Peterman's Choice*
The First "American" Writer

I read some of Mark Twain's works in school, but I unfortunately don't remember them..,  I do love his pearls of wisdom though.  Our local news station does a segment called "I wish I'd said that" and it's amazing how often Mark Twain's name appears under the quotes...  It's also amazing to realize how much of what he said then, is still applicable now.

 Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom's Cabin, White Fang - this stuff shaped my childhood idea of 'American-ness' - is that a word? No offence, but as a child I found Americans very strange and remarked to my Dad that they speak English but don't think English. And that's just the white Americans. My Dad thought that very funny. Like mbailey, I don't remember much of the content of the books. The mention of local news station 'I wish I'd said that' has me chuckling with reminiscence. Why do I always remember the ones that are too rude to share?

Hazel, you can't be serious! Are you honestly afraid of offending anyone here?   Well, maybe I shouldn't speak for everyone, but at this point it's just the two of us, so feel free to share!!!

Yes, Hazel, share!  I read a lot of Mark Twain when I was younger, but it was never required reading in school.  I never thought of it then, and don't know why it wasn't required.  But always loving reading, I picked it up on my own. 

Live broadcast from Irish radio station - interviwee had recently met a glamourous female movie star.
Q- What's she like?
A- She has beautiful legs.
Q- But, legs apart what's she like?
Chaos in studio as people are trying to muffle laughter. The same problem as to stop laughing when something sets you off in church. I don't know why God would mind anybody having a good laugh.
 

Hazel, god is greatly amused when people laugh, it is something that people do and lesser creatures don't, noticing the difference between relity versus what should be happening & cracking up. Keep up the good work.

For a terrificly funny and satirical read, try Twain's Letters from the Recording Angel.  Wonderful.  Also published well after his death because it was too "scandalous."  He would have fun with contemporary politicians whose "beliefs" are shaped by polls. 

Mark Twain taught me that being rural working class didn't take away the sense of adventure that one could have in cut off blue jean shorts & bare feet on a makeshift bicycle with a Barlow knife, a pocket full of marbles and a lake nearby with challenging cliffs to dive from and a cheap pole to fish with & a tree/clubhouse to read about superheroes. He led me to Hemingway and Mickey Mantle to the cowboys & astronauts and to Captain America in Easy Rider & to MacDonald's Travis McGee. My son got me the new Beach Boy's album for my birthday and it's good but Pet Sounds is my fav. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times was used on Mad Men this season but I could change the words for my experience to I Was Just Made For These Times...and this place...America...and like a prophet, a writer must speak from their own experience in their own authentic style. True Gen.

Good morning mbailey, Hazel, Andy, Bert, Lynn and TT!
Oh Hazel you’re always so funny! I love hearing your stories! Growing up then in Singapore, the schools had some leeway in the choice of reading material, and the convent where I studied was particularly fond of literature, so we did Mark Twain quite early. In particular, I remember being especially disturbed doing the Crucible when I was about 12. Like Hazel, it gave me an insight into America, but which was so different from my culture.

In the spirit of our current fixation with global financial events, I’m not sure how many know that Mark Twain was bankrupt by 59, dragged down by a loss of $4m in today’s dollars, invested in a company that had invented some automatic typesetting machine. Unfortunately, the perfectionist inventor incubated it for 14 years and by then, the world had moved on. It is well observed that October is particularly volatile for stock markets (it even has a name – the Carolan effect) but MT further observed, “"October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February”

His definition of a banker would be just as relevant today, "A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain."

Some say Mark Twain was wise beyond his years... and I have to agree.  An avid reader and lover of all types of literature, old and new, I must say that reading Mark Twain's work inspires me, such as Huckelberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom's Cabin... all remarkable works of creativity and wisdom.  There's nothing like hunkering in a log cabin or sitting on a blanket out in the woods for the day and partaking in Twain's insight and stories.   "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." ~ Mark Twain

Mark Twain was the name derived from his time on a River Boat,plying the mighty Mississippi River. A 'Sounder' would drop a weighted rope(string-twine)over the boat side to measure the distance to the river bottom. This had to be done as the Mighty "Missip" was fed by flood plain,and silt could raise the river and strand the boat. The measurements were called out to the WheelHouse,from the Bow,and enunciated with the term "Mark Twine".....

