But I still want to write about the house he built in Hart­ford, Con­necti­cut. On our tour we found out he smoked 20 cig­ars a day and loved bil­liards. He would have pre­ferred a career as a river boat pilot to a famous writer. Mark Twain worked as a printer, pilot, per­former, prospec­tor and pub­lisher. He ven­tured all over the world before air travel.

Far more than many writ­ers, Mark Twain epit­o­mized human­ity. He never pre­tended to be a paragon of virtue. But he had a great deal to teach us. It is not well known that he was a pop­u­lar travel writer as well as the author of The Adven­tures of Tom Sawyer and The Adven­tures of Huck­le­berry Finn. Because I seize any excuse to travel — and this is the best rea­son of all — I love this quote of Twain’s:

“Broad, whole­some, char­i­ta­ble views of men and things can­not be acquired by veg­e­tat­ing in one lit­tle cor­ner of the earth all one’s life”

Far away from Socal nurs­eries, my sis­ter Mary Lynn and I con­tinue our adventures.