firearms worn by the six men in front and quickly surmised that not only were these public officials here for a visit, but it would be in my best interest to step aside.
It’s not uncommon for officials to visit the tomb when they are in Springfield. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and President Barrack Obama made visits during their tenures as world leaders.
Being that I live less than a half hour from the Illinois border, I could recognize Gov. Pritzker. Since Springfield is the state capital and he’s the boss over the Lincoln Monument State Site. I didn’t recognize the slick looking younger guy in the jeans.
As one of the staffers walked by, she was sporting a Philadelphia Eagles hat.
“Go birds!”
She turned to me. ”Wait. You’re from Philly?”
“Yeah, Berwyn. That car you guys parked next to in the parking lot, the one with the Eagles license plate. That’s mine.”
The Philadelphia Eagles. The football team with the reputation for the most violent fans in football.
“I’ll need to get Gov. Shapiro over to say hi to you.”
“Governor of…?”
“That’s the Governor of Pennsylvania.”
She called out for his attention, and when he turned around, she pointed at me. “He’s from Philly.”
How remarkable, that I was standing at Abraham Lincoln’s tomb, with the governor of the state his grandfather left to go west (Pennsylvania), and the governor of the state he, the grandson settled in (Illinois).
Rather than greet Gov. Shapiro, I starting singing “Fly Eagles fly…”
He joined in, “hit ‘em high, hit ‘em low.”
After we finished singing the Eagles fight song, we spoke briefly about matters of the heart. It wasn’t about politics or policy, but about a subject that he and I are fond of: Philadelphia sports.
I told Gov. Shapiro of my dad’s 2017 passing. How my father was a lifetime Eagles fan and how it crushed him when he realized he didn’t have much longer to live, that he would never live to see them win a Superbowl. The Eagles won the next year, and Gov. Shapiro told me, “I hope you thanked him for that.”
“Governor, I did.”