Our American Cousin

The mail gave me Sarah Vowell's new book today. Here is my favorite quote, having read 46 pages thus far, linking two of my loves, Vowell and Lincoln:

"Booth, who knew the play well, timed his shot to coincide with a surefire laugh line. (It is a comfort of sorts to know that the bullet hit Lincoln mid-guffaw. Considering how the war had weighted on him, at least his last conscious moment was a hoot.)"

Updated!
Further amazing information gleaned from this book: Please to be enjoying the lyrics to Maryland's state song, which talks about how great Lincoln's assassination was, and Virginia's state song, which does not require a summary from me for you to realize how horrible it is.

Granted, Virginia's state song has been busted down to "state song emeritus," but keep in mind that no replacement has been found, and that it took until 1997 for this to happen.