I'm Going to be Ill(inois)

The great State of Illinois is known as the "Land of Lincoln," So it was only appropriate to have NOT and Dave find his home there in Springfield, IL. Luckily, there were no stovepipes, hats or otherwise, in evidence for a small duck to get caught in.

What there was, however, was both aspects of Lincoln's life, his home, and his final resting place. The Great Emancipator himself came home after that night of bad theater. His monument stands tall and proud, just as Abe did in life. Honest.

As a civic minded duck, NOT checks up with the seats of government wherever he goes. In Illinois, he gets two for the price of one - the new and the old. Both in Springfield though. As much as he looked around Springfield, he didn't see any nuclear power plants, or Homer and family. Strange.

Some wonder how you will keep the duck on the farm once he's seen the lights of the big city. For NOT, it's a double problem getting him near the farm, if it's populated with scary large farm equipment, like this one he found at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois. 

America is a country of diverse religions and he's been to many a church in his day. But while in Illinois, he found time to visit Willamette - home of the only Baha'i temple in North America.

While heading to Chicago, home of the cows, NOT was suddenly taken over by the spirit of Robert Preston, and in a Music Man moment had to go check out Gary Indiana. Disappointed, however, he found only a big sign, and nary a trombone to greet him. Oh well.

Photos (and some puns) courtesy of David Backman

Prepared Fall 1999.  Last updated June 2006