September 11, 2025 • 68 mins
We have such an episode for you today! We are staying true to both our Missouri and nerdy roots to bring you the life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens better known as Mark Twain, America's Favorite Humorist. We learn of his many jobs including Riverboat Pilot, Prospector, Newspaper man, journalist, printer's devil, and of course, writer extraordinaire! We talk his rivalry with Bret Harte and the flop that was Ah Sin. We discuss his similarities to Ambrose Bierce and other modern writers that loved him or were influenced by his work. We reference a lot of past episodes including:
Ambrose Bierce - Episode 199
Ernest Hemingway - Episode 233 with Brenda from Horrifying History
Episode 251 - Sharon Kinne
Episode 264 - Matilda Joslyn Gage
And Season 1 - Episode 1 of the Family Role Podcast - A Kiln in Cobblepot.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.
Ambrose Bierce - Episode 199
Ernest Hemingway - Episode 233 with Brenda from Horrifying History
Episode 251 - Sharon Kinne
Episode 264 - Matilda Joslyn Gage
And Season 1 - Episode 1 of the Family Role Podcast - A Kiln in Cobblepot.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/family-plot--4670465/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I'm Dean, I'm the dad.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I'm Laura, I'm the mom, and I'm Arthur, I'm the son.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Together we are family plied.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
There we go. Okare you go all right, Peach.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We're not going to get distracted.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
We are going to do housekeeping.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Dean, take it away right. Well, there's many ways you
can help us. One way is through our Tea Spring
merch store. Just look up Family Plot on te Spring
that'll find it. And there we sell high fashion, beautiful
items like T shirts.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Coffee mugs, hoodies and stickers.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All with our own Arthur's original high fashion artwork, available
for easy US and other countries commerce. That's why we
use Tea Spring because they handle all of that. So
if you want to help, that's the way to do it.
If you cannot afford to do, you know, full on
forty dollars hoodie. Hey, we understand, we got kids. I
(01:49):
can't remember the last hoodie that I wouldn't gifted going
to some event or other, so yeah, something else you
can do. Something else you can do is our Patreon,
which we have two levels, the one dollar and the
three dollar. Now both get ad free versions of the shows,
but only at the three dollars level. Can you see
(02:15):
the video of the Family Role podcast. It's the only place,
it's the only place that exists right now. Eventually Family
Role will have its own YouTube and and and all
those associated bits. But for now, while I am trying
(02:36):
to learn video editing and I don't feel like I
got sound editing down, and I've been doing this for
almost five years now, we will keep them to Patreon
only because I can't edit them and it's just I
don't know how. So yeah, but still three dollars level.
You can watch that sweet sweet video.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Is it sleep?
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It's amusing at least, is it? Oh, it's very amusing. Nice,
especially with with flexis Let's pretend we're eating marshmallows.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Trying to explain to her that it's literally dungeons and dragons.
We're literally pretending all of this.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Let's pretend you don't have to that's what you get
to do.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
You don't even have to you don't even have to
get permission unless it's a role.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
None of this is reading anyways. So three dollar level,
that Patriot, that's the Patreon of course.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Still get those three episodes at a three dollars level
as well as well. As other Special Family plot episodes
that have not been bleeped out.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yes, make sure you catch in on that Sharon Kenney episode. Absolutely,
Oh yeah, I kind of went off that when.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Arthur was ten minutes when edited Arthur right there.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Arthur at one point wanted to be a lawyer, and
with his command of the English language in that moment,
I could see lawyer Arthur. I really could.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
A lot of people say that I'm good at debating
like you are.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You're a bose. You're just good at arguing.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You are very good at arguing. I make a point
and I push that point.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You do, Arthur. Nobody's trying to take your point.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
The whole basis to being an attorney. I believe we
talked to you about talking to your uncle Mike about
said things fresh cut grass, Yes FCG.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
He sees a boss. You the boss.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Look right now, you're gonna make me have to hashtag
Sam Regal And then.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
One should really always upset about one should really always hit?
I mean you, yeah, you just can't the man.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
The man is.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
A dedicated professional of the highest glory.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Plus, I don't know why you're complaining. Didn't you get
more traction the last time? We brought up a bunch
of different names.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I don't know what you're talking about, hashtag hands or sucks.
We were talking about Patreon. Now. If you cannot afford
the monthly Patreon amount, you can always just throw us
a dollar or two through buy me a coffee. Yes,
If you enjoy the show, please share it on social media,
share it with.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Friends, share it with family, with ringbond, and you could
also leave us a five star review.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
If you don't enjoy the show, please keep it to yourselves.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say
anything at all.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Weird noise goes here well. He was a riverboat pilot,
a gold prospector, a journalist, a lecturer, a satirist, and
a novelist whose pen name became synonymous with American wit.
He skewered hypocrisy, championed justice, and gave his characters so
(06:17):
vivid they practically leap off the page, whether time traveling
to medieval England or floating down the Mississippi with Huck
and Jim Mark Twain born Samuel Langhorne Clemens crafted stories
that still shape how we see ourselves. Twain's voice was
equal parts mischief and moral clarity. He mocked kings and
(06:38):
con men, exposed the absurdities of war and religion, and
made readers laugh while quietly asking them to think harder.
He was a literary trickster with a conscience, a man
who could turn a steamboat logbook into poetry and a
frog jumping contest into high art. All this and more
(06:59):
in this guy could do anything. Episode of the Family
Plot podcast.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Nice I'm excited another hometown show. Yes of our well
home state.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I was gonna say, not hometown, although he would he
would come here time or two. He spent more time
in New York than he did in Kansas City.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
So Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November thirtieth, eighteen
thirty five, in Florida at Missouri, to John Marshall and
Jane Lambton Clemens.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
His father was a judge and a lawyer and a
justice of the peace. He invested heavily in civic life
and even helped to organize the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad.
His mother was a housewife, a homemaker and a midwife
who had a flair for both humor and telling stories.
(07:56):
Twain would later credit his mother for his sense of humor.
Sam was next to the youngest of seven children and
would lose many of his family as he grew up,
which would greatly affect him. Brother Orion Clemens was born
in eighteen twenty five. His oldest sister, Pamela, was born
in eighteen twenty seven. An older brother, Pleasant Hannibal Clemens,
(08:21):
was born in eighteen twenty eight, but he would die
less than a year later and several years before Sam
was even born. Older sister Margaret Clemens would be born
in eighteen thirty but die in eighteen thirty nine from
a fever. Older brother, Benjamin Clemens, would be born in
eighteen thirty two but die ten years later from one
(08:41):
of those fun unspecified illnesses that they got in the
eighteenth century or nineteenth century.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Probably some kind of influenzo or something.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We do not know what either Margaret or Benjamin died
from exactly, as causes of death in the early eighteen
hundreds were often best guesses unless the cause or manner
of death was obvious. Sam himself would be born in
eighteen thirty five, and then his only younger sibling, Henry,
would be born three years later, losing so many siblings,
(09:12):
so young colored young Samuel for life, giving him the
dark sense of humor that would mark his writings in
later years.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
And those just kind of he was a pro product
of his environment. That just was almost kind of the age.
Like he said, children people died and just they didn't
know why. They didn't have the medical training that we
have now. Doctors didn't have the training. They didn't know
(09:42):
about germs.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, why don't we take a moment, you know what,
one week, shake as many moments as as the child needs,
and take and go over to Arthur's corner.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
All right, absolutely, Arth, there's corner after Arthur.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Stop sneezing.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Here ye, here ye, allow me to present Arthur's corner.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
By the way, I will say that if I go
online and look for a blowing snot sound effect and
put it in as the as the sound, you will
at this point learn it's not Arthur. I wouldn't do
that to my son.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I can't get any snot out of my nose. There's
none enough anyways.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Allergy stink yeah, hashtag seasonal allergies. No, hey, what there was?
You had the phlebotomist. If if you make other people,
they they relate you, Arthur. There's nothing embarrassing about having allergies.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
The bottom miss that bottom miss. But I felt bad
for my arm after that because I had a literal
brood that formed on the other side of my arm.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I know, I know, they beat you up and now
you're suffering from that.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Subsergees. I figure listeners.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Want to know so they can sympathize with their Arthur.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
See, if we did video right there, I would dub
in God's Illinois, be good.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
But we don't. I do all right, I.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Do have a camera. I mean, we absolutely could, but
that's something we can discuss and it would have been
like on your mouth anyway, Sorry, go ahead of Arthur.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Whatever you're hello, guys, how are we doing today?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I am fabulous, other than making the mistake of costing
us what ten minutes by asking how we were at
the beginning of the show for.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Five minutes, it's okay, well it was five, but then
it the seven.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Okay, oh, you're right.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Probably yeah, to say the child is right, he's a bose,
he'll argue, yes, that's.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
That's exactly what I said. That it's true.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I'm not trying.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
No, you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Try it's just I'm gonna commit arson in various states.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Don't fire is wrong when it's used as the one,
But killing other people and more isn't. No, I think
both of those things are terrible.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Oh, only set fire on those who try to kill me. Okay,
I mean, okay, Well you are traned.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So there's a lot of maggots.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Maggots, maggot.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
They wear the name proudly, just like when they I
was coming up, there was a party that called itself well, originally,
originally it called itself the Tea Party, and then they
started referring themselves as tee bears, and the rest of
America began laughing because they knew what teaching meant.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Okay, now you have to like bleep that out because.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That is so not PG worth it worthy.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Goodness we give, we need to give that. An adults
shop smoking can just say whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
See he does that with other podcasts that aren't rated.
P T thirteen. That is true, That is true. How
are you? How am I?
Speaker 6 (13:50):
Yes, I've had a good week.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I got to like a big old presentation yesterday. I
felt like I knocked it out of the I was
the representative for my group that I'm so excited about,
Oh freak, And I got to do like a big
I got to do like a big presentation for a
whole like it ended up being I think I maybe
(14:14):
did it in six and a half minutes. I did
not have long. I shot through that sucker. It was
supposed to be ten minutes, and I was at the
tailent and I snugged it, and then I ran and
did a whole other class.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
So I I think it took me two or three
hours to calm down from the adrenaline rush that I
got friendly from those several classes.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
That it was a It was a busy day for me.
I felt like I ran a marathon.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yes, wow, I did.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course, your father's birthday was Monday, and I did
a lot with that. So I have been a very
busy mommy this week. That's how I am. I think
I'm a little tired.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I'm sorry, but hey, it's okay. There's only two days
left this week, that's.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
True, and today's an exciting day.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Today is an exciting day.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Because I got your notification to my notification.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Now, I accidentally put it as a family notification and
I can't get rid of it. For everybody else, so
they just get it all the time.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Okay, I like it, as I always know to congratulate
you heavy anniversary.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Today is my eleven month verse eleventh month of versary
with my partner. I do know actually how to fix
that if you want, I can help you when we're
not recording, just reminding me. I do know, I do know.
How what are you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Moon farting?
