It's lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened - Jim he allowed they was made, but I allowed they happened; I judged it would have took too long to make so many. Jim said the moon could a laid them; well, that looked kind of reasonable, so I didn't say nothing against it, because I've seen a frog lay most as many, so of course it could be done. We used to watch the stars that fell, too, and see them streak down. Jim allowed they'd got spoiled and was hove out of the nest.
- Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
5 comments:
One of my favorite things in the world is to stare at the stars, and try and spot the shooting ones. Not only is it beautiful, but it really helps me to appreciate the awesomeness of this world we are so fortunate to inhabit. We used to sleep on the deck of our sailboat when we were kids, in these tiny little coves in the gulf islands, and compete to see who could spot the most shooting stars.
I did the same thing when I was a kid too, on our sailboat, in the Gulf Islands. It lends perspective.
What was your boat's name and home port?
Mandalay - though I'm not sure what port it was out of...somewhere on the island, I think. My favorites were Pirate's and Princess Cove though...I remember great dock parties on the government wharf.
Funny, I am presently reading Mark Twain's letters from Hawaii (bought at the Honolulu airport on my way out) which he wrote before he had published any novels.
He's so funny... I visited his home in Hartford, CT a long time ago. I keep trying to remember what he looked like in photos, but Einstein pops into my head instead. Einstein with a hat. Here he's talking about a horse he rode to Diamond Head:
"The place was so steep that at times he stood straight up on his tiptoes and clung by his forward toenails, with his back to the Pacific Ocean and his nose close to the moon - and thus situated we formed an equestrian picture which was as uncomfortable to me as it may have been picturesque to the spectators. You may think I was afraid, but I was not. I knew I could stay on him as long as his ears did not pull out."
Wiz, what a fantastic excerpt. Ta.
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