Tuesday, March 13

From the stack...

I'm reading Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad. Most of the time, I'm laughing. Heartily. From my toes. It's like reading letters from my snarky brother on his travels. But, then, I amble across a tidbit of wisdom, or insight, that hauls me up short. Stills my laughter. Reminds me what made Mark Twain one of America's eminent story tellers. Makes me think. I found this tonight, and wanted to share it here.

When an acre of ground has produced long and well, we let it lie fallow and let it rest for a season; we take no man clear across the continent in the same coach he started in -- the coach is stabled somewhere on the plains and its heated machinery is allowed to cool for a few days; when a razor has seen long service and refuses to hold an edge, the barber lays it away for a few weeks, and the edge comes back of its own accord. We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally and renew our edges.

Wisdom, indeed.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

3 comments:

J-Lynn said...

I guess this is his elequent way of saying, "Get your butt in bed!" LOL

Speaking of which... night.

Twain - what a guy. I'd love to time travel and meet some of these men and just have coffee. The sludgy kind.

Jenni said...

I'll have to put that on my list of books to read. I'd never heard that tidbit about the razor. Very strange. Maybe I'll just sit on the shelf today. Oops, no, I did that *yesterday*.

andie said...

How fitting. I've spent the entire day in bed. Nasty headache and general poopedoutedness. I an't remember ever doing this - but here it is 7pm, I've shuffled around a bit and feel like a new person already. Or at least a more gently-used person. ;)