Speaker 2 (16:00):
That's what looks like? You did a great job.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
It's a very good it's a very good parting moon.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
But I thought it might have be a chot on
its ass, So.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
No, it's a moon farting.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It's exceptional. Really, it's an exceptional farting banana moon.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
It's very good, beautiful.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
So other than that, you're so excited.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
How long has it been eleven months with my partner?
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Eleven eleven eleven whole months? Everyone here has.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Has heard about Arthur's partner almost well.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
You know, I wouldn't be opposed to him being a
guest on a future episode of the podcast.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'm saying, I think he's a little shy.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
He is a little shy.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Arthur's partner's a little shy.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Arthur's Partner's got scared who was scared. Scared as she
doodle when you walked in the room. They got scared.
Remember when you came in my room and asked me
for a hug? Yeah, on your birthday. Yeah, he's scared.
Shut bootle out of them.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
You said that that I didn't realize how I had
not cad and I you did.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
They just get scared whenever you guys walk in because
they're not used to you guys being around when we call. Well,
have we said hello before?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
It's not like it would be a first time thing.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
But that's okay.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Parents can be a little intimidating. Not all parents are
as awesome as we are exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Let's see, I was working on a craft earlier. Yes,
I'd love to show you guys, but I don't I do.
I do have some pictures.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yes, you sent me. You showed me the pictures, right,
just just a little bit of oh yeah, I showed
you them. Yes, you're gonna show that. Check it out.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Very nice.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
He's gonna build out a whole furry head.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
That's he told me. That was the plan.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, it looks like very nice right there.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
It's a pretty good shot. Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, let's see. Yes, October tenth is me and my
partner's year. That is off longest relationship yet very cool.
My last longest relationship didn't end too well, and mom
and dad threatened to beat them. Mom and dad are
always gonna not Mom. You know Mom didn't threaten to
(18:48):
beat them up.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Mom's always gonna have your back. Even if I don't
necessarily threaten violence. But I'm capable of violence, don't. Don't
get me wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
If violence is so required you, violence is so required.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
If someone were just say physically harm my Arthur, physical harm,
harm would be returned.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I'm just saying, physically harm me, and I I feel
like someone did.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
No, you haven't physically harmed me.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
I feel like if someone were to emotionally harm my Arthur,
I would I would respond with physical with physical harm.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Okay, it's okay. So I cannot. I cannot harm you
for self harm. That is not your faults, just like
I can't harm myself for self harm.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
But hey, if you feel bad. Look, there's a moon's farting.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, that moon fart probably smells like jeez, I'm gonna
say moon dust, but that works. He's talking about prodcasting.
The moon part would smell like cheese, moon.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Dusting, dusting, try your best to make that a thing.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Mean you relaxing?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Or I think of it the grocery girl, the grocer
it is.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I think.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
It's funny, but it's still gross. What are you drying now?
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Someone's smelling?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Start playing Family flat Dictionary.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Someone's smelling the fart and dusted.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Why would I draw that? No?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
No, you made it up. I don't know what that
noise is. My laugh sounds so funny.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Sometimes a squeaky toy stuck mmmm and.
Speaker 7 (21:02):
Oh, I sin cute.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
You are so talented child.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
That was a silly, dumb little doodle.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
We're gonna have to start playing family plat Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Family plot Pictionary, I love it.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
We can.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
You can get your digital tablet out my family plot Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
What are you drawing? You gotta get the whole pictionary game.
I can't tell.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
DM me through the through the Facebook group, you guys
will want my family plot Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
We'll put it in a family Flat Pictionary for Patreon member. No,
I'm kidding.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I can set that up.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yes, it messages if I can put the ideas in
a message on the Family.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Plot Podcast Facebook group group.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Yeah, family plot podcast Facebook group.
Speaker 7 (22:03):
If I get fifty responses about family prop pertus about
pictionary that we could play, I'll get them all, write
them all down, we'll put them in a hat and
we'll play with those options and try to guess what
we're drawing, and we'll put the drawings up for people
to see afterwards, and you can depending on if if
(22:25):
it happens, I I would love to see us get
fifty posts on a Facebook post.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
That would be so amazing to get fifty, I mean
we have maybe if I get twenty, because we don't
have enough time to do fifty. If I get twenty
and see how many how many members.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Do we have?
Speaker 1 (22:49):
One hundred and ninety?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Heay?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
So if I'll get twenty responses and be twenty separate posts,
but just twenty ideas of what we could play dictionary wise,
because I don't want to have pictionary. If I could
get that on here, we would play and then we
would post the drawings. That would be so fun. All right, Sorry,
(23:16):
I got distracted. You made me all excited. You're always drawing,
so it gave me that idea.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
You can get all that out if you want to.
You don't have to keep that in. I apologize. Was
there anything else you want to talk about in your corner?
I'm thinking that's fine. I did that. I got all
excited and had a big old idea and just rolled
over your corner, like boss.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I didn't mean to.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
It was an accident, acts an accident. I almost said
a bad word, accident trying to be huge, so I
was trying I didn't. I was trying to make sure
I didn't say that.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Accident is not a bad word. Yes, it is it. Yes,
And we'll have to blake me a couple of times now, huh.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
Okay, And it's gonna really stay home because I just
I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Okay, you want to take this section.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
And I can go put pizza.
Speaker 9 (24:46):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
It's time to get back to the show.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
In eighteen thirty nine, the same year young Margaret Clemens died,
the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a river town
that would later inspire fictional Saint Petersburg in the Adventures
of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Finn.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Yeah, Huckleberry finn No.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I know, hmm. Hannibal was full of adventure with steamboats,
caves and forests, but it was also dangerous, with deadly
cholera outbreaks, slavery, and financial hardships. Sam's father, John Marshall Clemens,
(25:45):
was a lawyer and a judge, and money was always tight.
When he died in eighteen forty seven, the family struggled
even more. Sam was the sixth of seven children, and
by the time his younger brother Henry was born, three
siblings had already died, including Benjamin in eighteen forty two.
(26:09):
These losses stayed with Sam, especially Henry's death in steam
in the Steinblow explosion in eighteen fifty eight, which Twain
later said he had dreamed about before it even happened.
As a child, Sam was often sick and stuck in bed,
(26:30):
but he had a vivid imagination and emotional depth, traits
he got from his mother Jane. He didn't go to
school regularly and preferred reading, joking around, and making up
stories inspired by adventure books, Shakespeare, and popular humorists and
(26:51):
popular humorous. After his father died, Sam left school at
age eleven and began working for a local printer around
age twelve, he became a printer's devil just like Ambrose Beers.
Check out episode one hundred and ninety nine for him.
(27:12):
Go ahead, We'll wait a printed A printer's devil was
you was a young princess who did everything from mixing
ink to setting to setting type, usually covered in grind
and learning the trade from ground up. Sam worked for
the Hannibal Gazette over Joseph Ament under Joseph Ament, and
(27:37):
later for his brother Orion's paper. The Hannibal Journal was
the Tough. The work was tough, but it gave him
early experience with writing, layout and printed word. Around this time,
he also joins the joins the con the Cadets of Tempress,
(28:00):
a group that encouraged kids to stay away from alcohol,
though Sam would later become known for enjoying cigars and whiskey.
How ironic right. By eighteen forty eight, he was writing short,
funny pieces for Oreon's paper, using goofy pen names like
(28:22):
w ephamin own not, I'm not reading all that, I'm sorry,
I add as addresses Perkins wow, and Thomas Jefferson snood grass. Okay,
(28:43):
imagine having a pen name like that. That's silly. Obviously,
his early writing Grass mister Snodgrass sounds like a spoiled
child in the.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Eighties probably read I got it Room.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
His early writing was rough but allowed, but showed a
sharp wit, a growing talent for satire. One of his
sketches even got published in The Carpet Bag, a humor
magazine out of Boston. Sam grew up in town where slavery,
(29:24):
in a town where slavery was a part of everyday life,
and while he didn't question it much as a boy,
the harsh realities of Hannibal, including lynchings, steamboat disasters, and
pools frontier justice, left deep marks that would write that
would later shape the dark humor and moral death of
(29:44):
his powerful work, his most powerful work.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Okay, thank you, Arthur. We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I stuttered my way out of that one.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
You did amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, you would take it slow and he and you
knocked it out of the park.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
That's what we do sometimes. And now we're going to
take a few minutes and hear from some of our
fellow content creators.
Speaker 10 (30:10):
Hey, there, do you like nostalgia? Do you like having
best friends? Do you like it when people make fun
of each other? And make things comments on podcasts that
if we're to ever see the light of day, might
ruin their chances for a public state of office. Well,
then you've come to the right place to what an
odd gas where we run a show where why don't
you just go ahead and take this example here? And
(30:32):
why don't you come check us out? Have a good one?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Now replaced question, I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Please?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Can we can we go ahead and add that to
the new into mary end Hi, I'm Karen and I'm
amried And this is Chickling, a literature comedy podcast where
we enjoy getting lit and talking about books we love
and love to roast.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
We also talk about personal opinions and quote the office
so much that we've made it into.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
A drinking game.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
We've been friends for over a decade, so grab your
drink of choice and join us for some shenanigans.
Speaker 9 (31:10):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and flined.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
It was time to get back to the show.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Well that was better than a pooting moon.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yes, absolutely, yeah, I'd rather not be moondusted.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
No moondusts for Arthur.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
So putting his teeth and animal Twain spent the early
eighteen fifties bouncing between cities like Saint Louis, New York,
and Philadelphia, working as a journeyman printer. He read voraciously,
soaked up city life, and began writing humorous sketches under
(31:57):
various pseudonyms. O'rian. Ever, the idealist, bought a newspaper in Keokuk, Iowa,
and Sam joined him there in eighteen fifty five. Though
their partnership was rocky, Orian was serious and moralistic, Sam
(32:20):
was sarcastic and restless, it gave Twain more chances to
write and experiment. In eighteen fifty seven, Twain's life took
a dramatic turn. While traveling on steamboat, he met Horace Bixby,
a seasoned riverboat pilot. Playing convinced Bixy to Bixby to
(32:46):
take him on as an apprentice, and for the next
two years he learned the complex geography and rhythms of
the Mississippi River. By eighteen fifty nine, he earned his
pilot's license and began navigating steamboats full time. Twain later
(33:07):
described piloting as one of the most satisfying jobs he
had ever had. It required precision, memory, and nerve qualities
he relished. The river became a metaphor for life in
many of his writings, and his time as a pilot
(33:29):
deeply influenced Life on the Mississippi and the river scenes
in Huck Finn. This chapter of Twain's life ended abruptly
in eighteen sixty one with the outbreak of the Civil War,
which shut down river traffic. Twain briefly joined a Confederate militia. Yes,
(33:54):
Twain briefly joined a Confederate melissa the Marion Rangers in
eighteen sixty one, during the early days of the Civil War.
