I have been a fan of Mark Twain for decades. He was a very astute person with regard to reading people, and he had a sense of humor about life that was humorous, and spot on! One of the funniest books of his, for me anyway, was “Innocents Abroad.” A good read if you have not read it, I highly recommend it!
Here in the Foothills and in the surrounding areas, everyone notes that “Mark Twain was here!” In places like Virginia City, NV, one would think that he spent a good portion of his life there. He was only there for six months. You can read about his time there and at Lake Tahoe in the book “Roughing It.” Which brings me to the short period of time that Twain spent in Angels Camp, CA.
He actually lived for a while on Jackass Hill above Angels Camp, and it was here that he heard a story from those residing there about a “Jumping Frog” which led to him writing “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Here are photos of a replication of the cabin that he lived in while he lived there.
Let us start with the historical marker from this site:
The marker for Mark Twain’s Cabin
And here is the replicated house that resembles the house that he lived in while there.
Mark Twain’s replicated cabin
The sign for our finding this gave us 50′ to stop on a road with a speed limit of 50 miles an hour. I think we pissed off the folks behind us. But we found it! Here is another shot.
Another shot of the replicated cabin
I also found these photos of him and his family in the historical museum in Angels Camp.
Young Samuel Clemens
Mark Twain and his family
This man gave me wisdom and humor too! With this in mind, here are some of my favorite Twain quotes.
While reading “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” I found this bit of wisdom: “Words cannot possibly describe, nor vivify for you, unless you have suffered within your own person that which the words try to describe.”
So, do you recall your Mom and Dad telling you, “Don’t do that!” Remember that you asked why? Remember them responding, “Because I said so!” But you did it anyway? Then you saw the outcome. For me, I then understood why they told me not to do what I did. I had to experience the outcome for myself in order to learn. This simple statement of his has resounded throughout my life. I did a lot of experiencing!
More from Twain…
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”
“All generalizations are false, including this one.”
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”
Thanks for stopping by! Now go and have a great Tuesday!
Life in the Foothills 