Ethyl Surmises: Mark Twain

Mark Twain said, "The lack of money is the root of all evil".
What that Bible verse, which is often misquoted as 'money is the root of all evil', actually says is, 'the love of money is the root of all evil'.
There is a big difference in the two statements.  Money is necessary to be able to live with a reasonable degree of dignity in today's world, but the love of it, and the obtaining of it at any and all cost, is indeed a precursor for evil actions.
Two thousand and ten is a big year for Mark Twain... This year in April he will have been dead one hundred years, and also this is the year he has a new book published.  It is the unabridged autobiography of his life, which he left to those he could trust with the firm instructions it was to be published a hundred years after his death.. His reason; "By then I will be dead and unaware and indifferent and therefore able to speak my whole frank mind".  And speak his mind Twain did, but so often what he said was so cloaked in satire that the persons who were self righteous, pompous, and full of themselves never got his true meaning.
Case in point is his novel 'Huckleberry Finn'.. It has been dubbed the great American novel, and in my humble opinion, it is.  But as well loved as it is today it was not received well by much of the established literary guild of his day.. Many writers who were well known and accepted as the top brass of their generation criticized Twain for his style of writing in the vernacular of the time. But the public, the people in general, loved it.  And the subtlety with which Twain laid bare the hypocrisy and self righteous attitudes of the slave owning hierarchy of his time is not to be matched anywhere in literature, and that includes 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
When my middle son was ten, he and I read Huckleberry Finn together, and I will never forget his reaction to Twain's use of the word 'nigger'.. In our house our sons were never allowed to use that word to refer to anyone they knew.  It was on the same level with a curse word and it just was not acceptable to refer to fellow humans in such a derogatory manner.  When Huckleberry referred to Nigger Jim, my son's mouth flew open in surprise and he asked how the writer could use such a word in a book that would be read to children.  I explained to him Twain was merely writing as people in those days talked, and it was not meant to degrade anyone.
When Huckleberry decides he will not turn Jim in but instead help him escape we are all brought to a defining moment in the narrative, for the boy is sure he is going to Hell for his actions.. It is just wrong to steal and in a sense he is stealing from the Widow Douglas, but he loves Jim and he is going to take that chance.  Twain's condemnation of the ideas and accepted beliefs of his era are brought to the reader's attention in a way no one else in literature has ever done before, or after, for that matter.   It was wrong to hide the property of someone else, but not wrong to keep a fellow human in bondage.  A classic moment in literature!
Another incident when we are brought face to face with the fact that all humans are basically the same is when Jim cuts himself and Huck sees him bleed.. Huck's response, "Why Jim, your blood is red too", is never to be forgotten.
Twain in many ways was the most outspoken civil rights advocate of his day, but that fact was so well cloaked in his literature, many unsuspecting readers never got his point.
Something he talks about in his autobiography is an occasion when he went to his publisher accompanied by his black butler.  Their being seen out in public together caused a minor outrage that resulted in embarrassment for the butler, but Twain took it all in stride.  His comment on the matter, "It seemed justly proper for him to accompany me, for in every way he is my equal, and in many ways my superior". 
Such was the great wisdom of Mark Twain.
In musing over the writings of Mark Twain, Ethyl has thought about some of her post.  Are they phonetically sound, grammatical proper, written in the style of acceptable writings.  Most assuredly not!   But that is not the purpose of my writing.  I wish to tell a story and relate certain happenings as I remember they occurred.
Mark Twain's foremost objective was to tell a story, and if that was good enough for the best American writer who ever wrote a line of prose, well then, I guess it's good enough for Ethyl.  Nuff said!

Ethyl's Poetry: Observations of a Facebook Addict

It's early morning and coffee's a'brewing
When I open facebook to see what everyone's doing.
There's a lot going on, that's plain to see
And a lot of new news for someone like me.

What's this I see, she's just heading out
To visit her grand kids, what's that all about.
And this one just moved, a new chapter begins
She busy sorting out life's odds and ends.

And here is another who seems to be ready
For her new arrival, just hold it steady.
Oh me, oh my, we're waiting for baby
And we're all hoping she'll come today maybe.

Oh look, what's that I see
A little one walking, as proud as can be.
Can you tell she's just learned and is still quite new
At this wonderful thing she just learned to do.

And here on this page is a little boy and a girl
Who's waiting for Grammie to brighten their world.
Because she's so special and they love her a hunk
And especially the toys she has packed in her trunk.

And here on this page are two who are stewing
And swearing and shouting at what their players are doing.
Because football's their game and here they are at it
Each filling their roles as football fanatics.

Oh, so sorry, a note of sadness is here
Someone is losing a loved one that's dear.
And we all send our heartfelt condolences now
And words of comfort the best we know how.

Here's an old friend from many years past
A dear old friendship, the kind that will last.
So very good to hear from you, dear
And to know though you're far, you're really quite near.

This one is sick and so is her spouse
And they're both stuck at home and alone in the house.
Some hot chicken soup and a good book will do.
And maybe tomorrow they'll feel good as new.

