I'm working the closing shift at Subway and an elderly man i recognize to be rather entertaining enters the deserted store. I greet the man and take his order, and soon after realize that he is wearing a powder blue shirt bearing only the words 'Mark Twain - CAVE!". Beside the fact that I found this quite odd, I saw an opportunity for conversation with this outspoken old man.
"Is that the cave from Huck Finn?" I ask the man.
"YEAHTHATSTHECAVEFROMHUCK!" he responds with some vigor. "That's cool" I say, "I'm a Mark Twain fan myself."
"OHYEAH!" The elderly man responds. "MARKTWAIN'SGREAT. 'MEMBERWHENHESAID "IFWEWENTINTOCONGRESSANDSAIDLETTHEREBELIGHT, WE'DSTILLBEINTHEDARK!" The old man roared with laughter at his recollection of the more or less accurate quote.
"So what's your favorite book?" I ask in response, as I place the man's Philly Cheesesteak in a plastic to-go bag.
"TWAINBOOK?" he inquired of me, while seeming to ponder this question.
"Yeah, what's your favorite Twain Novel?" I ask expecting to hear reference to one of the more obscure pieces of literature by the famous writer, or perhaps the classic Huckleberry Finn, considered to be his masterpiece. I expect to hear these things because it seems obvious to me that someone who has visited the cave from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, AND Huck Finn, is an authority on all things Twain.
"WELL, NEVERREALLYBEENMUCHOFAREADER, BUTISUREDOLIKEMARKTWAIN!"
-Scott