He was twenty five living in Missouri, a border state
with divided loyalties, and like many young men of the time,
(34:16):
he was swept up in the local fervor for verb
his but his stint lasted only two weeks. He later
wrote about it in The Private History of a Campaign
That Failed, a satirical and self deprecating account that makes
(34:41):
it clear he was more interested in adventure than ideology.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
At the time.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Twain had grown up in a slaveholding society, and his
early views reflected that environment. He even voted for John Bell,
a pro slavery candidate who opposed secession. But Twain was
never a committed Confederate, and his desertion suggests discomfort with
(35:12):
the cause, or at least with military life. The humors
where it gets fascinating, it gets fascinating here listen. Twain's
views radically shifted as he matured. By the time he
wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was a fierce critic
(35:33):
of slavery, racism, and moral hypocrisy of American societies. His
portrayal of Jim, the enslaved man who becomes Huck's friend
and moral compass, is deeply sympathetic and subversive. Twain uses
Huck's internal conflict, torn between the racist values he has
(35:57):
taught he was taught, and his grown love and respect
for Jim to expose the cruelty and absurdity of slavery.
So yes, Twain's early flirtation with the Confederacy stands in
stark contrast to the moral clarity of his later works,
but that contradiction is part of what makes him so compelling.
(36:22):
He changed, he grew, and he used his wit and
storytelling to challenge the very systems he.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Once took for granted.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
From there, he headed west, chasing silver and stories in
Nevada and California.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
And now let's take a moment for a word from
our sponsors.
Speaker 9 (36:54):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the madile,
it's time to pause and flin good.
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I also feel sponsory you.
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A sponsor me.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Hey, guess what came out today episode one of Family Role.
It's in our feed right now. So if you want
to hear Lexi's.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Two young members can see even.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Yeah, so if you want to hear Lexi's that's New
York Grilla. Yep, Lexi's character Grilla and Arthur's character Albion.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I'll be honest, Cannony trans I made.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Him that cool good, I'm telling you. Lauraes Noel aka
Dutch Bunny a harenguon Sharpshooter. So yeah, that all that
came out today. So people can go check out Lexi
(38:06):
on on our podcast feed and if they're Patreon members,
they can see video of is it is?
Speaker 6 (38:16):
Isn't Noelo? Dutch Bunny?
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Noel is a Dutch bunny?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Noel? Did you not see the picture?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
There's a picture of me. Yes, one, my picture of
my Dutch bunny character looks like Noel, only as as.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
As an anthomorph anthropomorphic animal. Yeah, yeah, that's my character.
My character is Noel. That's a sharp shooting bunny.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
And if you love that, the fur isn't black, it's purple.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
That gray is.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Gosh, we're in the middle of it, girl, We're not
even close.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Wow, that was an interesting word from our sponsors. It
took far longer than it should have.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Let's move on right ahead.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
In eighteen fifty eight, while working as a steersman aboard
the Pennsylvania, Sam Clemens arranged for his younger brother, Henry
to join the crew as a mud clerk, which was
a low ranking position with no pay but potential for promotion.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
What a horrible job prospect. I mean, you're not going
to make anything, but if you get promoted, we might
pay you. No, thank you. Sam had a falling out
with the pilot and left the boat in New Orleans.
Days later, the Pennsylvania's boiler exploded near Memphis, killing over
(39:58):
two hundred and fifty p people. Henry was badly injured
and lingered in agony for over a week before dying.
Sam rushed to his side and was devastated. He later
claimed to have dreamed of Henry's death before it happened,
describing a vision of his brother in a metal coffin
(40:20):
balanced across two chairs, wearing Sam's suit. The eerie accuracy
of the dream haunted him for the rest of his life.
After that trauma and a brief, half hearted stint in
a Confederate militia which he deserted after just two weeks,
which Laura had just spoken about, Twain headed west with
(40:40):
Orion in eighteen sixty one. The Civil War had shut
down river traffic, and the brother saw opportunity in the
Nevada Territory, where Orion had been appointed secretary. And that's
his brother. I almost forgot. I did quite, Yeah, Orion's
his brother since I thought it was a ship. Okay, yeah,
(41:03):
it's O Ryan, you're because I was gonna call him
that too, And then in my head, my part of
my brain said, no, that's Oryan, and I went, oh, okay,
thanks part of my head. But it didn't do that
for you.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
I don't know what.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Let's see now. In Orion had been appointed secretary in
the Nevada Territory. Sam tagged along, hoping to strike strike
it rich in silver mining. He didn't help. Instead, he
struck gold in storytelling. While bouncing between mining camps and saloons.
(41:40):
Twain beginner of writing for the Territorial Enterprise, a newspaper
in Virginia City. His sharp wit and knack for absurdity
caught fire. In eighteen sixty five, he published The Celebrated
Jumping Frog of Calavari's County, a tale he'd heard in
a bar in Angels Camp, California.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
It was a which we did not live too far
from when we lived in Mersette, which I did not know.
There was an exit on the highway named for Angels Camp,
and I just always thought it was a awesome weird
name for a place. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
But there's lots of.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
There's lots of There's lots of places in California.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
That have weird names though, So.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Yeah, Squatter's Hump, California, it's probably there. Look it up anyway.
In eighteen sixty five he published The Celebrated Jumping Frog
of count of Calaveras County. It was a story about
a gambler, a frog named Daniel Webster, and a rigged
jumping contest. The piece was printed in the New York
(42:49):
Saturday Press and launched Twain's literary career. So yes, he
mined for silver, but he unde earthed stories and from
the ashes of tragedy failed prospecting. Mark Twain was born
at Even His name was taken from his days on
the river boat where and I forget there was a
(43:11):
very specific name for these men. But there were men
who would test the depth of the river because it
could change. The river was deeper than the ropes would go,
they would sing up no bottom, but if the ropes
would catch on something, then they'd yell up how many
(43:31):
miles or how many Twain it was, which Twain was
a measurement. It wasn't a mile, but it was like that,
you know. So if you a pilot suddenly heard Mark
Twain at a place he wasn't expecting it, that meant
that he was coming up on something and needed to
steer away. It's how they got around not seeing. So
(43:53):
Mark Twain was just something that these quarters yell, and
so he chose that as his pen.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I'm true, since I hadn't, says, since we had come
across it.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
Now afterwards he got he would go to tangle with
Brett Hart, the Pink and Black attack master of the
sharpshooter family simply beating him in a wake. Sorry Different.
Brett Hart Bretteart with an E Twain's. Brett Hart was
a nineteenth century writer and poet known for his vivid
tales of California's gold rush life. He helped shape the
(44:31):
American short story, and one is one of Twain's early
literary influences until they tried to co write a play
and nearly throttled each other and stabbed each other with
quill pens. In eighteen seventy six, Twain and Heart teamed
up to write a play called ah Sin, meant to
(44:54):
satirize anti anti Chinese sentiment in California mining towns. Hart
had already made a name chronicling gold rush life with
stories like The Luck of the Roaring Camp, while Twain
was writing high on the success of Jumping Frog. On paper,
(45:15):
they were a dream team, but the partnership soured fast.
Twain accused Heart of laziness and pretension. Heart, more polished
and poetic, clashed with Twain's raw, satirical style. The play
tackled the political tension. The play tackled Chinese immigration just
(45:38):
as anti Chinese laws were gaining traction Heart leaned towards
sympathy for those laws, Twain leaned towards biting irony. Austin bombed, Twain,
blamed Heart for the failure, and publicly mocked him in
letters and essays. Heart more reserved responded subtly in print,
but never forgave the betrayal. Later wrote that Hart was
(46:01):
always ready to sacrifice his best friend for the sake
of a woody paragraph. While Hart reportedly never spoke Twain's
name again without a wins, I'm sorry was his last
name bos.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
Yes, I could see it. It might be, might be,
might be related.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Around this time he would meet his future wife. Twain
met Olivia Langdon in December eighteen sixty seven through her
brother Charles, whom Twain had befriended on a voyage to
the Holy Land, a trip that inspired the Innocence Abroad.
Twain claimed he fell in love with Olivia just from
seeing her photograph. Their first date was a Charles Dickens
(46:46):
reading in New York City talk about literary foreshadowing, and
after a year of letter writing courtship, they married in
February eight ten seventy in Elmira, New York. They would
have four children. Langdon Clemens was their only son, born
in eighteen seventy in November. He was premature and would
die nineteen months later of diphtheria. Susie Clemens, who was
(47:10):
brilliant wrote a biography or for her father at the
age of thirteen, was born in eighteen seventy two. Clara
Clemens was born in eighteen seventy four and would go
on to be both an author and a singer. Finally,
Jane Clemens would be born in eighteen eighty.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Now let's pause here for another word from our sponsors.
Don't forget that if you are either a one dollar
or three dollar Patreon subscriber, you do have as part
of those perks to be able to get at free episodes,
and you usually get those before anyone else.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Gets a chance to hear the.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Episode here or there there.
Speaker 9 (48:01):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and fly.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
It was time to get back to the show, and
there there we are so awesome flopped. In eighteen seventy seven,
Twain doubled down on solo work. He was already a
household name, but now he became a literary institution. On
June night, eighteen seventy six, he had written and published
(48:36):
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was drawn on his
life as a young boy in Hannibal, Missouri. This cemented
his legacy as a great American writer and was one
of the first novels written with a typewriter. From eighteen
seventy nine to eighteen eighty five he wrote A Tramp Abroad,
(49:00):
Life on the Mississippi and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The latter,
published in eighteen eighty five, was his masterpiece. Funny, brutal,
and revolutionary. It challenged racism, hypocrisy, and the myth of
American innocence. From eighteen eighty nine to eighteen ninety four,
(49:24):
Twain's imagination turned darker and more satirical. A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur's Court, skeward romanticism, and blind faith in progress.
Pudden had Wilson tackled identity, race and justice with biting irony,
but behind the scenes, Twain was struggling. Twain made a
(49:48):
fortune and lost most of it. He invested heavily in
the page Type typesetting Machine, a mechanical marvel that never
worked properly. It drained his finances. To repay his debts,
Twain embarked on a global lecture tour from eighteen ninety
five to eighteen ninety six, covering fifty three thousand miles.
(50:15):
He cracked jokes in India, South Africa, Australia and England,
becoming one of the first true international celebrities. Despite declaring bankruptcy,
Twain insisted on paying back every creditor. It was a
matter of honor, Twain later. Twain's later years were marked
(50:37):
by devastating loss. Susie, his beloved daughter, died of meningitis
in eighteen ninety six. Olivia, his wife and editor, died
in nineteen oh four. Jean, his youngest daughter, died of
a heart attack in nineteen oh nine. After years of
battling epilepsy, was shattered. He wrote bitter essays, including The
(51:04):
Mysterious Stranger, a philosophical tale that questioned morality, religion, and
the existence of God. In his final decade, Twain became
a fierce critic of American imperialism. He joined the American
Anti Imperialist League, opposing the Philippine American War colonial atrocities
(51:33):
in the Congo. He published King Leopold soliloquy in nineteen
oh five, a savage, savage satire of Belgians, kings exploitation
of Africa. He also became increasingly reclusive and a cervic,
(51:53):
though still beloved. He wore his iconic white suit year
round and gave interviews with a twinkle and a stink.
