How to Stay Out of Trouble According to Mark Twain
What you know is only half the problem
After his birth coincided with Halley’s comet, Mark Twain remained fascinated by the event for the rest of his life. In 1909, aged 74, he boldly suggested to his readers that, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835; it’s coming again next year [in 1910], and I expect to go out with it. It would be a great disappointment in my life if I don’t.”
Like clockwork, Halley’s comet made its closest and most visible approach to the sun on April 20, 1910. And one day later, the legendary storyteller died of a heart attack.
So, his life was never going to be ordinary.
However, as much as he was loved and celebrated throughout his life, he also went through his fair share of heartbreak. One of his brothers was killed before his eyes in a steamboat explosion, and three of his four children never made it to adulthood.
He was also scammed by an inventor and faced bankruptcy, even though he was one of America’s most successful writers.
So, he was well positioned to give advice on staying out of trouble because he got into a lot himself. However, as was his normal approach, he made it funny for us all to enjoy.
“It ain’t what you don’t know that…