Oh, look, what have we there
A pretty young girl with a head full of hair.
Oh wait, we say with a grin
As eight inches disappears from off of the end.

What's that you say, you've just returned
From seeing so many new places you've yearned
To see all your life. And now it is true
You finally have done what you wanted to do.

You're on vacation, you say, and you're bored
So cooking and eating will be you're reward.
Or building a snowman or playing with Rover
Until work calls you back and your free time is over. 

This one is playing Wii with her son
and he's kicking her rear, oh my, what fun
And another is planning to shop till she drops
And then we all hope she eventually stops.

And here is a home schooling mom
Who's tired of the house and is hoping to come
Out to the greenline and ride her new bike
Wanting the cold weather to go take a hike.

This one sends love and best wishes to all
And this one is chipper and this one's a brawl.
This one is good and this one's a mess
And this one has something new to confess.
This one is spiritual, a new verse every day
...To strengthen and encourage and help on the way.
This one is serious and this one is funny,
And this one is gloomy and this one is sunny.
Oh, what an assortment there is to be had
But all of them dear and none of them bad.
Thanks so much and I'd now like to say
How very much I look forward each day.
To reading and peeping and afterwards knowing
What it is that keeping your worlds a'going.. 

And now in conclusion may I say
To all my good friends, 'have a nice day'

Carol: Wow,  you certainly have a way with words!

I wish I was as good at poetry as you,
But I'm sure no poet, and we all know that's true.
But you, my friend, are certainly quite the poet,
...And now, thanks to Facebook, all your friends know it! :-)

(Can't believe I actually came up with that; it is one of my FEW attempts at poetry.) :-)

 

Thanks, Carol..
I once had the notion to be a great poet
But that I am not, and now all my friends know it.
I think what you refer to is my fractured verse
Poetic license you see at it's worse.
...But you will see with my rhyme that it in time mellows
And my feet show my talent, for they are Longfellows. Hahaha.

Rebecca: This was great Aunt Faye! Made me smile :) (as usual)

Ivy Shea:  LOVE it!!


Jan:  You have epitomized almost everyone on fb! So observant Missy!

Ethyl Remembers: Family Fun

December 24,  Memphis, TN

It's winter time and the weather is cold here in Memphis.  When I say cold I mean anything under fifty degrees.  So that means it's chili weather. 
Rich, thick chili with three different types of beans and plenty of chili power.  And corn.  And peppers and onions and garlic and tomatoes.  Thick and rich, and oh, so tasty.
This morning I made a crock pot full and yesterday I cooked a crock pot full of brown rice to go with it.  Then for lunch today I had a bowl filled with brown rice, cheese, chili, and a dollop of sour cream on top.  And it took me back... Back twenty seven years ago when my sons were young and Liberty-land was still open and operating in Memphis.
Elvis made Liberty-land famous.  He loved it and he loved it's roller coaster, The Zippin Pippin'. It was said that some nights Elvis rented the entire park and he and his entourage rode the rides until morning.  And his favorite ride was the Pippin.  It was an old wooden roller coaster and man, was it fast.  The first time I rode it I was sixteen and on a trip to Memphis from Iuka.  When the ride ended and we disembarked, a friend of mine who was nearby laughed and said my face was gray...  I don't doubt it.  I was scared to death.
After we moved to Memphis, in the summer time every year we had a family outing to Liberty-land.  After six o'clock in the evening the prices were greatly reduced until it closed at ten o'clock, and our family always took advantage of this bargain..  Four hours were usually all my husband and I could take of this version of fun, and the boys could ride the rides until their hearts were content.  A great many of the visitors to the park had left by this time, so the lines were much shorter and the temperature was cooler then.  The temperature was cooler but the attendants were not.. The closer it got to ten o'clock the more anxious they were to end their day and go home, so they were usually in no mood to accommodate anyone.  Once when we were in the park at night I wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel.  The problem was it was going on ten o'clock and the attendant was ready to close it down.  We were the only ones who wanted to ride that ride and he was hesitant to take us up.  After some persuading he did grant our request, but then he stopped the blasted thing with us at the very top and let us sit there for what seemed like an eternity before he brought us down... Be careful what you wish for, you may get it..  I have a problem with heights and I though I would die before I got off that thing.  I have not ridden a Farris Wheel since.  Not even the London Eye and you are totally enclosed in that one.
But back to the matter of the chili and rice with cheese..  We had taken the boys to the park that summer evening and we planned to eat dinner there.  After some deliberations on the part of everyone involved we settled on the Mexican restaurant.  Studying the menu carefully, I finally ordered the chili with rice.  This was the first time for tasting that particular combination, and it may have just been extra delicious because we were starving or maybe it was the atmosphere in the park outdoors, or maybe the happy time with the family,   But whatever it was, I never forgot that particular evening with my husband and my sons and the happy smiles and camaraderie we shared as a family.  Now whenever I have chili and rice with cheese and sour cream it takes me back and I can hear the laughter of my sons as they thrill to the Zippin Pippin.
The park is now closed and the Pippin is no more.  Neither is Elvis.  And my sons are now grown men, out on their own..  And I thank God for them and for the happy times we had raising them.

