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| Mark Twain/kootation.com |
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| Hal Holbrook/en.wikipedia.org |
Ham on Wry's blogger had the distinct pleasure of seeing Hal Holbrook in Mark Twain Tonight Saturday. Holbrook gave his first solo performance of Mark Twain in 1954 and still wows audiences 59 years later. His choice of Twain quotes about Congress struck a chord with me, as well as everyone else who attended indicated by the resounding applause for his portrayal of an American icon.
Holbrook has fine-tuned his characterization of Twain over the years and deftly conveyed the writer's sarcastic wit and sardonic view of life with precision. It spurred me to research Twain and offer some of the pertinent quotes about Congress that readers might find applicable, given the current state of affairs in Washington, D.C. Twain disdained politics and considered members of Congress "ignoramuses," as the following quotes will reveal.
As Twain, Holbrook said, "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." The audience howled with laughter at that and his story about Twain's friend who wanted to commit suicide and finally resorted to shooting himself in the head with a pistol. The bullet entered on one side of his skull and exited the other, destroying all the gray matter in between, but he didn't die. He was elected to Congress instead.
"It could probably be shown by facts and figure that there is no native American criminal class except Congress." Holbrook intoned that quote and variants thereof several times during the evening. Given the exorbitant amount of money spent on congressional election campaigns, most of which comes from lobbyist groups and other donors who couch their contributions in organizations with names such as American for Liberty or Concerned Denizens of American the Great, those words were prophetic. That Twain held Congress in contempt so long ago reveals that the citizens of today have the same frustrations as those of earlier generations, only the problems have increased exponentially.
This post ends with a Twain quote that readers would do well to consider a life's pursuit. "Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that makes you smile." Thank you, Hal Holbrook, for bringing Twain to life on stage. His wisdom has meaning that transcends his time on earth.
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