Mark Twain…

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

Here is a lovely photo, although dark due the sepia they had at the time, of Mr. Twain and his family, his wife and three daughters.

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!

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The Wise Owl

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato

Wisdom

May you have something to say today! Have a great Monday!

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Advice From the Foothills Hermit

We recently took a hike into the woods to see our hermit friend that has made the forest his home. While sitting there enjoying a cup of tea with him, we started talking about life. He gave us some words of wisdom which I thought that I would share with you!

* Cruel words cannot be unsaid.

* Every path, no matter what path it is, always has a few puddles.

* The best sermons are not the ones heard in church, they are the ones that are lived.

* It is best to keep your distance from skunks and bankers.

* You don’t have to be a big person to carry a grudge.

* If it isn’t bothering you, don’t mess with it.

* Everyone has the same family, they just look different.

* When you find yourself in a hole, stop the digging.

* Know that the biggest troublemaker you will ever meet is the one that looks back at you in the mirror every day.

* Drink upstream from the deer.

* Good judgement comes from the experience of a lot of bad judgement.

* Speak kindly, love generously, live simply and care deeply. Leave the rest to the Universal Spirit.

I hope that you find his words full of wisdom, and I wish you a fantastic weekend!

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A Visit with Mark Twain

My favorite author from days of old is Mark Twain. He had an incredible sense of humor, which made reading his books enjoyable. If you want to laugh through a book then I suggest you try “Innocents Abroad,” which is a series of stories that he wrote as articles for Harper’s magazine. It is about his journey to Europe and the Holy Land.

He was also a man of wisdom. So, let’s have have a visit with Mark Twain, shall we?

Twain on the porch

“Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.”

“To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence.”

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

Serious Twain

“There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”

“The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop”

“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation”

Twain relaxing

“All generalizations are false, including this one.”

“The more things are forbidden, the more popular they become.”

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.”

And my favorite quote, which comes from his book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.”

“Words cannot possibly describe, nor vivify to you, that which the words try to describe, unless you have suffered within your own person that which the words try to describe.”

Now go and have a great Wednesday!

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Random Thoughts

Judging others

Question

Little steps

Hiding

Faith

Lessons

I wish you a wonderful day!

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The Serenity in Life…

“The serenity in life can be found by taking the time to discover and embrace the beauty that surrounds us daily.” Barbara W. Beacham

Peonies

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Respect Your Elders

Growing up I was brought up to respect my elders. Were you? I am curious about this because today I witnessed something between two people, one younger, one older, that disturbed me immensely. So much so, that I thought that I would write a blog about this issue.

I learned through my life that there is a certain wisdom that a person achieves as one grows older. As a matter of fact I wrote about this in my blog “The Buffalo Side of Double Nickels.” Knowledge comes with age. However, not everyone gets it.

When I was growing up I thought that I knew it all. My parents were wrong about everything. But as I added on the years, while I was not always given a reason why to do or not to do something by my parents or other elders, I began to discover the way of things in the world. I learned and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. And I learned a lot from folks older than me, which reinforced why I should respect my elders.

One thing that I have learned living the buffalo side of double nickels, is that one does not denigrate anyone in anyway in front of other people. Doing so just makes you a bully. And we have all read plenty in the news recently about bullying. I learned that if you have something to say to someone, and you are not in agreement, or what you have to say is negative, you do this face to face and not in front of others. Doing so will make you appear to be the small person that you really are.

One thing that I do know is this: Listen to what someone older than you says to you. And, think about why they are saying to you what they are saying to you. Are they trying to help you grow? Are they trying to impart the experience of their years to you? Respect their experience! And respect that they are trying to help you from possibly making mistakes.

What do you think?

I look forward to your answers and comments.  This poll will accumulate data for a period of one week only.

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