I May Get My Mark Twain Book Autographed Soon

Happy Labor Day. If you're giving birth today that's pretty cool and it's a double labor day for you. Labor Day was started to celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers in the United States. The way our current economical climate is it should almost be a national day of mourning. If you're working today on the holiday you're probably bummed about that but remember that there are millions of Americans that are unemployed or underemployed that would love to be working today. Man, I really know how to get a holiday blog off to a happy start don't I?

I am really excited about a "new" autobiography that is out. The NEW Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1 is out. You might say, "Matt In The Middle you are out of your mind. An autobiography is written by a person about themselves. I think you mean 'his biography is out' since he has been dead for 100 year. " But then you think "if you just typed that you must know that is incorrect and you're about to blog me why." You are smarter than your kids give you credit for. Mark Twain did write this autobiography and it is new but when he wrote it over 100 years ago be didn't realize that by the time it came out some moron would be writing about it on a computer and people would probably be listening to it from miniature little radio stations on their desks (computers) or in their pockets (iPods). He wrote it and said that it was to be published 100 years after his death. As far as I can see it's already been out for a year and news by me of his autobiography being new have been exaggerated. The way I found out about the book also comes from something of a dying art. I learned about it while I was waiting in line to mail our property taxes at the post office. I was standing in line waiting to buy a postage stamp and an elderly lady was getting all of the different stamp options told to her and they talked about the Mark Twain stamps. Guess who, when they got to the front of the line, bought a whole sheet of Mark Twain stamps and used one to mail his property taxes? So, it probably isn't too late to get a first edition Mark Twain novel! If I can find a store that sells books these day. Getting it autographed is going to be a bit more difficult. I love Twain because he was a smart-ass who liked to write and I can relate to him for some unknown reason.

I am trying to find a cool tie-in to tell you that the new Dirty Laundry Podcast (the silver anniversary, episode #25, podcast) is up and ready but I can't so I will pretend that I can't and I will write a paragraph about how I can't and sneak the link into that paragraph. It's a good show and very appropriately our most political show so far given that it's Labor Day. Be like Mark Twain - listen to our podcast; you can't prove he doesn't listen! If he can get three volumes (he's still working on volumes II and III) of his autobiography published he can listen to a podcast.

Now that I blog about Sammy Clemens I have a hankerin' to go to Hannibal, MO.. I think about Hannibal at least twice EVERY WEEK. I am serious - generally on Tuesdays and Fridays but here I am thinking about Hannibal on Labor Day, a Monday, so it will probably be three times this week. I don't know if I have ever told you why I think about Hannibal, Missouri twice every week but maybe I will share that with you some time. Some of you detective-types will probably figure out part of why.

I think I told you that I was watching the entire series Mad Men on Netflix. I have become depressed with some recent developments in that. I have watched all 50-whatever episodes and now I am having total withdrawal symptoms. So now, the new episodes will start soon. It will only be a one-year wait. So now I have another reason to be upset that the Mayans are going to come back and destroy the world in 2012...I will never get to see another episode of Mad Men.

Before I write this next thing I want you to know that I am not depressed, I am not suicidal, I don't want to die soon but I am always ready if I do (like we have a choice when we go) and I am not going to write this for attention. I just have always blogged what I have felt so one day, 100 years after my death, someone can publish this as my autobiography when print is reborn on Neptune. I laid lied was in bed in the morning and I thought that "I am ready to die." I wasn't sad I just had a feeling that I am ready to go. It wasn't even a sad feeling. I don't think it was a premonition but maybe it's half-time and it was a mid-life pep talk to myself? I don't know but I will think about it until I think I know what it meant. Maybe it was a dream that carried over a bit into the waking-state. Who knows? I also like to write things that happen like that because it may have happened to other people and I think it's good to know that we're not alone in anything. I like to think I am an original but I am seldom sure of that. When searching for a photo to throw in here I found that Twain quote above - I swear it's just coincidence...or is anything really coincidence?

I start this blog and never know where it is going to go; it has a life of it's own sometimes. Today it invoked Mark Twain, as it does sometimes, all from paying our property taxes. Because of that I think I will end the blog with a Mark Twain quote that I think about when I think about death. "Go to Heaven for the climate. Hell for the company." Have a great day and if my feeling turns to a premonition I may be waiting in one of the two destinations when you finally come on down (or up). Man. it feels like Sunday. TTTT (when I think about Hannibal again because it will be Tuesday)...MITM (out to see if Jerry Lewis decided to be a part of the telethon this year). TA!