old man river

On our meanderings toward the west we weren't quite finished with the old man river, that great demarcation between east and west, the Mississippi River. We crossed the river and spent the next few days leading up to July 4th, (ok, now you really know how far behind I am with my blog! 😱) in Ray Behrens Rec Area, a campground on Mark Twain Lake (another reservoir) in Missouri. And so you say, that sounds, ahem, nice .. but what does one do there? Now this seems pretty obvious, you visit Hannibal, Missouri, home of Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name … Mark Twain! And perhaps, if you're really lucky, you can pick up some of the local "charm" as well.

Now some preparation was required on our part when I discovered that Martin had either never read or … didn't remember reading any of Mark Twain's books. (In his defense, he was playing a lot of cello with orchestras et al and I don't think he ever considered English or literature as a career path.) As an appropriate introduction, we listened to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". It was great fun and worked well as a prep course for appreciating our time in Hannibal. Martin especially enjoyed Twain's wit, imagination and use of language. I'm going to get on a soapbox for just a moment here. Please bear with me. Both "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn", which I had read earlier, are American classics and written in a time where certain themes and certainly the language can be particularly offensive viewed in today's light. But, I don't think they should be banned or not read or taught. I do think they need to have a forward or an acknowledgement, something regarding the language and the themes put forth regarding people of color and slavery. I totally appreciate Twain's cleverness and his amazing wit. But I was quite taken aback and appalled when I read "Huckleberry Finn". I'm not suggesting a sanitized version, I think you would lose you too much, just an explanation. Ok, my soapbox moment for this blog is over….

Meanwhile, back in Hannibal …

We went exploring. Many of Mark Twain's characters were the real people Twain came in contact with here. Then by adding a sprinkle or two of imagination seemingly conjured them out of thin air, but he didn't. The roots, the elements for so many of his characters and stories were in here in Hannibal. Now, you might be surprised, but we were not the first nor the only ones to visit this little town. It seems as if the whole town's economy is based on Mark Twain. The town even has official "Tom" and "Becky" representatives who appear (in costume, of course) at events throughout the year. The museum has an entire wall of Tom and Becky pairs going back at least 40 yrs! But most of it was well done and not kitchy or tachy so it was fine. It was the long July 4th weekend so besides the regular Mark Twain activities; the museum, his house, Huck Finn's house, Becky Thatcher's house, his father's law office and the drug store, they had; .... wait for it. ....... "mud volleyball" (I kid you not), 🙄 a FENCE PAINTING CONTEST and a TOM SAWYER and HUCK FINN LOOK ALIKE CONTESTS! I mean really, could it get any better? (Well yes, I wanted to be in the fence painting contest and it was only for kids, but other than that minor 😏 disappointment, it was all fun!)

It would be hard to top a day like that, but we finished up with a steamboat dinner cruise (with a band) up the Mississippi. Sunset on the Mississippi. We shared our dinner table with a couple from Iowa. She was a teacher and had taught Twain's books for years. She was so thrilled to be experiencing what she had previously only imagined from his words.

Amazing adventures and people are everywhere ❤️

Mark Twain's house

The essentials. Books and glasses.

A sculpture of Twain in his dining room, weaving stories with his characters using paper doll cutouts.

His writing desk

I took several shots of this sculpture from the museum. I loved the thought of his characters being in the room with him, listening with great joy and anticipation as Twain reads them their story. (At least, that was my interpretation.)

Warning: The following pictures are too cute for words! (Of course, that won't stop my commentary) You've been warned.

Tom Sawyer look alike.

The fence painting contest:

Please note the differing techniques

Some approach the fence as if it were a race, some choose an (ahem) steadier pace

Some throw their whole body into it, others prefer the more upright approach

While the brothers in the matching tie-dye t-shirts (so mom won't lose them in the crowd) are doing their best. A bystander is unconvinced and knows he could do it faster and better, but the whole thing looks stupid and he'd never do it at all ... even if his mom would let him.

Some try to listen very closely to the instructions, but mostly they are thinking about how the pavement feels cold and icky and they really don't like messy things.