Mark Twain is an old friend of mine.
Let me clarify. That is only partially accurate. The man who is often considered our greatest humorist would certainly be old. He just turned 189 last month. But despite the fact that he died in 1910 at 74, I still claim him as a friend and one of my literary giants. His humor, his wit, and his spot-on views of both the charms and frailties of humanity will forever stand the test of time and endeared him to me at an early age.
Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Mississippi in 1835, Twain was a writer and satirist whose insights are as relevant today as when he wrote them. Let’s revisit a few of them, and I’ll bet you’ve used some of these yourself without realizing you were borrowing from the master.
“A clear conscience is a sure sign of a bad memory.” Mr. Twain provides us all with a bit of insight: We tend as flawed humans to put our lapses in judgment behind us and believe that we always act with integrity. Reality, he suggested, was a bit more complicated than that.