Joe Paterno Invokes Twain

A cool little tidbit today from the Associated Press. Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno draws a parallel between his line of work and that of Mr. Clemens, and how that is a source of guidance for him:

"I always call on Mark Twain. You know, he was a riverboat captain. He was talking about you've got to do things by the seat of your pants.

"He says every day a captain has to learn more than anybody should ever have to learn. Then the next day he's got to learn it again a different way. All right?

"That's what coaching is."

Maybe ol' Sam would've made a formidable football coach himself. Who'd have guessed?

The Last Mississippi Steamboat to Hit the Scrap Heap

Although constructed in 1926, the Delta Queen is the last traditional, 19th-century style paddle steamboat currently traveling the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It is the last connection to a type of ship that is a part of Americana; the type of ship once piloted by Twain, and written about in his memoir Life on the Mississippi.

However, the U.S. Coast Guard has decided that the Delta Queen is too old and dangerous to remain in service, and so it has been scheduled for decommissioning, according to the international news website EURSOC.

That isn't stopping those who want to preserve this iconic piece of American culture. That's right, there's a movement afoot to save the Delta Queen. Those interested should visit save-the-delta-queen.org.