Abe's "Last Stand" in San Francisco

From Nina- Abe made an epic trip between Seattle and San Francisco less than a week before he died, to take part in the dedication of the memorial to the Lincoln Brigade vets. It was a joyous, brave and fitting journey for his last days. His dedication speech: "Many people consider going to Spain as simply a sacrifice. I’m not one of those. To me, being an activist has always been a special privilege. And it’s a wonderful job. You never run out of work. You meet some of the nicest people. The pay is very high. Yes, it is! IF you value the love and respect of the people you work with and know more than you do money and physical things, then the pay IS very high. And that’s why I’m able to say, at the ripe old age of pushing-93, that I’ve had a glorious life, in many ways. Now, let’s see what we are dealing with. At this moment, there are, what, as of last week 39 people who remain out of the Struggle which is on the surface a rather small percentage. And yet, there is this incredible feeling that the stuff we are made of never goes away. With or without monuments. Because the bastards will never cease their evil, and the decent human beings will never stop their struggle. This has been a very difficult thing for me to do, not only because I’m getting a little frail (finally!). But because I approached it with very mixed emotions. Going down to the very basics: what the hell are monuments all about, beside places for birds to deliver bird shit. And I’ll share that feeling with you. I’ll tell you what it’s all about for me. Some day in the not too distant future, some guy will be walking through here with a couple of his adolescent kids, and one of the kids will say, “Dad, what’s that?” And this Dad may know the answer. And giving that answer is like putting another spark plug into the vehicle of progress that we’re all engaged in. I’m very happy to see you guys here. And one more moment– I’m not a San Franciscan. I’m a New Yorker! But our record is not that great- no truthfully! I can’t imagine any other place where this would have taken place first except San Francisco! Because in many ways, San Francisco is one of the crossroads of growing culture, of advanced ideas that has appeared on the map. So I salute you, all you San Franciscans, and I thank you on behalf of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade for making us immortal."