Scotch,
Cigars, Family - Mark Twain Awakens After 100 Years
Did Mark Twain really die?
No way, he is having a last laugh on all of us!
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Hartford,
Connecticut ---- December 20, 2010 ..... Before there was Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube - there was Mark Twain.
Quicker
than the digital status updates that we have all become familiar
with, Mark Twain's creative, aggressive and friendly wit jumped
all over the globe touching millions. Making them smile, laugh
and reflect.
This
American legend, globe trotting journalist and renowned author
born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Mo. in 1835, who worked
on a Mississippi river boat and at the age of 13 left school to
become a printer's apprentice, became the most famous man in the
world by 1900.
Traveling
through Hartford, Connecticut, my friends there insisted that
I visit the house that Twain lived. Where Twain wrote such epic
stories such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthurs Court, Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn and The Prince and the Pauper.
A
very new, modern visitors
center which was built in 2003 stands next to Sam's majestic
three story, wooden home. A home which embraced the warm love
of his wife Olivia and three children. Just glancing at this majestic
house, once could start to feel the vibrancy, the life that was
Mark Twain.
After
all, respected for his highly clever wit, wisdom and playful nature,
Mark Twain never really died. At least he planned it that way.
For
before he died of a heart attack in his sleep on April 21, 1910,
Twain penned an autobiography. Volume one of three books of approximately
500,000 words from the University of California's Mark Twain Project
was just released. And in the next few years more nouns and verbs
describing the real world according to Mark Twain will be read
by many.
So it was
a very special time to be entering into the intimate environment
of Mark Twain. From the New England Oak trees towering above to
the gas Victorian lamps and warm fireplaces within.
Hartford is
no New York. So quiet that one can hear the wind making bushes
sing. And perhaps it was this tranquility and the love of his
family that enabled, inspired Sam, (as he is affectionately referred
to as in this home) to write as he did. For this talented, fun,
cranky, observant humanitarian had seen much of the US, Europe
and Israel. In fact, Twain spent much time staying as a quest
in people's homes in England and in Germany. Always looking, taking
it all in and then spitting it out in the most flamboyant manner.
One can write
miles about the adventures of Mark Twain. From his poor, humble
and romantic childhood to his criticism of the US government,
opposition to the Philippine - American War which inspired Twain
to found the Anti-Imperialist League and his creation and lost
investment on the Paige newspaper Compositoron. But I will only
articulate and limit my feelings about Sam from that house he
lived in. One can tell much from what is on both the floor and
the walls and in between.
As I sit writing
just a few miles away under the harsh electric light and fingers
dancing on a hard plastic laptop computer, Sam would sit not far
from a warm, crackling fireplace, under the soft glow of gas lights
and a green billiard table to remind Sam that life was one big
game.
It was getting
up to take the shots, the fine tuning as to how you hit those
colorful balls, the comfort of over 40 cigars a day and sipping
a warm Scotch. Integrate this with the love of his children, telling
bedtime stories as they smiled and sat on his lap and his out
there attitude that you could just sense from the white suits
he donned.
Each room
of this 19 room house would own its own presence. From the red
Moroccan sitting room, the soft pink India dressing room, the
children's second floor school room with dolls and cards, an indoor
glass Victorian garden with green leaves sprouting in all jungle
directions, the master bedroom with its Angel decorated bed to
Sam's man cave.
In the back
of the room is his desk. But Twain would not sit at this desk
for his eyes would become too distracted by the pool table directly
in front. So in a small corner at a small, wooden desk Twain would
take his wet ink pen and and create magic on paper.
"There
is something magical about touching the banister that Sam
touched or being in the room where his greatest characters
came to life. You
can almost hear the little pitter patter of feet as the
girls probably ran to greet their father at the door after
he had been away, or stood on the grate of the central heating
in the front hall and spun around as it made their skirts
float like ball gowns."
-
Mark Twain House guide Emily Embler
|
This room
was off limits for all except for his close, black servant George
who shared a bedroom next door. And male friends who would tell
tales of shrewd businessman, women in skirts, corrupt politicians,
soldiers fighting off swords and the bad reception of the telephone
he had there. Twain was one of only three people who had a telephone
in Hartford.
Twain, with
a smile, had described his man cave as: "There ought to be
a room in this house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress
an emotion like that."
Twain would
work both in his study and while in bed as his children played
with their nine cats and three dogs. He even had a rope tied to
the gas fed chandelier to bring the light closer to him as he
donned his large round glasses and wrote notes to himself.
From all I
gathered, that transcended the many solitude hours of writing
of all that he saw and crystallized wisdom from it, was a man
who had a deep conviction, understanding and passion for life.
He worked hard, he played hard. It is said that he held dinner
parties every night. Not only would he entertain his guests but
also his children who would sit quietly outside the dining room
on the stairway steps listening to each and every word.
Sam, his wife
and the children created a secret game. The children, even when
supposed to be in bed sleeping, would make up different colored
cards. If Mark Twain was to swear and the children heard it, they
would hold up a red card that only their mother could see through
the open dining room door.
As Sam puffed
away on one of his many cigars and entered a discussion of American
politics or his contempt of Jane Austen, perhaps the word damn
would come running out of his mouth and reach the innocent ears
of his three young daughters. Out came the red card and his wife
would ask Mark softly: "how is the red wine tonight?'
The adventurer,
explorer, author, journalist - the man who would not bow down
to any beast or foe - respected the sanctity of family life. Olivia
made sure that the public would see a sane, American icon while
privately enjoying the wild steamboat captain underneath.
