The apartment complex here has a pool and I did 45+ minutes of cardio and resistance exercise this morning. It felt good.
Tom took care of unloading the conference supplies we transported back from Indianapolis back at the office where he works.
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| I filled the apartment with aromas making quinoa and black beans, fresh salsa, and fresh guacamole, served with tortilla chips with a hint of lime! |
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| And homemade brownies - the simple recipe my boys grew up loving. Tom is very happy! |
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A nap (or two) and time to stop and look at the posies. |
Rounding out my day I continue to enjoy writing and thinking. Following are my reflections early this morning....
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| What a treat to relish and delight in Mark Twain's work, especially as I was on the Mississippi, crossed the Missouri, making my own adventure heading west for two months! |
Getting reacquainted with Tom Sawyer in the first chapter was full of giggles as he famously scammed his friends into doing his work white-washing the fence by convincing them they were missing a wonderful time. All parents and teachers have used this psychology to varying degrees of success.
Do you remember these characters? (The following is courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Aunt Polly is Tom's aunt - he lives with her. Despite the relentless discipline and spiritual guidance, she comes off as a caring and noble character. When Tom points out that nobody seems to care about Huck being alive after they were both thought to be dead, Aunt Polly generously gives her love to Huck as well -"And so they shall.I'm glad to see him, poor motherless thing!" and the loving attentions Aunt Polly lavished upon him were the one thing capable of making him more uncomfortable than he was before"(131). In fact, the last impression we get of Aunt Polly is of a similar nature - "There was something about aunt Polly's manner, when she kissed Tom, that swept away his low spirits and made him light hearted and happy again"(147).
Huckleberry Finn is Tom Sawyer's closest friend. He is about 12 or 13 years old at the time of the events of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and would be a year older at the time of the major events of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Injun Joe is the main antagonist of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is a half Native American, half white man. He was whipped by Mr. Douglas, a police officer. Injun Joe had probably been striking fear into the children of the village. The first that Tom Sawyer witnessed was the murder of Doctor Robinson and the framing of Muff Potter. Following this, Huck Finn overhears Injun Joe plotting the mutilation of Widow Douglas. Towards the end of the book, Tom sees Injun Joe inside the cave, but he is not able to see Tom's face. At the end of the book, Injun Joe is found dead behind the newly sealed cave entrance.
Muff Potter is a drunk fisherman who loves children. He often helps mend the children's kites and helps them fish. Muff Potter is falsely accused of murdering Dr. Robinson in the beginning of the story. In fact, Injun Joe killed the Doctor. Injun Joe managed to convince Muff that he committed the murder. He is a close friend of Tom's. Tom saves Muff's life, while endangering his own, by telling the truth about the Robinson murder.
Becky Thatcher is the daughter of Judge Thatcher, and she is known for her love interest with Tom Sawyer. Her long blonde hair is always worn in braids. She wins Tom's love from the first moment he sees her. When Becky first encounters Tom, she gives him a pansy to show her love. Becky Thatcher soon becomes "engaged" to Tom Sawyer, sealing their engagement with a kiss on the lips. When Tom mentions that he used to be with Amy Lawrence, Becky believes that Tom still loves her and gets angry at him. Tom wins her back by telling a lie and taking the blame for her vandalizing their teacher's anatomy book, which Becky had accidentally ruined.
Joseph (Joe) Harper is Tom Sawyer's friend and joins Tom on some of his adventures. He becomes a pirate with Tom and Huck, when they run away from home to Jacksons Island. He has two sisters, Susie and Faith Harper. His mother is Sereny Harper.
Sid is Tom's whiny half-brother, who also lives with Aunt Polly. He behaves well, but enjoys getting Tom into trouble. He appears to be around nine years old, and lies.
Although there are several great escapades, my favorite is the adventure when Tom, Huck and Sid take to the island where they learn to smoke and get educated on the ways of pirating. Of course, they stay too long and are presumed dead which gives them the opportunity to attend their own funerals. Haven't we all imagined what our own funerals would be like? Didn't you ever want to create a whole new identity (for a day or two)?
Listening to this audio version brought back recollections of Mark Twain himself. A favorite memory of mine is seeing the Mark Twain extravaganza in Elmira, NY. My father laughed until he cried. And so I am inspired to research favorite Mark Twain quotes courtesy of
http://www.allgreatquotes.com/mark_twain_quotes.shtml
Enjoy!
- A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
- Golf is a good walk spoiled.
- Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
- The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. (Note: I call this "successive approximations.")
- The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
- Don't let schooling interfere with your education.
- Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
- Get your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you wish.
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