Twain spent his last years in Stormfield, his Connecticut home,
dictating his autobiography and feuding with his secretary Isabelle Lyon,
(52:15):
whom he accused of betrayal and manipulation. He famously said,
I came in with Haley's comment in eighteen thirty five.
It is coming again next year, and I expect to
go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment
of my life if I don't. He died on April
twenty first, nineteen ten, one day after Haley's comment reached
(52:41):
its closest point to Earth, just as he'd predicted. No
Barren our collaborator, and I was in the zone.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
That's what it was.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
I wasn't paying attention to what I was reading because
now that I popped myself out of whatever little days
I was in there, our collaborator and theme song genius
absolutely portrayed Twain for years in Hannibal's Clemens Amphitheater. His
(53:11):
performances captured not just the wit, but the weariness, the
man behind the mask. That's very nice of you to
say about our friend Bill Honey, its twin. I just
I just said it again, didn't I?
Speaker 1 (53:26):
No, you skipped like you're you're reading there. Uh huh,
you should be here.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
Twain wasn't just a humorist. He was a survivor, a skeptic,
and a storyteller who turned grief into gold. Parents Parents Twain.
Twain was the one who'd seen too much now it's
just my brain's confused, who'd seemed too much, laughed anyway,
(53:56):
and still had the guts to say what. When ever,
you find yourself on the side of the majority, it
is time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
That's a good quote. I like that.
Speaker 3 (54:09):
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect, because if it's everybody's
doing it, you want to make sure it really is
the right thing, not just yeah because everybody else is
doing it. That's a great way to put that. MMMM.
Speaker 9 (54:29):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 6 (54:40):
It's time to get back to the show.
Speaker 2 (54:42):
Mark Twain shared a lot of common a lot in
common with Ambrose Beeers. Both started out as printers devils.
Both worked in newspapers, and both were bold writers and
with strong moral beliefs. That each suffered personal losses, including
the deaths of children and spouses, and those tragedies shaped
(55:07):
their writing. Twain's legacy is foundational to American literature. He
didn't just write stories, He helped to find the country's voice.
His use of every everyday speech, especially in Huckleberry Finn,
broke away from European styles and made room for real, flawed,
(55:29):
and deeply human characters. As Ernest Hemingway once said, all
of modern American literature comes from one book by Mark
Twain called Huckleberry Finn. Check a check out episode two
thirty three with our friend Ben Brenda from Horrifying History
(55:51):
for more on that, well wait. Twain used humor to
challenge injustice, whether it was slavery, imperialism, or religious hypocrisy,
and his essays like like to the Person Sitting in
Darkness still hit hard today. He also explored childhood and
(56:13):
moral growth, showing kids like Huck and Tom often saw
the truth more clearly than adults than the adults around them.
Writers like Paul Faulkner, Morrison Vone, Vonnegut, Vonnegut, and lie
Gwin Leagan Liguin have all pointed to Twain as a
(56:37):
major influence. His work continues to shape American storytelling, and yes,
he's still celebrated today, especially at the Calavers Calaverse County
County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, held every May in
Angels Camps Camp, count and Angels Camp, California. The festival
(57:00):
honors the story that launched Twain's career with frog jumping contests, parades,
live music, and even a frog Hop of fame. His
homes in Hannibal, Missouri and Hartford, Connecticut, are now museums
that offer a deep dive into his life and work.
(57:22):
Quain is also studied in classrooms around the world, with
Huckleberry Finn still sparking important conversations about race, censorship, and history.
Speaker 1 (57:32):
Mark Twain isn't just a famous author. He's a pop
culture legend who keeps showing up in surprising places. He's
appeared in Star Trek The Next Generation as a time
traveling guest on the USS Enterprise and in Star Trek
Lower Decks, where character's cosplay is in He's also a
(57:52):
character in Roughriders by Aftershot Comics, teaming up with Teddy Roosevelt,
Houdini and others to to fight evil at the eighteen
ninety eight World's Fair. Twain's stories have him inspired tons
of movies and plays like Tom and Huck, The Adventures
of Huck Finn and a Connecticut Yankee, and King Arthur's Court.
(58:15):
Actor Hal Holbrook famously performed as Twain in his one
man show Mark Twain Tonight for nearly sixty years. You'll
find his name on schools, parks, and even theme park
rides like the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland. Some places
even try to capture his spirit literally. In the Greenwich
(58:36):
Village in New York, Twain lived at fourteen West tenth Street,
now called the House of Death, where people claim to
see his ghosts wandering the stairs or sitting by a
window saying, my name is Clemmens, and I have a
problem here I got to settle. When he lived there,
he saw a piece of wood levitate. He shot at it,
(58:58):
thinking it was a rat. He hit the peace of wood,
and a few drops of blood appeared on the floor.
His presence has also felt in places like the Clemens
Amphitheater and his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri, where fans
still celebrate his life with festivals and museum tours. Whether
in comics, ghost stories, or theme parts, Twain's voice keeps
(59:21):
echoing throughout American culture.
Speaker 9 (59:27):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflected.
Speaker 1 (59:39):
Let's see, I think Arthur started last week? Or was
that me?
Speaker 2 (59:43):
Was that me?
Speaker 1 (59:45):
Someone started last week? Wasn't me?
Speaker 2 (59:47):
Did I start last week?
Speaker 1 (59:49):
Or was it you? I just know it wasn't me.
Speaker 2 (59:52):
You started last week. So it's your turn to start
this week?
Speaker 1 (59:55):
Yes, actually, that would make it your turn to start.
Start it's Arthur you me?
Speaker 3 (01:00:01):
Oh, okay, all right too.
Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Marge Trade was cool. No, I mean, he was just
he was amazing at what he did.
Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
He was an amazing storyteller.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
What else can you say?
Speaker 3 (01:00:11):
I mean, he just lived a very, very full life.
He had hardships, he he changed his mind, and he
owned up to changing his mind. That's that's the big
thing that still resonates with so many people today.
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
It shows that you can change as a person no
matter where you are exactly that's exactly what he did,
and that shows what I wish most people today would
do instead of fighting with each other and all following
the same path like little Duppling's following their mother.
Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
Well, and I think he's probably one of the most
quoted people like anywhere.
Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Probably And I do like that quote and it may
become the sponsor sounder this week is whenever you find
yourself on the on the side of the majority, it's
time to pause and reflect. That's a brilliant, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
And something that will never really be bad advice. And
that was the whole thing. It's like he offered a
lot of advice through just his own words and also
what he wrote and his characters and how they resonate
and become something different, something a little bit different for.
Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
Everybody, right right. Just wish more people saw the world
and see the world or saw the world the way
that he did, Yeah, because it would be so much
easier for people to open up and accept more things
if you think about where you're standing and think about
how things just work.
Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
But people can learn, and I think that's a good
thing about him because he started off on one side
and he learned that that was wrong and he changed
to who he was and that and used that change
for good, for good going forward, which is the big thing.
Like he wasn't quiet about what he believed in. Yeah,
he learned that it was wrong, and then he told
(01:02:11):
other people that.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
It was wrong.
Speaker 3 (01:02:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
Yeah. In fact, the book that's his masterpiece. One of
the things that it is, uh that that is said
about it is that his portrayal of Jim as an
uneducated but not a dumb man. Yeah at all, absolutely,
but but just an uneducated one resonated because it was
(01:02:34):
an honest picture of the time. Absolutely, And there are
many who felt like Twain should not have made him
a smart black man. What's going on? Oh damn, dark cat. Anyway,
that's my that's my final thoughts.
Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
You're just are gonna give me your fun.
Speaker 3 (01:02:55):
He was so scared.
Speaker 1 (01:02:57):
That's that's why I'm trying to move this alone.
Speaker 2 (01:03:00):
Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Okay, I feel like I've
already said what I've had to say. He was a
good guy and he learned from his mistakes. He learned
from he was He was a good guy.
Speaker 3 (01:03:13):
But he definitely had strong morals and yeah, I mean humanity. Yeah,
quite a bit more compassion than some people.
Speaker 2 (01:03:25):
Yeah. Not a not a perfect person, but not He
was just really honest morally not morally possessed.
Speaker 1 (01:03:35):
Yeah. Well, I think it says something that both him
and that the Matilda Joslyn Gage that we talked about
episode sixty four last week, both at different points look
back over things they said and and we're like, you
know what, I'm gonna stick to that or I can't
(01:03:58):
stick to them. With Gage, it was I'm going to
stick to that. I fought for woman's freedom, and while
my daughter is not using that freedom the way I would,
I'm gonna stand by her right to use it.
Speaker 3 (01:04:11):
I appreciate you giving that callback to the episode because
I thought that that was a really good episode that
we have.
Speaker 1 (01:04:18):
And then we're best with with with with Mark Twain,
Samuel Clemens, he's got that that. Okay, yes I did this,
but it was stupid. I'm gonna mock how stupid it
was in this short story, but then I'm gonna mock
it again later and other books that are gonna become
famous and you cannot say my name in high school without,
(01:04:41):
you know, knowing somebody's getting in a reading assignment. They'll
probably enjoy.
Speaker 3 (01:04:47):
Not even necessarily enjoy, but learn from, change.
Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
From, learn from, and i'd say enjoy, I mean with
the jokes he made, with the stuff he brought up.
They learn, but it's also fun for them to learn because.
Speaker 3 (01:05:04):
I mean, it's definitely it's definitely an.
Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
Immersive type of story.
Speaker 1 (01:05:08):
Right, do you have any final thoughts to add?
Speaker 5 (01:05:11):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
Okay, well, that's our show. Thanks for listening, Thanks for
keeping us in the Good POD's top one hundred, Thanks
for being members of the fam. Thanks to Blue, Lexi, Laura,
and Arthur, whom you all can catch it by checking
out our latest episode of Family Role. It's our very
(01:05:34):
first and it eventually will be split off into its
own feet, but for now, I'm we'll keep it where
it is. But yeah, so and and Arthur is pretty
amazing on that show.
Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
Am I.
Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:05:47):
Now, definitely Dutch gets gets most of the screen time. Noel, Noel,
Noel Dutch. Dutch is the nickname.
Speaker 3 (01:06:01):
Noel.
Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
Okay, well, Noel Bunny is definitely.
Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
I know we call her Dutch sometimes, don't we.
Speaker 1 (01:06:12):
And if Noel's around, apparently.
Speaker 2 (01:06:15):
I want to use your name you want to. She's cool.
Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
She is cool. She's the only herring gun sharpshooter I
know of. Anyway point is.
Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
One time I missed the hip very well.
Speaker 1 (01:06:33):
Anyway point is. You can check that out. It's available
on the main feed right now.
Speaker 9 (01:06:39):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
Thanks to Bill, Paige and Aaron. Bill is Bill Barrant
who we mentioned above. Uh these days, he's less than
a bill. He's less of an actor, more of a musician.
And if you need him for any sort of project,
you can reach him at Bill Barrant at SBC global
dot net. Thanks to Paige Elmore of the Reverie Crime podcast,
(01:07:03):
who has shared her love of Canva and Arthur's artwork
to create some logo art for us. Thank you, Paige,
Thank you Page. Thanks to Aaron Generk of The Big
Dumb Fun Show for continuing to promote us locally. Join
us next week as we look into Billy the Kid.
