In 2018, a Dutch entrepreneur made headlines by petitioning a court to legally change his birth year from 1949 to 1969. His reasoning? A doctor told him he had the biological body of a 45-year-old—and he figured the change would drastically improve his odds on Tinder.
The story immediately brought to mind a classic tale Abraham Lincoln used to share from his grueling days riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit.
 |
| Abraham Lincoln ON the circuit in his buggy C. 1845. Illustration by Lloyd Ostendorf. (Courtesy of The Lincoln Picture Studio) |
During a crowded courthouse trial, a witness on the stand claimed to be sixty years old. The opposing attorney, highly skeptical, pressed him again. The witness dug in: “Sixty.”
“Sir,” the lawyer insisted, “the court knows you to be much older than that.”
The man shook his head. “Oh, I understand. You’re counting those ten years I spent living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. That was just time lost—it don't count.”
Even Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle at that one from the bar. (For the record, the Dutch court denied the modern entrepreneur's request. Apparently, those years do count).
Some human truths simply transcend the centuries.
Another story from the archives of Abraham Lincoln, Storyteller.
Mac
No comments:
Post a Comment