The Most Glorious Day of My Life

Brooks Adams was the grandson of President John Quincy Adams and son of U.S. Diplomat Charles Francis Adams. Brooks’ father was an extremely successful attorney in Boston that was elected to the House of Representatives, ran for the Presidency, received an offer to be the President of Harvard, was the Ambassador to Great Britain, and a close political confidant of President Lincoln. This great political success came at a cost – namely, time spent with his family. So, when Charles asked his son Brooks to go fishing, the young boy was ecstatic! Brooks made this simple entry in his diary that day, “Went fishing with my father… the most glorious day of my life.” So great was the influence of this one day's personal experience with his father that, for 30 years thereafter, he made repeated references to the glowing memories of that day and would tell others about “the most glorious day of my life”. When Charles Francis Adams passed away, his son inherited his father’s journal – with eager excitement Brooks immediately went to that special day to see what sentimental entry his father would have recorded for “the most glorious day of my life”. His father’s entry for that day shed a new light on this shared day as it simply stated, "Went fishing with my son. A day wasted."

Posted by RE Matt Spear