Speaker 4 (01:07:23):
Bye.
I'm Dean, I'm the dad.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I'm Laura, I'm the mom, and I'm Arthur, I'm the son.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Together we are family plied.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
There we go. Okare you go all right, Peach.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
We're not going to get distracted.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
We are going to do housekeeping.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Dean, take it away right. Well, there's many ways you
can help us. One way is through our Tea Spring
merch store. Just look up Family Plot on te Spring
that'll find it. And there we sell high fashion, beautiful
items like T shirts.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Coffee mugs, hoodies and stickers.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All with our own Arthur's original high fashion artwork, available
for easy US and other countries commerce. That's why we
use Tea Spring because they handle all of that. So
if you want to help, that's the way to do it.
If you cannot afford to do, you know, full on
forty dollars hoodie. Hey, we understand, we got kids. I
(01:49):
can't remember the last hoodie that I wouldn't gifted going
to some event or other, so yeah, something else you
can do. Something else you can do is our Patreon,
which we have two levels, the one dollar and the
three dollar. Now both get ad free versions of the shows,
but only at the three dollars level. Can you see
(02:15):
the video of the Family Role podcast. It's the only place,
it's the only place that exists right now. Eventually Family
Role will have its own YouTube and and and all
those associated bits. But for now, while I am trying
(02:36):
to learn video editing and I don't feel like I
got sound editing down, and I've been doing this for
almost five years now, we will keep them to Patreon
only because I can't edit them and it's just I
don't know how. So yeah, but still three dollars level.
You can watch that sweet sweet video.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Is it sleep?
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It's amusing at least, is it? Oh, it's very amusing. Nice,
especially with with flexis Let's pretend we're eating marshmallows.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Trying to explain to her that it's literally dungeons and dragons.
We're literally pretending all of this.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Let's pretend you don't have to that's what you get
to do.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
You don't even have to you don't even have to
get permission unless it's a role.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
None of this is reading anyways. So three dollar level,
that Patriot, that's the Patreon of course.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Still get those three episodes at a three dollars level
as well as well. As other Special Family plot episodes
that have not been bleeped out.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yes, make sure you catch in on that Sharon Kenney episode. Absolutely,
Oh yeah, I kind of went off that when.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Arthur was ten minutes when edited Arthur right there.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Arthur at one point wanted to be a lawyer, and
with his command of the English language in that moment,
I could see lawyer Arthur. I really could.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
A lot of people say that I'm good at debating
like you are.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
You're a bose. You're just good at arguing.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You are very good at arguing. I make a point
and I push that point.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You do, Arthur. Nobody's trying to take your point.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
The whole basis to being an attorney. I believe we
talked to you about talking to your uncle Mike about
said things fresh cut grass, Yes FCG.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
He sees a boss. You the boss.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Look right now, you're gonna make me have to hashtag
Sam Regal And then.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
One should really always upset about one should really always hit?
I mean you, yeah, you just can't the man.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
The man is.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
A dedicated professional of the highest glory.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Plus, I don't know why you're complaining. Didn't you get
more traction the last time? We brought up a bunch
of different names.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
I don't know what you're talking about, hashtag hands or sucks.
We were talking about Patreon. Now. If you cannot afford
the monthly Patreon amount, you can always just throw us
a dollar or two through buy me a coffee. Yes,
If you enjoy the show, please share it on social media,
share it with.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Friends, share it with family, with ringbond, and you could
also leave us a five star review.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
If you don't enjoy the show, please keep it to yourselves.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say
anything at all.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Weird noise goes here well. He was a riverboat pilot,
a gold prospector, a journalist, a lecturer, a satirist, and
a novelist whose pen name became synonymous with American wit.
He skewered hypocrisy, championed justice, and gave his characters so
(06:17):
vivid they practically leap off the page, whether time traveling
to medieval England or floating down the Mississippi with Huck
and Jim Mark Twain born Samuel Langhorne Clemens crafted stories
that still shape how we see ourselves. Twain's voice was
equal parts mischief and moral clarity. He mocked kings and
(06:38):
con men, exposed the absurdities of war and religion, and
made readers laugh while quietly asking them to think harder.
He was a literary trickster with a conscience, a man
who could turn a steamboat logbook into poetry and a
frog jumping contest into high art. All this and more
(06:59):
in this guy could do anything. Episode of the Family
Plot podcast.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Nice I'm excited another hometown show. Yes of our well
home state.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I was gonna say, not hometown, although he would he
would come here time or two. He spent more time
in New York than he did in Kansas City.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
So Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November thirtieth, eighteen
thirty five, in Florida at Missouri, to John Marshall and
Jane Lambton Clemens.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
His father was a judge and a lawyer and a
justice of the peace. He invested heavily in civic life
and even helped to organize the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad.
His mother was a housewife, a homemaker and a midwife
who had a flair for both humor and telling stories.
(07:56):
Twain would later credit his mother for his sense of humor.
Sam was next to the youngest of seven children and
would lose many of his family as he grew up,
which would greatly affect him. Brother Orion Clemens was born
in eighteen twenty five. His oldest sister, Pamela, was born
in eighteen twenty seven. An older brother, Pleasant Hannibal Clemens,
(08:21):
was born in eighteen twenty eight, but he would die
less than a year later and several years before Sam
was even born. Older sister Margaret Clemens would be born
in eighteen thirty but die in eighteen thirty nine from
a fever. Older brother, Benjamin Clemens, would be born in
eighteen thirty two but die ten years later from one
(08:41):
of those fun unspecified illnesses that they got in the
eighteenth century or nineteenth century.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Probably some kind of influenzo or something.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We do not know what either Margaret or Benjamin died
from exactly, as causes of death in the early eighteen
hundreds were often best guesses unless the cause or manner
of death was obvious. Sam himself would be born in
eighteen thirty five, and then his only younger sibling, Henry,
would be born three years later, losing so many siblings,
(09:12):
so young colored young Samuel for life, giving him the
dark sense of humor that would mark his writings in
later years.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
And those just kind of he was a pro product
of his environment. That just was almost kind of the age.
Like he said, children people died and just they didn't
know why. They didn't have the medical training that we
have now. Doctors didn't have the training. They didn't know
(09:42):
about germs.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, why don't we take a moment, you know what,
one week, shake as many moments as as the child needs,
and take and go over to Arthur's corner.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
All right, absolutely, Arth, there's corner after Arthur.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Stop sneezing.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Here ye, here ye, allow me to present Arthur's corner.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
By the way, I will say that if I go
online and look for a blowing snot sound effect and
put it in as the as the sound, you will
at this point learn it's not Arthur. I wouldn't do
that to my son.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I can't get any snot out of my nose. There's
none enough anyways.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Allergy stink yeah, hashtag seasonal allergies. No, hey, what there was?
You had the phlebotomist. If if you make other people,
they they relate you, Arthur. There's nothing embarrassing about having allergies.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
The bottom miss that bottom miss. But I felt bad
for my arm after that because I had a literal
brood that formed on the other side of my arm.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I know, I know, they beat you up and now
you're suffering from that.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Subsergees. I figure listeners.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Want to know so they can sympathize with their Arthur.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
See, if we did video right there, I would dub
in God's Illinois, be good.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
But we don't. I do all right, I.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Do have a camera. I mean, we absolutely could, but
that's something we can discuss and it would have been
like on your mouth anyway, Sorry, go ahead of Arthur.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Whatever you're hello, guys, how are we doing today?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I am fabulous, other than making the mistake of costing
us what ten minutes by asking how we were at
the beginning of the show for.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Five minutes, it's okay, well it was five, but then
it the seven.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Okay, oh, you're right.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Probably yeah, to say the child is right, he's a bose,
he'll argue, yes, that's.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
That's exactly what I said. That it's true.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I'm not trying.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
No, you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Try it's just I'm gonna commit arson in various states.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Don't fire is wrong when it's used as the one,
But killing other people and more isn't. No, I think
both of those things are terrible.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Oh, only set fire on those who try to kill me. Okay,
I mean, okay, Well you are traned.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
So there's a lot of maggots.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Maggots, maggot.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
They wear the name proudly, just like when they I
was coming up, there was a party that called itself well, originally,
originally it called itself the Tea Party, and then they
started referring themselves as tee bears, and the rest of
America began laughing because they knew what teaching meant.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Okay, now you have to like bleep that out because.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That is so not PG worth it worthy.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Goodness we give, we need to give that. An adults
shop smoking can just say whatever you want.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
See he does that with other podcasts that aren't rated.
P T thirteen. That is true, That is true. How
are you? How am I?
Speaker 6 (13:50):
Yes, I've had a good week.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I got to like a big old presentation yesterday. I
felt like I knocked it out of the I was
the representative for my group that I'm so excited about,
Oh freak, And I got to do like a big
I got to do like a big presentation for a
whole like it ended up being I think I maybe
(14:14):
did it in six and a half minutes. I did
not have long. I shot through that sucker. It was
supposed to be ten minutes, and I was at the
tailent and I snugged it, and then I ran and
did a whole other class.
Speaker 5 (14:29):
So I I think it took me two or three
hours to calm down from the adrenaline rush that I
got friendly from those several classes.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
That it was a It was a busy day for me.
I felt like I ran a marathon.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yes, wow, I did.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course, your father's birthday was Monday, and I did
a lot with that. So I have been a very
busy mommy this week. That's how I am. I think
I'm a little tired.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I'm sorry, but hey, it's okay. There's only two days
left this week, that's.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
True, and today's an exciting day.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Today is an exciting day.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Because I got your notification to my notification.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Now, I accidentally put it as a family notification and
I can't get rid of it. For everybody else, so
they just get it all the time.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Okay, I like it, as I always know to congratulate
you heavy anniversary.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Today is my eleven month verse eleventh month of versary
with my partner. I do know actually how to fix
that if you want, I can help you when we're
not recording, just reminding me. I do know, I do know.
How what are you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Moon farting?
Speaker 2 (16:00):
That's what looks like? You did a great job.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
It's a very good it's a very good parting moon.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
But I thought it might have be a chot on
its ass, So.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
No, it's a moon farting.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
It's exceptional. Really, it's an exceptional farting banana moon.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
It's very good, beautiful.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
So other than that, you're so excited.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
How long has it been eleven months with my partner?
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Eleven eleven eleven whole months? Everyone here has.
Speaker 5 (16:39):
Has heard about Arthur's partner almost well.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
You know, I wouldn't be opposed to him being a
guest on a future episode of the podcast.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'm saying, I think he's a little shy.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
He is a little shy.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Arthur's partner's a little shy.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Arthur's Partner's got scared who was scared. Scared as she
doodle when you walked in the room. They got scared.
Remember when you came in my room and asked me
for a hug? Yeah, on your birthday. Yeah, he's scared.