When I read his' life on the river', it was the largest book I'd ever read-most pages-and yet,so engrossing,it could have been larger...

In addition to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Twain wrote some very intersting short stories. His Letters from the Earth is not only humorus but gives you something to think about. This summer I  had decided to reread Sawyer and Finn so the topic for today was very timely.  In the political world of today Twain could have a ball writing about the goings on in our nations capitol  

"A Pen Warmed-Up in Hell" was a tome of letters and stories by Twain, and it was about the conflicts -WARS the ones we were about to, and future....some of these were Op-Eds, and if you were to tweet these today, you would not be aware of the date of the originals- - -and remember, this was about 150 years ago. Acerbic wit, incisive and forthright commentary, written in Twain's inimitable style....Hal Holbrook took on Twain, and did a remarkable job, tho it carried more weight (Imho) in print at the time...you tube Holbrook as twain

Yep, I did know Clemens was broke, if I have it right it didn't help that he built a huge house on the East Coast for his beloved wife, but he couldn't afford it... sounds familiar doesn't it? Some of the finest people I know are currently broke to the tune of more millions than that.  And they never wrote even one wonderful novel...Clemens would surely be in bankruptcy today, and he'd have a lot of company.   ... As for bankers, the guy who owns our bank is our neighbor, and he's a swell person, he has only two ears, and one nose and not even one  antennae sprouts out of his head, he's just plain folks, just people like us...  

Hello Village. Been "out of sorts" for the past few weeks and was able to get to the bottom of "it"...e-coli infection from something I ate. Turned me inside out but I am thankfully better now. I am a Twain lover...period. The first big book (as us kid folk put it) I ever read as a kid was "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I read that book every two years as a way to connect with my past mindset. I remember drinking in the words as a boy and how I felt about them then, and how much my view of the world has changed but the words on the pages have stayed the same, but mean so much more to me now as a man. (I hope someone understands what I mean).

My four favorite Twain quotes:

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."

"In Religion and Politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand and without examination."

"It's easier to stay out than to get out"

"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer."

Hope every one is well.

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

A stoney-ism from the pen of Mark Twain:(sounds just like you S.- !)"Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, this is the last
you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his
atlantic with his verb in his mouth."
  
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     "Bridgeport?" Said I.
"Camelot," Said he."
  
 
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
     (John Cheever could have written this)   According to Clemens, it was this that precipitated the ruin of Camelot and the death of Arthur: "Their very imagination was dead. When you can say that of a man he has struck bottom... there is no lower deep for him."
 
-
    Mark Twain,  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
   

Road Yacht, I had the pleasure of seeing a much younger Hal Holbrook in his 1 man play about Mark Twain. Afterwards my friend snuck us backstage, by announcing that Holbrook's alma mater (Dennison) sent a reporter to interview him. He wasn't exactly amused when he determined that the newspaper interview routine was a ruse, but al least my friend was a Dennison alumnus, so the fences were mended. Never saw a guy wear so much makeup, his shirt under the obligatory white suit was soaked, and at the collar it had acquired a crust formed by the gravity-initiated movent of a mixture of sweat & makeup. The man actually spoke as though he WERE Mark Twain.....

But what did he EAT?

Welcome back, Ummy~ so glad you are feeling bettter.

Hmmm.

I'm not going to mention the fact that as there exists,from time to time, a contrtemps between P4 & Bert, she did a marvelous imitation. A sincere form of flattery?

Psrk4~ This is a test to see if we're 'man' enough t o not even mention the Bert-ing. :>).

I do not remember ever reading Mark Twain, maybe because I went to a parochial school; but I have read several books and watched movies where he is portrayed. If the portrayals are even remotely acurate....he seems like an interesting and observant man.

But i probably won't add him to my list which is getting out of hand already.

Hope you are much, much better Ummgawa!

Park. Are you spying on you banker neighbor? Hmmmmmmm? ; )

Watching where he buries the 'stash' ?

Park just had the hiccups.....nothing serious at all. Besides, good posts like good books, should be read more than once.

To appreciate Mark Twain on a level different to and more thoughtful than repeating the statements of others requires reading his contemporaries such as William Dean Howells and Henry James if you can bear it. I did.
Twain, and it had better be possible to say this without resorting to academese (which I abhor), took on more ordinary subjects using more ordinary language and dialog and pointed out, at his best, that there was and is greatness in the comings and goings common people with a lot more to lose than their reputations: see Huck And Jim.. "It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars. . ."
With rewards for capture hanging there...

