...enjoying "Twain's Feast"...

...great read of Andrew Beahrs, "Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods..." (2010).  Given to me by my little sister, it's a great marriage of the life of Twain and the foods of America that he relished.  If you have a gullet made for the subtleties of food, of recent American history (unfortunately, quickly fading if not all together dead) and the Great American - I recommend it completely.

Shuffling through the anthology book, "Great American Folklore" (Battle, 1986) tonight, I came across a tale that reminded me of Clemens.  "An Experienced River Pilot" (pg. 29) goes:

"The steamboat got caught in a bad fog at a time when the tide was low.  In order to get through the fog without mishap, the captain thought it best to bring in a local pilot to steer the boat to safety.  As the boat left the docks, the captain said to his new pilot, "Are you sure you know where all the rocks are, sir?"  "Yep," replied the pilot.  And with that came a grinding crash as the steamboat abruptly listed to the left.  The pilot shook his head.  "There's one of 'em now, damn it."

[Other thing I came across was the children's rhyme used for the Le Carre novel in, "Rich man, poor man, Beggar man, thief, Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief.  Ragman, bagman, Tinker, tailor, Junkman, sailor."  Another great novel, by gum!]

Final draft coming soon...about four hours of work to go.  A piece I was working on today:

...betwixt the high-lit graying clouds, a plate of course jade sky awaits behind,
the whisper of soft falling mist, not yet rain,
suspended and swirled on an accord of mysterious fancy
and I, transfixed, could not but gape at the Progenitor's cogent gem
the undulating greens and dark that remarked upon all that came before
and summed in you.
And your breath, the incensive elixir,
pulled upon my nightly wont
and I found a moment's rest...