Shut bootle out of them.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
You said that that I didn't realize how I had
not cad and I you did.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
They just get scared whenever you guys walk in because
they're not used to you guys being around when we call. Well,
have we said hello before?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
It's not like it would be a first time thing.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
But that's okay.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Parents can be a little intimidating. Not all parents are
as awesome as we are exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Let's see, I was working on a craft earlier. Yes,
I'd love to show you guys, but I don't I do.
I do have some pictures.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yes, you sent me. You showed me the pictures, right,
just just a little bit of oh yeah, I showed
you them. Yes, you're gonna show that. Check it out.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Very nice.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
He's gonna build out a whole furry head.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
That's he told me. That was the plan.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, it looks like very nice right there.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
It's a pretty good shot. Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah, let's see. Yes, October tenth is me and my
partner's year. That is off longest relationship yet very cool.
My last longest relationship didn't end too well, and mom
and dad threatened to beat them. Mom and dad are
always gonna not Mom. You know Mom didn't threaten to
(18:48):
beat them up.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
Mom's always gonna have your back. Even if I don't
necessarily threaten violence. But I'm capable of violence, don't. Don't
get me wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
If violence is so required you, violence is so required.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
If someone were just say physically harm my Arthur, physical harm,
harm would be returned.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I'm just saying, physically harm me, and I I feel
like someone did.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
No, you haven't physically harmed me.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
I feel like if someone were to emotionally harm my Arthur,
I would I would respond with physical with physical harm.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Okay, it's okay. So I cannot. I cannot harm you
for self harm. That is not your faults, just like
I can't harm myself for self harm.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
But hey, if you feel bad. Look, there's a moon's farting.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, that moon fart probably smells like jeez, I'm gonna
say moon dust, but that works. He's talking about prodcasting.
The moon part would smell like cheese, moon.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Dusting, dusting, try your best to make that a thing.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Mean you relaxing?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Or I think of it the grocery girl, the grocer
it is.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I think.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
It's funny, but it's still gross. What are you drying now?
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Someone's smelling?
Speaker 3 (20:33):
Start playing Family flat Dictionary.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Someone's smelling the fart and dusted.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Why would I draw that? No?
Speaker 3 (20:47):
No, you made it up. I don't know what that
noise is. My laugh sounds so funny.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Sometimes a squeaky toy stuck mmmm and.
Speaker 7 (21:02):
Oh, I sin cute.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
You are so talented child.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
That was a silly, dumb little doodle.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
We're gonna have to start playing family plat Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Family plot Pictionary, I love it.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
We can.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
You can get your digital tablet out my family plot Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
What are you drawing? You gotta get the whole pictionary game.
I can't tell.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
DM me through the through the Facebook group, you guys
will want my family plot Pictionary.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
We'll put it in a family Flat Pictionary for Patreon member. No,
I'm kidding.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
I can set that up.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yes, it messages if I can put the ideas in
a message on the Family.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Plot Podcast Facebook group group.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
Yeah, family plot podcast Facebook group.
Speaker 7 (22:03):
If I get fifty responses about family prop pertus about
pictionary that we could play, I'll get them all, write
them all down, we'll put them in a hat and
we'll play with those options and try to guess what
we're drawing, and we'll put the drawings up for people
to see afterwards, and you can depending on if if
(22:25):
it happens, I I would love to see us get
fifty posts on a Facebook post.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
That would be so amazing to get fifty, I mean
we have maybe if I get twenty, because we don't
have enough time to do fifty. If I get twenty
and see how many how many members.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Do we have?
Speaker 1 (22:49):
One hundred and ninety?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Heay?
Speaker 3 (22:53):
So if I'll get twenty responses and be twenty separate posts,
but just twenty ideas of what we could play dictionary wise,
because I don't want to have pictionary. If I could
get that on here, we would play and then we
would post the drawings. That would be so fun. All right, Sorry,
(23:16):
I got distracted. You made me all excited. You're always drawing,
so it gave me that idea.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
You can get all that out if you want to.
You don't have to keep that in. I apologize. Was
there anything else you want to talk about in your corner?
I'm thinking that's fine. I did that. I got all
excited and had a big old idea and just rolled
over your corner, like boss.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I didn't mean to.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
It was an accident, acts an accident. I almost said
a bad word, accident trying to be huge, so I
was trying I didn't. I was trying to make sure
I didn't say that.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Accident is not a bad word. Yes, it is it. Yes,
And we'll have to blake me a couple of times now, huh.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
Okay, And it's gonna really stay home because I just
I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Okay, you want to take this section.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
And I can go put pizza.
Speaker 9 (24:46):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 6 (24:57):
It's time to get back to the show.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
In eighteen thirty nine, the same year young Margaret Clemens died,
the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a river town
that would later inspire fictional Saint Petersburg in the Adventures
of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn Finn.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Yeah, Huckleberry finn No.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I know, hmm. Hannibal was full of adventure with steamboats,
caves and forests, but it was also dangerous, with deadly
cholera outbreaks, slavery, and financial hardships. Sam's father, John Marshall Clemens,
(25:45):
was a lawyer and a judge, and money was always tight.
When he died in eighteen forty seven, the family struggled
even more. Sam was the sixth of seven children, and
by the time his younger brother Henry was born, three
siblings had already died, including Benjamin in eighteen forty two.
(26:09):
These losses stayed with Sam, especially Henry's death in steam
in the Steinblow explosion in eighteen fifty eight, which Twain
later said he had dreamed about before it even happened.
As a child, Sam was often sick and stuck in bed,
(26:30):
but he had a vivid imagination and emotional depth, traits
he got from his mother Jane. He didn't go to
school regularly and preferred reading, joking around, and making up
stories inspired by adventure books, Shakespeare, and popular humorists and
(26:51):
popular humorous. After his father died, Sam left school at
age eleven and began working for a local printer around
age twelve, he became a printer's devil just like Ambrose Beers.
Check out episode one hundred and ninety nine for him.
(27:12):
Go ahead, We'll wait a printed A printer's devil was
you was a young princess who did everything from mixing
ink to setting to setting type, usually covered in grind
and learning the trade from ground up. Sam worked for
the Hannibal Gazette over Joseph Ament under Joseph Ament, and
(27:37):
later for his brother Orion's paper. The Hannibal Journal was
the Tough. The work was tough, but it gave him
early experience with writing, layout and printed word. Around this time,
he also joins the joins the con the Cadets of Tempress,
(28:00):
a group that encouraged kids to stay away from alcohol,
though Sam would later become known for enjoying cigars and whiskey.
How ironic right. By eighteen forty eight, he was writing short,
funny pieces for Oreon's paper, using goofy pen names like
(28:22):
w ephamin own not, I'm not reading all that, I'm sorry,
I add as addresses Perkins wow, and Thomas Jefferson snood grass. Okay,
(28:43):
imagine having a pen name like that. That's silly. Obviously,
his early writing Grass mister Snodgrass sounds like a spoiled
child in the.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
Eighties probably read I got it Room.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
His early writing was rough but allowed, but showed a
sharp wit, a growing talent for satire. One of his
sketches even got published in The Carpet Bag, a humor
magazine out of Boston. Sam grew up in town where slavery,
(29:24):
in a town where slavery was a part of everyday life,
and while he didn't question it much as a boy,
the harsh realities of Hannibal, including lynchings, steamboat disasters, and
pools frontier justice, left deep marks that would write that
would later shape the dark humor and moral death of
(29:44):
his powerful work, his most powerful work.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Okay, thank you, Arthur. We appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I stuttered my way out of that one.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
You did amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Yeah, you would take it slow and he and you
knocked it out of the park.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
That's what we do sometimes. And now we're going to
take a few minutes and hear from some of our
fellow content creators.
Speaker 10 (30:10):
Hey, there, do you like nostalgia? Do you like having
best friends? Do you like it when people make fun
of each other? And make things comments on podcasts that
if we're to ever see the light of day, might
ruin their chances for a public state of office. Well,
then you've come to the right place to what an
odd gas where we run a show where why don't
you just go ahead and take this example here? And
(30:32):
why don't you come check us out? Have a good one?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Now replaced question, I'm gonna.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Please?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Can we can we go ahead and add that to
the new into mary end Hi, I'm Karen and I'm
amried And this is Chickling, a literature comedy podcast where
we enjoy getting lit and talking about books we love
and love to roast.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
We also talk about personal opinions and quote the office
so much that we've made it into.
Speaker 8 (31:02):
A drinking game.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
We've been friends for over a decade, so grab your
drink of choice and join us for some shenanigans.
Speaker 9 (31:10):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and flined.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
It was time to get back to the show.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Well that was better than a pooting moon.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yes, absolutely, yeah, I'd rather not be moondusted.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
No moondusts for Arthur.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
So putting his teeth and animal Twain spent the early
eighteen fifties bouncing between cities like Saint Louis, New York,
and Philadelphia, working as a journeyman printer. He read voraciously,
soaked up city life, and began writing humorous sketches under
(31:57):
various pseudonyms. O'rian. Ever, the idealist, bought a newspaper in Keokuk, Iowa,
and Sam joined him there in eighteen fifty five. Though
their partnership was rocky, Orian was serious and moralistic, Sam
(32:20):
was sarcastic and restless, it gave Twain more chances to
write and experiment. In eighteen fifty seven, Twain's life took
a dramatic turn. While traveling on steamboat, he met Horace Bixby,
a seasoned riverboat pilot. Playing convinced Bixy to Bixby to
(32:46):
take him on as an apprentice, and for the next
two years he learned the complex geography and rhythms of
the Mississippi River. By eighteen fifty nine, he earned his
pilot's license and began navigating steamboats full time. Twain later
(33:07):
described piloting as one of the most satisfying jobs he
had ever had. It required precision, memory, and nerve qualities
he relished. The river became a metaphor for life in
many of his writings, and his time as a pilot
(33:29):
deeply influenced Life on the Mississippi and the river scenes
in Huck Finn. This chapter of Twain's life ended abruptly
in eighteen sixty one with the outbreak of the Civil War,
which shut down river traffic. Twain briefly joined a Confederate militia. Yes,
(33:54):
Twain briefly joined a Confederate melissa the Marion Rangers in
eighteen sixty one, during the early days of the Civil War.
He was twenty five living in Missouri, a border state
with divided loyalties, and like many young men of the time,
(34:16):
he was swept up in the local fervor for verb
his but his stint lasted only two weeks. He later
wrote about it in The Private History of a Campaign
That Failed, a satirical and self deprecating account that makes
(34:41):
it clear he was more interested in adventure than ideology.
Speaker 6 (34:46):
At the time.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Twain had grown up in a slaveholding society, and his
early views reflected that environment. He even voted for John Bell,
a pro slavery candidate who opposed secession. But Twain was
never a committed Confederate, and his desertion suggests discomfort with
(35:12):
the cause, or at least with military life. The humors
where it gets fascinating, it gets fascinating here listen. Twain's
views radically shifted as he matured. By the time he
wrote Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was a fierce critic
(35:33):
of slavery, racism, and moral hypocrisy of American societies. His
portrayal of Jim, the enslaved man who becomes Huck's friend
and moral compass, is deeply sympathetic and subversive. Twain uses
Huck's internal conflict, torn between the racist values he has
(35:57):
taught he was taught, and his grown love and respect
for Jim to expose the cruelty and absurdity of slavery.
