Mark Twain wrote, “Humor is mankind's greatest blessing”. That's some consolation in the face of such un-funny things as a failing economy, a rising unemployment rate, and not one but two ongoing wars. Times like these are well-served by Twain's idea of humor as “the effort to throw off, to fight back the burden of grief that is laid on each one of us.” Eight Forty-Eight's resident philosopher Al Gini recently came in to talk about Mark Twain's humor and its relevance to our modern world. Gini says it was the specific skewering, not the one-liners, that made Twain so famous.
Music Button: Stephen Wade, “Sunflower Dance”, from the CD Dancing in the Parlor, (County records)