My best friend, Taylor, lives in Manhattan, Kansas, about a 10 hour drive from my home in southeastern Wisconsin. Attempting to find a place to meet half way besides boring Des Moines, Iowa, a student saw my flustered attempts of googling random towns in Illinois to see if anything else was half way in between and suggested Hannibal, Missouri.
You didn't know Hannibal, Missouri was a place on the map? Well, neither did I, but apparently a lot of people do.
Hannibal is a small mid-west town in Missouri that is located on the Mississippi River. It is also the birthplace of Mark Twain, or as his mother called him Samuel Clemens. On Saturday we toured the Mark Twain part of the town and were pleasantly surprised by the museums and the old homes that were from his past. Both Taylor's and my's dads, prior to this trip, had commented about how he was a writer before his time...and one of the famous writers that did not win the world peace prize, and they weren't wrong.
"Human nature cannot be studied in cities except at a disadvantage - a village is the place. There you can know your man inside and out- in a city you but know his crust; and his crust is usually a lie" Notebook 1883
I really enjoyed this quote because I believe that it takes a village to raise a child and I believe that it really is easier to get to know people in a village or at least know people's habits.
"In the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, when I was a boy, everybody was poor, but didn't know it; and everybody was comfortable, and did know it. And there were grades of society -- people of good family, people of unclassified family, people of no family." Autobiography
This quote made me think of Penns Valley. I feel like I was not as economically aware growing up as what I am now.
Most American youth, I feel, are typically only exposed to Mark Twain through his writings of Huckelberry Finn, or at least that was part of my education in Penns Valley. When my students asked what I did this weekend and I explained my time in Hannibal, they said "Mark who...??" It was refreshing to see some of his quotes and to read about the controversy surrounding some of his books and how he changed as a writer and a person throughout his lifetime.
Some of my personal favorite quotes that we saw were:
"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits"
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain't got no business doing wrong when he ain't ignorant and knows better"
"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been"
Other pleasant parts of the town was the Java Jive, (similar, but not to be confused with the old establishment in Centre Hall where the Pizza place is now located) the first coffee shop west of the Mississippi. Taylor and I got to relax on one of their many couches and enjoy looking at the numerous paintings and pottery that we longed to be able to place in a house that was five miles away from each other and the rest of our friends, but alas, we were Misplaced in the Midwest.
We had a beautiful weekend to leisurely stroll around the town as well as include Taulliah in our vacation and took her hiking in a park that had very attractive views of the Mississippi. Taulliah, having four legs, is much more adapt to walking up stairs, which she proved on Sunday when Taylor and I were straggling behind to look at a light house.
Overall, Hannibal, Missouri was a very enjoyable weekend, in a relaxed, "time doesn't matter" kind of town with beautiful weather and enjoyable literary quotes.
 |
| Selfies are a wonderful thing, but are not very conducive with signs |
You didn't know Hannibal, Missouri was a place on the map? Well, neither did I, but apparently a lot of people do.
 |
| Can't escape the cheese |
"Human nature cannot be studied in cities except at a disadvantage - a village is the place. There you can know your man inside and out- in a city you but know his crust; and his crust is usually a lie" Notebook 1883
I really enjoyed this quote because I believe that it takes a village to raise a child and I believe that it really is easier to get to know people in a village or at least know people's habits.
"In the small town of Hannibal, Missouri, when I was a boy, everybody was poor, but didn't know it; and everybody was comfortable, and did know it. And there were grades of society -- people of good family, people of unclassified family, people of no family." Autobiography
This quote made me think of Penns Valley. I feel like I was not as economically aware growing up as what I am now.
Most American youth, I feel, are typically only exposed to Mark Twain through his writings of Huckelberry Finn, or at least that was part of my education in Penns Valley. When my students asked what I did this weekend and I explained my time in Hannibal, they said "Mark who...??" It was refreshing to see some of his quotes and to read about the controversy surrounding some of his books and how he changed as a writer and a person throughout his lifetime.
Some of my personal favorite quotes that we saw were:
"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits"
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain't got no business doing wrong when he ain't ignorant and knows better"
"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been"
 |
We had a beautiful weekend to leisurely stroll around the town as well as include Taulliah in our vacation and took her hiking in a park that had very attractive views of the Mississippi. Taulliah, having four legs, is much more adapt to walking up stairs, which she proved on Sunday when Taylor and I were straggling behind to look at a light house.
Comments
Post a Comment