So yes, Twain's early flirtation with the Confederacy stands in
stark contrast to the moral clarity of his later works,
but that contradiction is part of what makes him so compelling.
(36:22):
He changed, he grew, and he used his wit and
storytelling to challenge the very systems he.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Once took for granted.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
From there, he headed west, chasing silver and stories in
Nevada and California.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
And now let's take a moment for a word from
our sponsors.
Speaker 9 (36:54):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the madile,
it's time to pause and flin good.
Speaker 6 (37:06):
I also feel sponsory you.
Speaker 3 (37:09):
A sponsor me.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Hey, guess what came out today episode one of Family Role.
It's in our feed right now. So if you want
to hear Lexi's.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Two young members can see even.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Yeah, so if you want to hear Lexi's that's New
York Grilla. Yep, Lexi's character Grilla and Arthur's character Albion.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I'll be honest, Cannony trans I made.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Him that cool good, I'm telling you. Lauraes Noel aka
Dutch Bunny a harenguon Sharpshooter. So yeah, that all that
came out today. So people can go check out Lexi
(38:06):
on on our podcast feed and if they're Patreon members,
they can see video of is it is?
Speaker 6 (38:16):
Isn't Noelo? Dutch Bunny?
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Noel is a Dutch bunny?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Noel? Did you not see the picture?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
There's a picture of me. Yes, one, my picture of
my Dutch bunny character looks like Noel, only as as.
Speaker 8 (38:36):
As an anthomorph anthropomorphic animal. Yeah, yeah, that's my character.
My character is Noel. That's a sharp shooting bunny.
Speaker 1 (38:50):
And if you love that, the fur isn't black, it's purple.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
That gray is.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
Gosh, we're in the middle of it, girl, We're not
even close.
Speaker 1 (39:10):
Wow, that was an interesting word from our sponsors. It
took far longer than it should have.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Let's move on right ahead.
Speaker 1 (39:18):
In eighteen fifty eight, while working as a steersman aboard
the Pennsylvania, Sam Clemens arranged for his younger brother, Henry
to join the crew as a mud clerk, which was
a low ranking position with no pay but potential for promotion.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
What a horrible job prospect. I mean, you're not going
to make anything, but if you get promoted, we might
pay you. No, thank you. Sam had a falling out
with the pilot and left the boat in New Orleans.
Days later, the Pennsylvania's boiler exploded near Memphis, killing over
(39:58):
two hundred and fifty p people. Henry was badly injured
and lingered in agony for over a week before dying.
Sam rushed to his side and was devastated. He later
claimed to have dreamed of Henry's death before it happened,
describing a vision of his brother in a metal coffin
(40:20):
balanced across two chairs, wearing Sam's suit. The eerie accuracy
of the dream haunted him for the rest of his life.
After that trauma and a brief, half hearted stint in
a Confederate militia which he deserted after just two weeks,
which Laura had just spoken about, Twain headed west with
(40:40):
Orion in eighteen sixty one. The Civil War had shut
down river traffic, and the brother saw opportunity in the
Nevada Territory, where Orion had been appointed secretary. And that's
his brother. I almost forgot. I did quite, Yeah, Orion's
his brother since I thought it was a ship. Okay, yeah,
(41:03):
it's O Ryan, you're because I was gonna call him
that too, And then in my head, my part of
my brain said, no, that's Oryan, and I went, oh, okay,
thanks part of my head. But it didn't do that
for you.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
I don't know what.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Let's see now. In Orion had been appointed secretary in
the Nevada Territory. Sam tagged along, hoping to strike strike
it rich in silver mining. He didn't help. Instead, he
struck gold in storytelling. While bouncing between mining camps and saloons.
(41:40):
Twain beginner of writing for the Territorial Enterprise, a newspaper
in Virginia City. His sharp wit and knack for absurdity
caught fire. In eighteen sixty five, he published The Celebrated
Jumping Frog of Calavari's County, a tale he'd heard in
a bar in Angels Camp, California.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
It was a which we did not live too far
from when we lived in Mersette, which I did not know.
There was an exit on the highway named for Angels Camp,
and I just always thought it was a awesome weird
name for a place. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
But there's lots of.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
There's lots of There's lots of places in California.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
That have weird names though, So.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Yeah, Squatter's Hump, California, it's probably there. Look it up anyway.
In eighteen sixty five he published The Celebrated Jumping Frog
of count of Calaveras County. It was a story about
a gambler, a frog named Daniel Webster, and a rigged
jumping contest. The piece was printed in the New York
(42:49):
Saturday Press and launched Twain's literary career. So yes, he
mined for silver, but he unde earthed stories and from
the ashes of tragedy failed prospecting. Mark Twain was born
at Even His name was taken from his days on
the river boat where and I forget there was a
(43:11):
very specific name for these men. But there were men
who would test the depth of the river because it
could change. The river was deeper than the ropes would go,
they would sing up no bottom, but if the ropes
would catch on something, then they'd yell up how many
(43:31):
miles or how many Twain it was, which Twain was
a measurement. It wasn't a mile, but it was like that,
you know. So if you a pilot suddenly heard Mark
Twain at a place he wasn't expecting it, that meant
that he was coming up on something and needed to
steer away. It's how they got around not seeing. So
(43:53):
Mark Twain was just something that these quarters yell, and
so he chose that as his pen.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
I'm true, since I hadn't, says, since we had come
across it.
Speaker 1 (44:08):
Now afterwards he got he would go to tangle with
Brett Hart, the Pink and Black attack master of the
sharpshooter family simply beating him in a wake. Sorry Different.
Brett Hart Bretteart with an E Twain's. Brett Hart was
a nineteenth century writer and poet known for his vivid
tales of California's gold rush life. He helped shape the
(44:31):
American short story, and one is one of Twain's early
literary influences until they tried to co write a play
and nearly throttled each other and stabbed each other with
quill pens. In eighteen seventy six, Twain and Heart teamed
up to write a play called ah Sin, meant to
(44:54):
satirize anti anti Chinese sentiment in California mining towns. Hart
had already made a name chronicling gold rush life with
stories like The Luck of the Roaring Camp, while Twain
was writing high on the success of Jumping Frog. On paper,
(45:15):
they were a dream team, but the partnership soured fast.
Twain accused Heart of laziness and pretension. Heart, more polished
and poetic, clashed with Twain's raw, satirical style. The play
tackled the political tension. The play tackled Chinese immigration just
(45:38):
as anti Chinese laws were gaining traction Heart leaned towards
sympathy for those laws, Twain leaned towards biting irony. Austin bombed, Twain,
blamed Heart for the failure, and publicly mocked him in
letters and essays. Heart more reserved responded subtly in print,
but never forgave the betrayal. Later wrote that Hart was
(46:01):
always ready to sacrifice his best friend for the sake
of a woody paragraph. While Hart reportedly never spoke Twain's
name again without a wins, I'm sorry was his last
name bos.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
Yes, I could see it. It might be, might be,
might be related.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Around this time he would meet his future wife. Twain
met Olivia Langdon in December eighteen sixty seven through her
brother Charles, whom Twain had befriended on a voyage to
the Holy Land, a trip that inspired the Innocence Abroad.
Twain claimed he fell in love with Olivia just from
seeing her photograph. Their first date was a Charles Dickens
(46:46):
reading in New York City talk about literary foreshadowing, and
after a year of letter writing courtship, they married in
February eight ten seventy in Elmira, New York. They would
have four children. Langdon Clemens was their only son, born
in eighteen seventy in November. He was premature and would
die nineteen months later of diphtheria. Susie Clemens, who was
(47:10):
brilliant wrote a biography or for her father at the
age of thirteen, was born in eighteen seventy two. Clara
Clemens was born in eighteen seventy four and would go
on to be both an author and a singer. Finally,
Jane Clemens would be born in eighteen eighty.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Now let's pause here for another word from our sponsors.
Don't forget that if you are either a one dollar
or three dollar Patreon subscriber, you do have as part
of those perks to be able to get at free episodes,
and you usually get those before anyone else.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Gets a chance to hear the.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Episode here or there there.
Speaker 9 (48:01):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and fly.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
It was time to get back to the show, and
there there we are so awesome flopped. In eighteen seventy seven,
Twain doubled down on solo work. He was already a
household name, but now he became a literary institution. On
June night, eighteen seventy six, he had written and published
(48:36):
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which was drawn on his
life as a young boy in Hannibal, Missouri. This cemented
his legacy as a great American writer and was one
of the first novels written with a typewriter. From eighteen
seventy nine to eighteen eighty five he wrote A Tramp Abroad,
(49:00):
Life on the Mississippi and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The latter,
published in eighteen eighty five, was his masterpiece. Funny, brutal,
and revolutionary. It challenged racism, hypocrisy, and the myth of
American innocence. From eighteen eighty nine to eighteen ninety four,
(49:24):
Twain's imagination turned darker and more satirical. A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur's Court, skeward romanticism, and blind faith in progress.
Pudden had Wilson tackled identity, race and justice with biting irony,
but behind the scenes, Twain was struggling. Twain made a
(49:48):
fortune and lost most of it. He invested heavily in
the page Type typesetting Machine, a mechanical marvel that never
worked properly. It drained his finances. To repay his debts,
Twain embarked on a global lecture tour from eighteen ninety
five to eighteen ninety six, covering fifty three thousand miles.
(50:15):
He cracked jokes in India, South Africa, Australia and England,
becoming one of the first true international celebrities. Despite declaring bankruptcy,
Twain insisted on paying back every creditor. It was a
matter of honor, Twain later. Twain's later years were marked
(50:37):
by devastating loss. Susie, his beloved daughter, died of meningitis
in eighteen ninety six. Olivia, his wife and editor, died
in nineteen oh four. Jean, his youngest daughter, died of
a heart attack in nineteen oh nine. After years of
battling epilepsy, was shattered. He wrote bitter essays, including The
(51:04):
Mysterious Stranger, a philosophical tale that questioned morality, religion, and
the existence of God. In his final decade, Twain became
a fierce critic of American imperialism. He joined the American
Anti Imperialist League, opposing the Philippine American War colonial atrocities
(51:33):
in the Congo. He published King Leopold soliloquy in nineteen
oh five, a savage, savage satire of Belgians, kings exploitation
of Africa. He also became increasingly reclusive and a cervic,
(51:53):
though still beloved. He wore his iconic white suit year
round and gave interviews with a twinkle and a stink.
Twain spent his last years in Stormfield, his Connecticut home,
dictating his autobiography and feuding with his secretary Isabelle Lyon,
(52:15):
whom he accused of betrayal and manipulation. He famously said,
I came in with Haley's comment in eighteen thirty five.
