A Man Born With Many Talents

During my 61 years, I’ve met many people in different countries. Some of them have left a deep impression on me; others have just passed through, like a ghost in a storm. There is one man that never ceases to amaze me. He is one of the most gifted men I’ve known. By being gifted, I mean having many talents.

He was born in a tiny place called Gordon in the state of Ohio on October 25, 1934. They say he weighed 10 and a half pounds and saw the first lights of this world as the clock was striking twelve noon. His family was so poor they almost couldn’t afford to breathe.

He was raised by his mother after his father decided to leave home in search of greener pastures. Putting food on the table was very hard. Sometimes he had to go to the nearby woods to hunt for rabbits with a slingshot. Most of the time he got one and supper again was warm on the table.

At the age of nineteen he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After completing the Army’s Clerk Typist course, he became a company clerk of the 101st Airborne Division’s Regimental Combat Team. Fate decided he would end up in Japan where he would spend most of his free time taking photographs of a place called Sendai where he was stationed as a member of the XVI Corps.

These photographs turned out to be famous after the war ended. They were the foundation of his well-known Sendai, Japan Web Site covered by the Kahoku Shimpo newspaper and the Sendai Miyagi television. His hundreds of photographs record the history of Sendai-shi greatly admired by the young generation of the City of Sendai.. To this day, his photos are housed in the Sendai City Museum of History and Folklore in Sendai-shi, Japan where they are frequently exhibited.

After his discharge from the Army, he embarked on an exciting journey through the main highways and backstreets of Life, together with his supportive wife. Let’s take a look at what this talented man has done during his stimulating journey of 74 years:

• Worked as a Research and Development computer technician at the National Cash Register Company.
• Involved in oil painting, drawing, and wood carving and illustrating numerous articles for national publications.
• Wrote more than two dozen books, many of them used on college level. One of his first workbooks sold over one million copies.
• Worked as a school teacher.
• Involved in full-time home business working on calligraphy products and services.
• Accomplished a thirteen-week television series partially sponsored by the Parker Pen Ltd. which were televised in the U.S. and other countries.
• Produced educational videos and workbooks for scribes and future calligraphers. Also invented the split nib marker and the polymer gliding medium.
• Professional photographer of his immediate surroundings.
• Dedicated gardener (See photograph of garden above).
• Productive blogger (Brookville Daily Photo Blog, Abe’s Town, My Bird’s Blog and others).
• Loving family man with deep family values.
• Magazine free-lance writer. Still writes magazine articles for which he charges $161.50 for a 500-word article.
• Web site designer and developer.

On March 11, 1996 he was operated to overcome an aortic aneurysm. “The aorta begins to grow larger and larger, like a balloon being blown up and then the abdominal aorta splits open; and the person bleeds to death, almost, instantly.” His family doctor felt the enlarged aorta during a routine physical examination and saved his life. His journey through Life was not over yet. He still had many things to do.

Even though he has health problems, he can’t be stopped. He continues his days full of activities which he describes in his blogs. This is a man who has an immense joie de vivre.

The name of this talented man is Abraham Wesley Lincoln. son of Lurton Clarence Lincoln and Vivia Elizabeth (Ballengee) Lincoln. I have never met another human being quite like him. Adieu!

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Tags: Gardens, Photography, Army, Blogger, Soldier, Japan, Abraham Lincoln