The
recent release of Mark Twains unexpurgated autobiography
has been an unexpected bestseller," Jacques Lamarre, Manager
of Communications and Special Projects of the The Mark Twain House
and Museum told the Israel News Agency.
"One
hundred years after his death, he once again has captured the
nations attention and gotten people talking, thinking and
laughing. It has certainly thrown a lot of press attention and
visitation our way. We hope that once people have had a chance
to digest some of the first volume that they will want to come
to his Hartford home to see where so many of the stories in the
autobiography are set.
Lamarre adds: In the year-and-a-half since I have been working
at The Mark Twain House and Museum, Ive developed a much
greater appreciation for how complex a man Samuel Clemens was.
He was a loving family man, a world-famous author, an unflinching
social credit, a failed business man, and one of the wittiest
people to walk this Earth. I am constantly humbled when I enter
his home and know how much history, joy and pain was created under
that roof. The Mark Twain House is every bit as fantastic, jumbled
and intriguing as the man who built it.
Emily Embler
is a young tour guide at the Mark Twain House in Hartford. Emily
has been working there for over a year. She conducts visitor tours
with one of the warmest, most patient, sweet smiles I have ever
seen. I get the feeling that this girl is truly the great grandaughter
of Mark Twain!
"What
does the Mark Twain house mean to me?" asks Embler. "The
answer to this question is almost impossible to put down into
words, but in the spirit of Mark Twain I'll give it a shot."
"Before
I began working at the Mark Twain House, if I was asked this question,
Huckleberry Finn would have undoubtedly come into my mind. The
version of the Adventures of Tom Sawyer with Jonathan Taylor
Thomas would also be one of my first thoughts, or perhaps the
episode of Wishbone that retold the classic tale (a staple of
my generation, I'm sure). However, after having been a member
of the Mark Twain House and Museum family since this past May,
my conception of Mark Twain, and certainly of Samuel Clemens reaches
far beyond these popular culture renditions of the great American
classics. For me, the more appropriate question now is, how has
Samuel Clemens impacted my life?"
Emily continues:
"He is the man behind Mark Twain and I cannot help but feeling
a deeper connection to Sam than Mark. The Mark Twain House and
Museum in Hartford exists because of the tremendous influence
that the author and humorist Mark Twain had on the world at the
turn of the century. But once you enter the house itself it is
evident that Sam was also a father, husband and friend. In little
ways, Sam reminds me of the men that have raised me: my uncle,
who, in his fifties, has a five year old and second lease on life;
my other uncle, a great fan of sarcasm and scotch; and my father's
lust for travel, adventure and of course, cigars. Sam's love for
his children and wife is embedded into the walls of the home.
The tales of Sam and Livy telling their children bedtime stories
or of their eldest daughter sneaking into the nursery to spend
Christmas Eve with her little sisters listening for Santa, are
the tales of any American family. One of the reasons that Sam
as Mark Twain was so wildly successful was because his stories
and humor appealed to the common man. A trip to the family home
only proves Sam's dedication to the ideals of the common man;
a hardworking family man. Ask a college student how the job they
have has impacted their life and I guarantee the answer will be
that they enjoy the people that they work with, they need the
money or that it will look fantastic on their resume. While all
of these things are inarguably true for me as well, the Mark Twain
House also has an aura about it."
"There
is something magical about touching the banister that Sam touched
or being in the room where his greatest characters came to life.
You can almost hear the little pitter patter of feet as the girls
probably ran to greet their father at the door after he had been
away, or stood on the grate of the central heating in the front
hall and spun around as it made their skirts float like ball gowns
(both things that I did myself as child)."
Embler concludes:
"The Mark Twain house reminds me, every weekend, why my passion
is history. The house brings history to life and is a strong testament
to the man behind Mark Twain. It just goes to show that some things
truly are timeless.
As an American
who has lived in Israel for over 20 years, I must give thanks
to Mark Twain for his graphic description of what was then known
as Palestine: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over
it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and
fettered its energies. Where Sodom and Gomorrah reared their domes
and towers, that solemn sea now floods the plain, in whose bitter
waters no living thing exists - over whose waveless surface the
blistering air hangs motionless and dead - about whose borders
nothing grows but weeds, and scattering tufts of cane, and that
treacherous fruit that promises refreshment to parching lips,
but turns to ashes at the touch."
For only with
this news report from Sam in the 1860's, can one truly and completey
appreciate how modern day Israel has turned this barren, desert
land into a vibrant, blossoming and green nation filled with fine
wine, sweet honey, religious tolerance, free speech, medical research
and a hi tech industry which reflects the very best of the modern,
democratic world.
Sam inked
his magic in the rear, far right corner
when not drinking scotch with his buddies.
No news or
feature article could do justice for Mark Twain.
His life and imagination were just too overshadowing for 500 or
a 1,000 words to fit.
Perhaps only
a Mark Twain quote would be a fair way to conclude this small
feature and endear you to read more of Twain, visit his home in
Hartford and respect the greatness that has touched children then
and now. A man who after 100 years would say "surprise, you
ain't got rid of me yet and there is more to come."
"It has
been reported that I was seriously ill," said Twain. "It
was another man; dying - it was another man; dead - the other
man again. As far as I can see, nothing remains to be reported,
except that I have become a foreigner. When you hear it, don't
you believe it. And don't take the trouble to deny it. Merely
just raise the American flag on our house in Hartford and let
it talk."
That the third
volume of Mark Twain's autobiography is expected to pack several
punches at both people and society, Twain is still very much with
us.
Raise that
flag tall and expect to keep it up and waving for another 100
years.
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