Tag: Mark Twain

And then there was one

May 10, 2026

No, I did not misquote the name of a famous Agatha Christy novel and movie. She is the last of the Clemens clan, belonging to James and Gertrude from Webster County, Missouri. She is my aunt. She has twelve siblings who made it to adulthood. Currently, we call her Aunt Amanda. I will save her the embarrassment of telling you what her parents and siblings used to call her.

As the years progress and we lose first one and then another of the cousins and someday the last of the Clemens sisters, I want to take this Mother’s Day to honor my Mom, Mary. We are cheered by the memories and encouraged that even more are in store for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

I could tell you about my mother’s sisters and brothers, and I have in my book “Doulos.” You can read it as a paid subscriber to my premium materials. Whom I want to write about today is my mother.

Her name is Mary Francis Clemens Kensinger, which I know makes us sound like we are not true Americans. We are, and she began her life with the first three on this list. When she and Evan Kensinger were married, she, like 99% of her generation, took his last name. When you read that I have an Uncle Sam and say his pen name is Mark Twain, it is because she is a Clemens.

Our daughters and the other grandchildren called her Granny. When I was a kid, she talked about Irene Ryan, who played Daisy Moses on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and when our oldest was born, she said she would be Granny. I completely understood why.

Mom was one of the reasons I know how to be a good parent and spouse. I received my share of spankings and other discipline types over the years, but I noticed that my sister and I were not given corporal punishment as often as our older brothers. We tried to follow that example with our girls. We spanked from time to time when we thought it was required.

Mom and Dad demonstrated what it meant to love with the Agape’ love of Jehovah as Paul describes. They were patient, kind, and faithful to each other. Mom demonstrated that to me often, no more so than when she described a conversation with one of Dad’s doctors.

Dad was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was in high school, and Mom would take him to the hospital whenever his medication needed to be changed. This was a constant with that disease. Once she told me that she told the doctor that she was done. He asked her if she meant she wanted a divorce. Her response was, “Of course not.”

She said that what she meant was that she was done with dealing with the return of the symptoms and had delayed bringing him back as long as she felt was best. I never knew about this, and it was one of many things she confessed to me after he had passed away.

Thank you, Mom, for all you gave Cindy and I. Our marriage has been blessed by your example, and I work every day to love Cindy and our daughters the way you loved Dad and us kids. Thank you for the book title, also.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger

Richard Thomas

September 13, 2025

Do you remember this actor? The first time I saw him was when he first appeared in “The Homecoming.” This was the movie pilot for “The Waltons” TV series. Thomas played the part of John-Boy. I bring him up because he is coming to Springfield, MO as Mark Twain in “Mark Twain Tonight.”

September seventeenth is the date for the performance at The Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State University. If you are not familiar with “Mark Twain Tonight” it was written by Hal Holbrook. He was the only one who portrayed Mister Twain in this one-man show. Until now.

Thomas has been cast to perform this one man play. He appears as Samuel Langhorn Clemens also known as author, speaker, and humorist Mark Twain. Twain is one of my favorite authors. His story telling style was unique and is now widely imitated.

Hal Holbrook brought Twain to life for us in the twentieth century and now Richard is doing the same thing through the collection of Twain’s own words that Holbrook wrote into his show. His humor is often caustic and satirical. Our new generations love that.

The Twain costume is hilarious. We see a man whose appearance was never perfect. An actor must work hard to appear this disheveled on stage. It fits the character, who was a real man. We need to emulate Uncle Sam in this manner. Maybe not in everything he did.

Thomas’s acting career began in 1956 on “As the World Turns” and “The Guiding Light.” He was five at the time. He was on another soap opera called “From These Roots” starting at that time until he was ten when this live series was ended. In 1964 to 1965 he was on another soap called “A Flame in the Wind.”

Until 1971 when he scored the roll of John Boy in the Waltons pilot movie “The Homecoming” he had guest roles on several prime-time series. His big break began the following year and lasted until 1978 when his career took him to other projects.

Some of my other favorite appearances he was in during this time were “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus,” “The Christmas Box,” “The Christmas Secret,” three Walton TV-Movies where he reprised his role as John-Boy, and two other Walton movies where he narrated the films as the same character.

Movies and other guest spots on TV kept him busy between his plays and other acting opportunities. He has narrated over 300 audio books. His talents are recognized around the world.

We will welcome him to the Ozarks this month and hope that he can check out some of our sights. As with most celebrities, he probably will not have the time, especially with appearances on local media programs to promote his play. Welcome to Springfield, Mr. Thomas.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger

Writers of the Week

November 30, 2021

Do you have a favorite author? This week we celebrate the birthdays of many writers that we have read for years. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and many other books were written by C.S. Lewis who was born on November 29th in 1898. Christian nonfiction and fantasy may not be your cup of tea.

If you prefer older classical fiction, Louisa May Alcott, the author of the Little Women and Borrower Series may be what you like. She shared the 29th with Lewis but was born 66 years before him.

One of my favorite authors is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in 1835 on November 30th. That makes him a contemporary of Louisa May. You don’t know his books and stories? You may know him by the pseudonym he used. Mark Twain was taken from his days working on a riverboat on the Mississippi. Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court may be one that you read in school.

Beginning on Wednesday, the first of December We have Woody Allen Who was born in 1935. Mere Anarchy, Without Feathers, and Getting Even are three of his books. Yes, he was a writer before he began to make movies. He has had more jobs than even I.

Elizabeth Berg was born on the 2nd of December along with George Saunders, and Ann Patchett. They were born in 1948, 1958, and 1963 respectively. Berg’s first book, Family Traditions, was published in 1992. Oprah chose Open House as a book club selection in 2000. In 2020 she published her memoir I’ll Be Seeing You.

George Saunders won his first National Magazine Award in 1994 for The 400 Pound CEO. Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, and Esquire are three of the magazines that published his award-winning pieces.

Ann Patchett was first published in 1992. That first book, The Patron Saint of Liars, was followed by The Magician’s Assistant and My Three Fathers among others. The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020.

Joseph Conrad is best Known for Lord Jim. His birthday is December 3rd, 1857. The Secret Agent was first published in 1907 and became a movie in 1996. This was the second film based on this book. The first was Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage released in 1936.

There are other famous Americans who were born during the last two days of November and the first few days of December. One that was not a writer was Walt Disney. His cartoons and his company’s many movies based on literary works are the reason I feel mentioning his birthday on December 5 of 1901 is not out of place here. I hope the reminder of these authors and their works will inspire you to read something that you have not before or pick up an old favorite and see if it is as good as you remember.