It is coming again next year, and I expect to
go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment
of my life if I don't. He died on April
twenty first, nineteen ten, one day after Haley's comment reached
(52:41):
its closest point to Earth, just as he'd predicted. No
Barren our collaborator, and I was in the zone.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
That's what it was.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
I wasn't paying attention to what I was reading because
now that I popped myself out of whatever little days
I was in there, our collaborator and theme song genius
absolutely portrayed Twain for years in Hannibal's Clemens Amphitheater. His
(53:11):
performances captured not just the wit, but the weariness, the
man behind the mask. That's very nice of you to
say about our friend Bill Honey, its twin. I just
I just said it again, didn't I?
Speaker 1 (53:26):
No, you skipped like you're you're reading there. Uh huh,
you should be here.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
Twain wasn't just a humorist. He was a survivor, a skeptic,
and a storyteller who turned grief into gold. Parents Parents Twain.
Twain was the one who'd seen too much now it's
just my brain's confused, who'd seemed too much, laughed anyway,
(53:56):
and still had the guts to say what. When ever,
you find yourself on the side of the majority, it
is time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 2 (54:07):
That's a good quote. I like that.
Speaker 3 (54:09):
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect, because if it's everybody's
doing it, you want to make sure it really is
the right thing, not just yeah because everybody else is
doing it. That's a great way to put that. MMMM.
Speaker 9 (54:29):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflect.
Speaker 6 (54:40):
It's time to get back to the show.
Speaker 2 (54:42):
Mark Twain shared a lot of common a lot in
common with Ambrose Beeers. Both started out as printers devils.
Both worked in newspapers, and both were bold writers and
with strong moral beliefs. That each suffered personal losses, including
the deaths of children and spouses, and those tragedies shaped
(55:07):
their writing. Twain's legacy is foundational to American literature. He
didn't just write stories, He helped to find the country's voice.
His use of every everyday speech, especially in Huckleberry Finn,
broke away from European styles and made room for real, flawed,
(55:29):
and deeply human characters. As Ernest Hemingway once said, all
of modern American literature comes from one book by Mark
Twain called Huckleberry Finn. Check a check out episode two
thirty three with our friend Ben Brenda from Horrifying History
(55:51):
for more on that, well wait. Twain used humor to
challenge injustice, whether it was slavery, imperialism, or religious hypocrisy,
and his essays like like to the Person Sitting in
Darkness still hit hard today. He also explored childhood and
(56:13):
moral growth, showing kids like Huck and Tom often saw
the truth more clearly than adults than the adults around them.
Writers like Paul Faulkner, Morrison Vone, Vonnegut, Vonnegut, and lie
Gwin Leagan Liguin have all pointed to Twain as a
(56:37):
major influence. His work continues to shape American storytelling, and yes,
he's still celebrated today, especially at the Calavers Calaverse County
County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, held every May in
Angels Camps Camp, count and Angels Camp, California. The festival
(57:00):
honors the story that launched Twain's career with frog jumping contests, parades,
live music, and even a frog Hop of fame. His
homes in Hannibal, Missouri and Hartford, Connecticut, are now museums
that offer a deep dive into his life and work.
(57:22):
Quain is also studied in classrooms around the world, with
Huckleberry Finn still sparking important conversations about race, censorship, and history.
Speaker 1 (57:32):
Mark Twain isn't just a famous author. He's a pop
culture legend who keeps showing up in surprising places. He's
appeared in Star Trek The Next Generation as a time
traveling guest on the USS Enterprise and in Star Trek
Lower Decks, where character's cosplay is in He's also a
(57:52):
character in Roughriders by Aftershot Comics, teaming up with Teddy Roosevelt,
Houdini and others to to fight evil at the eighteen
ninety eight World's Fair. Twain's stories have him inspired tons
of movies and plays like Tom and Huck, The Adventures
of Huck Finn and a Connecticut Yankee, and King Arthur's Court.
(58:15):
Actor Hal Holbrook famously performed as Twain in his one
man show Mark Twain Tonight for nearly sixty years. You'll
find his name on schools, parks, and even theme park
rides like the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland. Some places
even try to capture his spirit literally. In the Greenwich
(58:36):
Village in New York, Twain lived at fourteen West tenth Street,
now called the House of Death, where people claim to
see his ghosts wandering the stairs or sitting by a
window saying, my name is Clemmens, and I have a
problem here I got to settle. When he lived there,
he saw a piece of wood levitate. He shot at it,
(58:58):
thinking it was a rat. He hit the peace of wood,
and a few drops of blood appeared on the floor.
His presence has also felt in places like the Clemens
Amphitheater and his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri, where fans
still celebrate his life with festivals and museum tours. Whether
in comics, ghost stories, or theme parts, Twain's voice keeps
(59:21):
echoing throughout American culture.
Speaker 9 (59:27):
Whenever one finds oneself on the side of the majority,
it's time to pause and reflected.
Speaker 1 (59:39):
Let's see, I think Arthur started last week? Or was
that me?
Speaker 2 (59:43):
Was that me?
Speaker 1 (59:45):
Someone started last week? Wasn't me?
Speaker 2 (59:47):
Did I start last week?
Speaker 1 (59:49):
Or was it you? I just know it wasn't me.
Speaker 2 (59:52):
You started last week. So it's your turn to start
this week?
Speaker 1 (59:55):
Yes, actually, that would make it your turn to start.
Start it's Arthur you me?
Speaker 3 (01:00:01):
Oh, okay, all right too.
Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Marge Trade was cool. No, I mean, he was just
he was amazing at what he did.
Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
He was an amazing storyteller.
Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
What else can you say?
Speaker 3 (01:00:11):
I mean, he just lived a very, very full life.
He had hardships, he he changed his mind, and he
owned up to changing his mind. That's that's the big
thing that still resonates with so many people today.
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
It shows that you can change as a person no
matter where you are exactly that's exactly what he did,
and that shows what I wish most people today would
do instead of fighting with each other and all following
the same path like little Duppling's following their mother.
Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
Well, and I think he's probably one of the most
quoted people like anywhere.
Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Probably And I do like that quote and it may
become the sponsor sounder this week is whenever you find
yourself on the on the side of the majority, it's
time to pause and reflect. That's a brilliant, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
And something that will never really be bad advice. And
that was the whole thing. It's like he offered a
lot of advice through just his own words and also
what he wrote and his characters and how they resonate
and become something different, something a little bit different for.
Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
Everybody, right right. Just wish more people saw the world
and see the world or saw the world the way
that he did, Yeah, because it would be so much
easier for people to open up and accept more things
if you think about where you're standing and think about
how things just work.
Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
But people can learn, and I think that's a good
thing about him because he started off on one side
and he learned that that was wrong and he changed
to who he was and that and used that change
for good, for good going forward, which is the big thing.
Like he wasn't quiet about what he believed in. Yeah,
he learned that it was wrong, and then he told
(01:02:11):
other people that.
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
It was wrong.
Speaker 3 (01:02:12):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
Yeah. In fact, the book that's his masterpiece. One of
the things that it is, uh that that is said
about it is that his portrayal of Jim as an
uneducated but not a dumb man. Yeah at all, absolutely,
but but just an uneducated one resonated because it was
(01:02:34):
an honest picture of the time. Absolutely, And there are
many who felt like Twain should not have made him
a smart black man. What's going on? Oh damn, dark cat. Anyway,
that's my that's my final thoughts.
Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
You're just are gonna give me your fun.
Speaker 3 (01:02:55):
He was so scared.
Speaker 1 (01:02:57):
That's that's why I'm trying to move this alone.
Speaker 2 (01:03:00):
Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Okay, I feel like I've
already said what I've had to say. He was a
good guy and he learned from his mistakes. He learned
from he was He was a good guy.
Speaker 3 (01:03:13):
But he definitely had strong morals and yeah, I mean humanity. Yeah,
quite a bit more compassion than some people.
Speaker 2 (01:03:25):
Yeah. Not a not a perfect person, but not He
was just really honest morally not morally possessed.
Speaker 1 (01:03:35):
Yeah. Well, I think it says something that both him
and that the Matilda Joslyn Gage that we talked about
episode sixty four last week, both at different points look
back over things they said and and we're like, you
know what, I'm gonna stick to that or I can't
(01:03:58):
stick to them. With Gage, it was I'm going to
stick to that. I fought for woman's freedom, and while
my daughter is not using that freedom the way I would,
I'm gonna stand by her right to use it.
Speaker 3 (01:04:11):
I appreciate you giving that callback to the episode because
I thought that that was a really good episode that
we have.
Speaker 1 (01:04:18):
And then we're best with with with with Mark Twain,
Samuel Clemens, he's got that that. Okay, yes I did this,
but it was stupid. I'm gonna mock how stupid it
was in this short story, but then I'm gonna mock
it again later and other books that are gonna become
famous and you cannot say my name in high school without,
(01:04:41):
you know, knowing somebody's getting in a reading assignment. They'll
probably enjoy.
Speaker 3 (01:04:47):
Not even necessarily enjoy, but learn from, change.
Speaker 2 (01:04:52):
From, learn from, and i'd say enjoy, I mean with
the jokes he made, with the stuff he brought up.
They learn, but it's also fun for them to learn because.
Speaker 3 (01:05:04):
I mean, it's definitely it's definitely an.
Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
Immersive type of story.
Speaker 1 (01:05:08):
Right, do you have any final thoughts to add?
Speaker 5 (01:05:11):
No?
Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
Okay, well, that's our show. Thanks for listening, Thanks for
keeping us in the Good POD's top one hundred, Thanks
for being members of the fam. Thanks to Blue, Lexi, Laura,
and Arthur, whom you all can catch it by checking
out our latest episode of Family Role. It's our very
(01:05:34):
first and it eventually will be split off into its
own feet, but for now, I'm we'll keep it where
it is. But yeah, so and and Arthur is pretty
amazing on that show.
Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
Am I.
Speaker 2 (01:05:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:05:47):
Now, definitely Dutch gets gets most of the screen time. Noel, Noel,
Noel Dutch. Dutch is the nickname.
Speaker 3 (01:06:01):
Noel.
Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
Okay, well, Noel Bunny is definitely.
Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
I know we call her Dutch sometimes, don't we.
Speaker 1 (01:06:12):
And if Noel's around, apparently.
Speaker 2 (01:06:15):
I want to use your name you want to. She's cool.
Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
She is cool. She's the only herring gun sharpshooter I
know of. Anyway point is.
Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
One time I missed the hip very well.
Speaker 1 (01:06:33):
Anyway point is. You can check that out. It's available
on the main feed right now.
Speaker 9 (01:06:39):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
Thanks to Bill, Paige and Aaron. Bill is Bill Barrant
who we mentioned above. Uh these days, he's less than
a bill. He's less of an actor, more of a musician.
And if you need him for any sort of project,
you can reach him at Bill Barrant at SBC global
dot net. Thanks to Paige Elmore of the Reverie Crime podcast,
(01:07:03):
who has shared her love of Canva and Arthur's artwork
to create some logo art for us. Thank you, Paige,
Thank you Page. Thanks to Aaron Generk of The Big
Dumb Fun Show for continuing to promote us locally. Join
us next week as we look into Billy the Kid.
Speaker 4 (01:07:23):
Bye.
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