That he has stood the test of time is a little premature there having been so little of it.

Speaking of of literary Germans, we had one for a week one summer when our regular guy was recovering from a beating at the hands of a husband who had missed his flight.
Our assignment, after things returned to normal, was a paragraph or two about the kraut.
"If writing were a game of pool, Dr. ********, would forego the straight, bank or cannon shot in favor of something, anything, requiring three and, if possible, four cushions. He is the master of the long way around and if anyone can say what the hell he was on about, I will buy dinner for the class."

P4 ~
I'd have used the quote you cited had I known.
It's hot… out.




 

Hazel, thank you for a good laugh to start the morning.  Loved it!
 
And Spring, CinderRose, Ummgawa, Park, and Stoney, thanks for all the great quotes.  Glad you back on your feet Ummgawa.
 
Required reading according to my father: the Bible and Twain, and not always in that order. Huck Finn was sometimes my bedtime story.

I was required to read Tom Sawyer in grade school, I thought it was ok.  I read Huck Finn in high school for my own pleasure and I remember thinking it was the best book I had ever read. I laughed and I cried. My mom (who sometimes just didn't get it, and could be a little crazy) was abhorred that I was reading Huck Finn. Seems she had heard somewhere that the book was banned and didn't think it was appropriate for a 15 year old. (She had never read it and didn't know why it had been banned.)  She even complained to my Dad that I shouldn't be allowed to read it.  He of course let me read it and told her to stay out of it, and I remember telling my mother that it was great literature and that she shouldn't believe everything she heard on TV. It's funny the things one remembers.  I haven't read Huck Finn since then, and I don't remember it very well or why I loved it so much.  I did purchase a new copy of it, and it is on my ever-evolving reading list.  As far as the banning of Huck Finn, I hear now the controversy is back, and for a different reason--I guess schools and libraries are edititing out the N word so that it can be taught in high school without offending anyone.  Seriously?  Wasn't the original controversy how "immmoral" Huck was?  I guess Twain has the knack to be controversial in multiple centuries.

P4, Gesundheit!, Ummgawa, welcome back and glad you are on the mend.

Iv'e been racking my brains all day trying to think of something to refute Bert's earlier assertion that animals don't laugh. Apart from hyenas, I can't think of anything 'tho I swear I have seen animals smile - give a pig a good scratch behind the ears and behold the silly grin on its face. Same with a dog getting a good belly rub that sets the back leg twitching. I guess there must be parrots who laugh, but that's just mimicry. Anybody got an animal that laughs?

AW SHUCKS I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET YOUR ATTENTION,  guess I did, but  I don't know what for now, I forgot, because it's - as Stoney noted -- so hhhhhh-ot outside and my brain gets steamed up when I try to use it, so I avoid that as much as possible.  And Stoney - I loved your story...oh that sounded like you, the quote of Clemens'... maybe he inhabits you or you did him...I wouldn't be at all surprised.  MARJORIE:  thanks for Gesundheit-ing me.  I need to get a grip... I love your last line about Twain managing to be controversial in multiple centuries.  I think you're on to something there, the key to great writing and commenting is to remain edgy - good thinking lady.  I guess it's time for another ban on Huckleberry Finn, I know that some teachers did change the so called N-word for something else I don't know what, I think it's silly but ... sigh...I think Huck's "immorality" had to do with the fact that he hung out with N. Jim, and also of course, because he swore, he used a swear word like Damn and that wasn't at all god-fearing or civilized, which is what he was supposed to be.  ... I think when it comes to reading, required, I'd have to say I'd pass on the bible, I read Proverbs and I liked that chapter, but I can live without all the begatting and hell fire stuff - The book that would replace the bible in my reading list would be To Kill A Mockingbird, that book is about all I think a person needs as a guide to living a good life - along with - yep - Huckleberry Finn.   "N" word and all.   Between the two of them, there's an answer to any question life will present to you.   Not to mention that the writing is as good as it gets.

Heck, I'd sit down and have a bourbon and a chat with Mr. Twain, and I can't stand bourbon!!!  Vodka 'tini, anyone?