Ethyl Relates: A Hundred Years Ago

************ ********* ***********
The year is 1910
One hundred years ago.
It was the year the Ford Model R car came on the market.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:
************ ********* ************ 
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only. 
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,
and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
The Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and 
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.
Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
Regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'
( Shocking? DUH! )
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! 
   
I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself.
From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds!
Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years. 
IT STAGGERS THE MIND

Ethyl's latest laugh.

Meet me at the River.

This is a hoot, but I suspect the minister
didn't appreciate it.
A minister was completing a temperance sermon.
With great emphasis he said, "If I had
all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river."
With even greater emphasis he said,
"And if I had
all the wine in the world, I'd take it and
pour it into the river."
And then finally, shaking his fist in the air, he
Said, "And if I had all the whiskey in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river.."
Sermon complete, he sat down.
The song leader stood very cautiously and announced
With a smile, nearly laughing, "For our closing song,
Let us sing Hymn #365,
'Shall We Gather at the River.'"
Smile, life is too short not to!
If this brightened your day
Don't let it stop here
Pass it on with a smile
Keep spreading the Cheer.
See you at the river

Ethyl Remembers: Characters

One thing was true about Tishomingo County: It was full of characters.  There was the neighbor who lived just down the road and came every morning for coffee.  He had never married and he shared a house with his two sisters.  One of them was a maiden lady and the other one was divorced with a son, so neither of them were up to the morning task of seeing to if he had coffee.   Instead of making a pot for himself, he always showed up at our house at breakfast time for coffee.  For fifty years until a massive stroke disabled her, my mother made biscuits every morning of her life.  There were always eggs and some type of breakfast meat, either ham, sausage or bacon.  My dad had a smoke house and every winter he killed a couple of hogs and cured the meat.  I thought all people had an ample supply of country ham and bacon and sausage.  Funny the things you take for granted when you're a kid.
Dick, our neighbor,  was always invited to sit down and eat with us, but he always declined.  He just came for coffee.  If he didn't show up we knew he was sick or something bad had happened to him.  The front door was never locked and he never knocked.  In summer we would hear the screen door on the front open and close and we knew it was him.  In winter he opened the wooden door and came straight through the house to the kitchen, pulled up a chair and my mother would always jump up and get him a cup of coffee.
Another thing I remember about Dick was his dog.  That dog went with him everywhere he went.  It would ride beside him in his pickup when he went to town.  In the summertime the windows would be down and the dog would sit up front with his head poked out and his tongue wagging.  When someone made a comment to him about how he pampered that animal he replied, "Be quiet, I don't want to hurt his feelings.  I haven't told him he's a dog yet".
Then there was my daddy's friend who made moonshine and sold it to buy food for his family when his crops failed.   Once when he was apprehended by the law and dragged up before the judge, his honor said to him that if he would just promise that he would never make illegal whiskey again, he would just fine him and let him go.  What he said to the judge has always amazed me.  "Your honor, I appreciate what you say, but I can't lie to you.  If my family gets hungry and I have no money I will make some shine and sell it".  He would do what he had to do to see that his kids didn't go hungry, but he wasn't going to lie about it even if it meant going to jail.  Such honesty is in short supply in today's world.
When telephones first came into the country homes, my mother and her siblings thought it was imperative that my grandmother who lived alone had one.  In those days there were few phone lines so the neighbors shared what was called a party line.  More than one household was on a phone line, and it was possible to pick up the phone and listen to what was happening to your neighbors.  One little old lady in our country was notorious for listening.  When the phone would ring and you would answer it, in a moment you could hear a little click and you knew Louella was on the phone.  Some of the very best rumors in the country got started from that party line.  She had a very high pitched shrill voice and I used to love to call her and lay the phone aside and listen to her screech and scream and demand who was on the other end of the phone.  Thankfully I never got caught.  Also it was great fun to call the little county store and ask the owner if he had Dr. Pepper in a bottle or Prince Albert (chewing tobacco) in a can.  When he would proudly announce that he did, we would laugh and tell him to let him out before he smothered.  Another screamer was to call an unsuspecting neighbor and tell them we were the power company and then ask if their refrigerators were running.  They would always assure us they were, and then we would laugh and tell them to catch it before it got out the door.
Then there was the grumpy old man who lived by himself in Iuka.  He hated all small animals and children, so some of the neighborhood boys decided it was time to retaliate.  They gathered up a large fresh cow pile and put it in a  paper grocery bag, which they deposited at the bottom of his front porch steps, then lit a match and set the bag on fire.  On boy knocked hard on the front door after which they all made a run for it and hid in the shrubbery.  When he saw the burning paper bag and ran down the steps to stomp out the fire with his feet, the rest is history.
Our world for the most part was simple and the pranks we played were harmless and funny.  What would not have been funny were the consequences if our parents had caught us.   They might actually have cared that we were harassing the neighbors.   How different so many parents are today whose kids "do no wrong" and the mischief is not only aggravating but downright harmful in many instances.  Tishomingo County was a good place to raise kids in the fifties and sixties.