Angel's Camp

BLM WHM SMN SCH THF RNG BRD MNK WAR DRK PLD > 99

I was just reading the short story of the Jumping Frog from Calaverous County.  It's a dandy tale.  It's the story of my life really.  It's short so if you haven't read it yet, take the requisite couple of hours to read the whole thing you won't be disappointed.  You're gonna have to read it several times anyways to fully enjoy it.  I'm about to give you my take on it and perhaps I have before but meh, I like writing. 

There's this one guy on twitter that says his newfound quest in life to try to start a sentence without using the word SO... I feel his pain.  

So the story starts out in the Angel's Camp where narrator is looking for a Reverend Leonidas Smiley.  But all he can find is an old hoot willing to talk about Jim Smiley who rambles on a story that if you are a 20 year old, you probably are happy you finished the story.  You probably feel like you just got finished watching Voltron or GForce or something simple like that.  But this is Mark Twain.  And reading Mark Twain is not for the simple-minded, but might be easy to understand nevertheless, as compared to Shakespeare I suppose.  

Mark Twain is America's Shakespeare.  It's not surprising to find that many things like Tina Fey's tribute includes a prize to comedians called the Mark Twain award.  America had to compete with Europe on a great many levels a while back because fact is, unrefined governments don't produce many geniuses because there's too much conflict.  It's too easy to stand in front of or make fun of the artist and try to grab people's attention for a brief moment just for the sake of having all that attention without having to work very hard.  

And if this happens too often, the artist might develop schisms, yes?  Can't cope with perceived hatred?  Perhaps become suicidal?   

Anyways, in the story it's surprising to me but not altogether unexpected that the story is an account that takes place in '49 or in the spring of 50.  There's something perfect or old about the number 50.  The story is sort of achieving perfection or awareness in way.  Of course everyone remembers having sex with Jennifer Aniston in the movie Along Came Polly, when Stiller blurts out our FIFTY, after he orgasms.  I think about that all the time.  And you know if I was going to think about that scene for the rest of my life like I know I am going to, I could have seen MORE of Jennifer, pfft.  I wonder if maybe we males were meant to squeeze out 50 pumps during sex?  

It's a mystery.  

Also, there's that word so again, also doesn't it seem strange that you are in a camp of angels when you start out the story? You see, as it pans out, and after you read the whole thing a couple of times, it turns out the old coot telling the story is BOTH the Rev and Jim.  It's a story or how a young man is a BETTING man and because he doesn't know any better and wants to learn he makes bets with anyone who'll take his bet.  

It's odd that he turns out to be named Leonidas right?  Because that was the name of the King of Sparta fighting Persia's thousands with only 300 men.  A good symbol for the "invincibles" today who are probably not just a little influenced by the movie.  But who does he turn into?  He turns into Jim.   Good old Jim.  I wonder if Captain Kirk's name was also chosen that way?  From scholarly James, to good ole Jim.  I know that the word Kirk is an Old English word for CHURCH.  And I don't put it past the writers' schenectady to coincidentally have the Shatner repeatedly coin the phrase...

Kirk to Enterprise. 

You see, that's what our country needs.  It's to put a little faith in the mission statements of our corporations.  To have the goal be goodwill and exploration, NOT money and NOT conflict with other organizations.  

And not coincidentally, I think both in Star Trek and in the story, you come to an old feller who's now named Jim.  A friendly sort.  Wise beyond his years.  Responsible for people's lives in a way.  An authority.  Warning the narrator, explaining to him, his lessons; because obviously he was referred there by someone who thought he needed to learn, and yet the narrator is oblivious to lessons.  An invincible. "A rambling old man", he thinks and finally ignores JIM, as he sets about trying to edify the narrator with a story about a cow... from Angel's Camp.

Angels watch over us all don't they?  

YOU BET they do. 

PS.  You know, I don't fault Obama for being the leader that he is.  There's a sort of zealotry that can only be stopped by a good laugh and there's no sense in that.  By that I mean if GW were still Prez, and if we were CRAVEN, he'd probably have already chuckled and NUKULAR'd off some desert people.  I used to think that the military looked down on Democrats and that they were all hungry for war and that maybe Obama, like Kennedy, had better watch out for his own leaders.  But look at them now.  Hospitals that can't afford to treat them.  Financial wizards willing to hang them up with debt for the rest of their life to treat their wounds.  And the rest of the world blithely going about their business wondering if we have a moral bone in our body that's doesn't have SOMETHING to do with money.  Yeah, we're in a different generation now.  It's nothing I would have expected 10 years ago despite all of my prophecizing.  But like most things, it's just a brick on the road and right now, that brick is stable.  In all earnestness, thanks Obama.