During those thirty-seven high school basketball coaching seasons, I often woke up in the after mid-night hours thinking of some coaching strategy or if after a game the night before, my first awakened thought was 'Did we win or lose last night?' I don't do that any longer and it stands to reason for I no longer have a team and that remains the greatest thing I miss from my coaching years...I don't have a team.
I still wake up occasionally at those 'wee hours' but my thoughts are often on an array of other matters. Just last night, I woke up at 2:00 AM and could not get back to sleep. I wondered two things: 1) Who decided which Presidents' busts would be sculptured on Mount Rushmore and 2) If that decision was to be made today, which four busts would be chosen for The Black Hills of South Dakota?
Not to casually dismiss this thought process, I got out of bed and did some research. I discovered that President Calvin Coolidge signed off on Congress' funding of the Mount Rushmore project and the four Presidents chosen were done so at the discretion of sculpture Gutzon Borglum. George Washington, Borglum reasoned was the father of this new democracy. Borglum believed Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence that would serve as a democracy model for all nations. The talented stone carver believed Theodore Roosevelt represented America's development and Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union.
When my Wikipedia reading was complete, I settled back and gave personal thought to a re-design of Mount Rushmore. Since the time of Sculpture Borglum's decision there have been 15-additional American Presidents. I carefully considered those 15- Presidents since Coolidge wondering should any displace current Rushmore Honorees. My answer? Yes.
I would keep George, Abe and Thomas but replace Teddy with fifth cousin FDR. Honorable Mention went to Dwight Eisenhower and Harry Truman. I'd offer my reasoning but you need to do your own research...or you can wait until somebody tells you how and what to think on the Internet. I'm going back to bed.
Who's on YOU'RE Mount Rushmore?
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