Announcing the Formation of FOG

I laugh out loud when I read the stories. I smile when I see the word painted illustrations of this interesting old guy Mark Twain.

So who was Mark Twain? He was born in 1835 and died in 1910. But who was he?

Most of us will know that he is the one that wrote the story of “Huckleberry Finn” and set a standard for everyone from that minute on…most of us that are older now.

Some of his quotes are listed below. I think there are few people that have been quoted as much as he has been over many years. However some of his work is now dated in light of TV and modern movies and the hundreds of quotes that now float from these. “Go ahead – Make my day!” – “Asta Lavista Baby!”

Some of Mark Twain’s ideas…
“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”

“Do something every day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.”

“Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.”

“Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge.”

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.”

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

“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.”

So who was he? Here is a description that I found in a search of his life…
“Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was born in Florida, Missouri, of a Virginian family. The family soon moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain was brought up. At school, according to his own words, he "excelled only in spelling". After his father's death in 1847, Twain was apprenticed to a printer. Her also started his career as a journalist by writing for the Hannibal Journal. Later Twain worked as a licensed Mississippi river-boat pilot (1857-61). His famous penname Twain adopted from the call ('Mark twain!' - meaning by the mark of two fathoms) used when sounding river shallows. But this isn't the full story: he had also satirized an older writer, Isaiah Sellers, who called himself Mark Twain. In 1861 Twain served briefly as a confederate irregular. The Civil War put an end to the steamboat traffic, and during a period when Twain was out of work, he lived in a primitive cabin on Jackass Hill and tried his luck as a gold-miner. "I would have been more or less than human if I had not gone mad like the rest," he confessed.” (you can read more of his life with the links below)

The part of his story that never ceases to amaze me is… he wasn’t Mark Twain but really ‘Samuel Langhorne Clemens’ but that wasn’t true either because he was actually Mark Twain married to Olivia Clemens(Langdon). Talk about an identity crisis. When he woke up each morning – who was he? “Who am I today?” may have been his first question each day.

As funny and as sharp as he was as a ‘Humorist’, it would not last until the end. In 1904 his life took a sharp turn for the worse. Olivia Clemens passed away along with their second daughter. Olivia was his wife since February 1870. She was only 59 years old – he was 69.

His last years of writing and living were anything but funny. The Humorist had moved out and the sad old man, that was still known as ‘Mark Twain’ collecting the accolades and royalties, moved in.

One sharp thing that I discovered was Mark Twain didn’t think much of Christians of his day. He wrote of ‘His Heavenly Father’ in a somewhat kinder way but his words about Christians stung. A churchman…? No way…anything but.

His account and life has made me reflect over these days. What happens when old men lose it?

This past week I have witnessed the sad transformations of old men that have lost it. They don’t laugh much anymore. They can’t even squeak a giggle out of the old heart that beats deep in their chest.

I have made a decision…
To avoid becoming old and unhappy, I have decided to hang out with young folk from now on. No not the 20 and 30 somethings – they have too many hang ups. I want to be with 6 – 7 – 8 – even up to 13 year olds.

I watch my grandsons and they are just plain FUN to be with. They are nutty to the core. The moment that all my Grandkids come together they start laughing, telling stories and just have a ball. From 6 to 13 there are few problems now ….that will all come later.

Music to my ears…
“Grandpa, will you play a game with me?”
“Grandpa, can we play in your garage?”
“I love coming to your house because we can have fun here!”

I have decided to start a new group. The name is simple to remember. It is FOG. Kind of a good one to say the least in that it may well describe what many of us walk around in most of the time. It actually stands for… “Funny Old Guys”. FOGs are married to FOGs too… that is “Funny Old Gals”.

After thoughts….from Mark...
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

Resources:
http://quotationspage.com/quotes/Mark_Twain/
To read some of Mark Twain’s works On Line…
http://www.literaturepage.com/authors/Mark-Twain.html
Valuable info about Mark Twain
http://www.twainquotes.com/Bradley/bradley.html
More About Mark Twain
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mtwain.htm
The Twain/Clemens Family
http://www.geocities.com/swaisman/wife-kids.htm