Right on the To Kill A Mockingbird, Park.  We have four copies of it, mine and one for each of the girls, and they all look like they've been abused.  "Bo," Bobby Duvall, lives just down the road, and he still reads the book once in a while.  It was his first role in the movies.

I posted my Mark Twain appearance circa 2006 in my pics. I called it Sam does Maui. Over the heckles I heard a solitary round of applause. I paid my wife her stipend post show. I based my routine over my experiences in Maui and after reading that he visited and after reading his quote,  "I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five.  I never spent so pleasant a month before, or bade any place goodbye so regretfully. I have not once thought of business, or care or human toil or trouble or sorrow or weariness, and the memory of it will remain with me always."  ***Taking your book on my trip to Philly tomorrow Umm. Glad you have rallied.   

MISS PARK4:  You got my Attention with, "Wondrous Roundness ..." .......

Hazel,  here are a couple links that I found about laughing animals.                                                        http://www.wisegeek.com/do-animals-laugh.htm; http://www.livescience.com/6946-joke-animals-laugh.html

Hello, Ivan, my dear good friend! 

I had someone call "The Train Ride" TWAIN-ESQUE... I will confess that I wept when he insisted it brought him to mind of my most favored author.

Made me think they'd probably not read Twain at all.

l marjorie~ Thanks!

Umm- Sounds like a decent sort to me. Even my closest friends and family don't bother to blow any a wisp of smoke up my ass preferring to insult me by using any of my products as coasters, door stops, and fly swatters. Haven't seen darts thriown but wouldn't surprise me. All jokes aside that is quite the compliment. Twain has shaped many a story teller, adventurer, or stick whittling truth teller who felt that just saying it plainly between spittin backie juice was telling the truth American Style. Will Rogers had the same sort of plainsmanship.

Pbb, what say you to a special viewing of Harper Lee's classic in the theatre car tonight? TheSepia is warming up at the station and your the first stop.

Hudsonjohn

Huckleberry Finn, the kind adventurer that was able to get-along with Tom Swayer... in the outdoors on the Mississippi River....and if he could pick/choose his own dog...I am sure he would enjoy a hunting dog..with good nature...a pal..because he had no mother and the father was an alcoholic...that beat him.... he would select the dog..."Jack Russell Terrier.".and name it Missy.......that listened and could..follow a trail on the dime to find a squirrel or two for dinner....Huck, courteous as ever..in the outdoor elements! Great adventure to get you wishin too...."""""""""""""^^^^^^^^^^************
Idaho's state fruit is the Huckleberry....

Seapansie, I do appreciate how your thoughts flow. Be well

The seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never known the flower. And the seed cannot even believe that there is the potential to become a beautiful flower. Long is the journey, and it is always safer not to go on that journey because unknown is the path, nothing is guaranteed...But the seed tries, it makes an effort; it drops the hard shell which is its security, it starts moving......The sprout starts towards the unknown, towards the sun, towards the source of light, not knowing where, not knowing why.

"The flower shows us the way, as its passion for life leads it out of the darkness and into the light. There is no point fighting against the challenges of life, or trying to avoid or deny them. They are there, and if the seed is to become the flower we must go through them. Be courageous enough to grow into the flower you are meant to be." osho zen

I taught Huck Finn in 11th gr. English for several years until the "politically correct" movement took over....We talked about the language and the N word and how rare it was for an author to use vernacular, plus the language as a window into the reality of the times, and by the time we had discussed all that (mixed race classes), the students were wise about it and desensitized. We often read together, did study questions, discussed the themes, and became more sensitive people over 4 weeks. Instead of saying the N word in class afterwards, as we read aloud, we substituted Jim, or slave, so as not to lose the flavor of the passage, but not to insult the students in class who felt hurt by the use of the word out loud. We got through it and never had a single parent complaint. There is so much good irony and satire in Twain's books. Too bad that he was a master at dissecting society, but quite the flawed man himself. Read Mark Twain's Other Woman to see the darker side of the man (all be it in his old age). I do love the quotations and wise cracks, and Holbrook's interpretations.

They still do the 'jumpers',in Calabasas County.....

I think its the flaws in a person that draws out the kind of thinking that makes the best stories...I can't imagine reading a fascinating novel written by an unflawed author.  And then too, aren't we all?  flawed?  I'm sure we are, but alas, not all of us  can write like Twain.