Sketching Mark Twain in Angel Camp

This was a very interesting day.  As I was exploring more of Angels Camp, I came across the Utica Park where there was a statue of Mark Twain.  Mark Twain was an important figure in Angels Camp. This was the place that sparked his career as the American author and humorist.  Before he headed to Angels Camp he had worked as a journalist. I actually didn't know that Mark Twain was his pen name for Samuel Clemens.  I had always thought that Mark Twain was his real name! I found it interesting that he had a lot of other jobs before he became the Mark Twain we know of today. He was a typesetter for a newspaper, a river boat pilot, and a journalist. All of his experiences led to the inspiration for his creative writing.

This was not the interesting part of the day.  As I was sketching the statue of Mark Twain, a young 21 yr. old man approached me.  Keep in mind that I was at a public park with a lot of people.  The guy's name was oddly enough Mark and his last name initial was J. for junior. My initials are M.J.  So I was M.J. speaking to Mark Junior drawing Mark Twain.  Kind of funny, but that was not the best part of the conversation.
So I continue to sketch Mark Twain as I speak to Mark junior.  As we were speaking, I find out that Mark junior was a troubled young man who didn't have the best upbringing. He was homeless for awhile up until the past week. He had just gotten a job from the nearby market and was fortunate that his mother's friend offered him a place to stay in her trailer while he saved some money. Mark continued to tell me more about his life.  I find out that he had an abusive upbringing and that he wanted to go to the police academy.  Unfortunately he didn't have the best grades or confidence to forge ahead and pursue his interest in becoming a police officer. Looking as young as I do, Mark thought we were the same age.  So when I was trying to give him advice about life and my own experiences he was surprised that I had a lot to say.  I told him that I was 30 yrs. old and he was shocked.  I told him that Asians don't crack, and he started to laugh. I was seriously trying to motivate this kid, because I felt bad that he didn't have the best situation.  I told him that he could make something out of himself and that he didn't have to let his past dictate his future.  This was about a 15-20 minute conversation until he asked if he could ask me a question.  I say go ahead.  Mark Junior says, "I've only been with one girl and its been a long time, do you want to have sex?"  I was shocked but not shocked. I had a weird reaction.  My response was, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested."  I think he was embarrassed.  It reminded me of an episode of the HBO show, Girls.  I told him that this was going in the books.  He felt relieved.  The old me would have felt violated, but these days I'm trying to be a bit more open minded.  Plus there were a good amount of people in the park, so I knew I could've yelled for help if I was really concerned. Plus I had some pepper spray next to my bag for backup. So more than getting pissed, I was curious about this young man. The more I asked him questions, the more I realized why he was the way he was.
We ended up talking for a couple more hours. I realized that Mark had a good soul, but was a bit lost. We ended up talking about life and relationships.  We talked about the Calaveras County history.   We talked about Mark Twain's awesome but also troubling life.  I was even tried to convince him to take a greyhound and move to Portland. I told him that he would love it, and it would be a good place to start a new beginning.  I told him that he could probably find a girlfriend over there.
So long story short.  M.J. tries to give life advice to Mark Junior while she draws a sketch of Mark Twain.  Check!