Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

To Quote a Pro Column for the week of July 20-26, 2003

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Finally, a man I admire and wish I could actually spend some time with made the cover of Time Magazine. Unfortunately, he’s dead. He’s gone but not forgotten, especially since Walter Isaacson’s new book hit the stands, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. Isaacson recently left being chairman of CNN for bigger bucks, becoming the president of the Aspen Institute, “an international non-profit organization dedicated to informed dialogue and inquiry on issues of global concern,” whatever that means. Of course it’s a little easier plug your book in Time when you’re the former managing editor. It also doesn’t hurt to be a friend of the present editor, James Kelly, and credit him in the publication as one who “gave wise counsel.”

Not everyone is as enamored with Isaacson’s new book as Kelly. The Philadelphia Inquirer book critic was not pleased. Carlin Romano writes in his article, A Not So Special Time Cover that he is “shocked and appalled” at this “inbred, taking care of friends favoritism.” After all, it’s not like we need another book on Ben Franklin.
Type in Benjamin Franklin at Barnes and Noble.com and you will get 236 titles and I doubt if one of them made the cover of any magazine. But then Romano isn’t even that enamored with Ben Franklin which could be tantamount to the unpardonable sin in Philadelphia. He describes him as a “crashing bore” and “crammed down our throats in elementary school, made required reading in high school, and imposed on us in the ads of every financial planner who spritzes away our money.”

I beg to differ. I never felt like Franklin was crammed down my throat. In fact his inventions, writings, and exploits made American history fun for me. Learning about him sure beat Washington’s false teeth, Benedict Arnold’s betrayal, and the midnight ride of Paul Revere which was really made by Dawes. Actually that last one was a pretty nifty story. Because Longfellow immortalized Revere in “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere” we never hear about Dawes. I guess he could of written “Listen my children and drop your jaws, I’ll tell you a story about Bill Dawes” but that wasn’t quite as poetic. But I digress. What I mean to say is I think Ben Franklin was quite remarkable and even if Isaacson had to call in some markers, I’m glad he made the cover of Time.

Benjamin Franklin was the 10th son of a soap maker in Boston. His dad wanted him to become a minister but could only afford to send him to one year of school. Therefore at age 12 he became a printer’s apprentice to his much older brother, James. After a few years of sibling rivalry, Ben ran away and ended up in Philadelphia. There he met and fell in love with Deborah, who married another man. Meanwhile Ben, a man about town, fathered and was raising a child named William (mother unknown) when Deborah’s hubby ran off. He was rumored to be dead so Deb moved in with Ben to form a common law marriage. They opened a mini department store, ran a print shop, bought a newspaper, and published Poor Richard’s Almanack. Ben taught himself to read French, Spanish, Latin, and Italian. He organized the first fire department, designed plans for paving and lighting the streets of Philadelphia, opened the first public library, the first museum of natural history and science, first insurance company, and was the first to franchise anything (printshops). Most of this happened before he reached age 30.

Most of his inventions came after the age of 40. He measured ocean water temperatures which led to the discovery of the Gulf Stream. The armonica, Franklin stove, lightening rod, battery, odometer, bifocals, and school desks are just some of his other contributions. Oh, yes, and electricity. His personality was quite electrifying too. He fancied ladies and ladies fancied him, even though he was short, pudgy, bespectacled, and bald.

He was involved in civic organizations, politics, and foreign affairs. He identified with the common man as well as the prominent, educated, and political. It was he who edited Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence draft. It could have read “we hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable.” Ben scratched the last 3 words and added “self evident.” He knew what the Bible told us long ago, there is power in a word fitly spoken. (Proverbs 25:11) That’s probably why he is one the most quoted men in history.

If Mr. Romano thinks Franklin was a “crashing bore” he obviously had one bad history teacher! No wonder hundreds of books were written about the man. I may have to write one myself. And to quote a pro, I have this advice for Isaacson who will make big bucks from his book to add to the big bucks he already has: “a penny saved is a penny earned.” And you can take that to the bank!

Here are some more sage sayings by guess who.......

“ He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.”

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”

“He that is of the opinion money will do everything
may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”

“The learned fool writes nonsense in better language
that the unlearned - but it's still nonsense.”

“I wake up every morning at nine and grab for the morning paper.
Then I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on it, I get up.”

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

“Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

“A good example is the best sermon.”

©July 2003

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.