I have been reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and it's quite a hoot. I have developed the opinion that while he is one of those folks I enjoy reading about, I would have found his company rather irritatingly obnoxious. I know the anecdote about telling a cranky woman how she'd still be ugly in the morning made me laugh but I can't help thinking that the reason the woman was cranky was because she had to sit next to him at dinner in the first place. Sufficed to say, he was kind of a jerk and ultimately the exception to the belief that our founding fathers were all deeply religious. Mr. Franklin took great pains to hone his debating abilities at the expense of many a religious professor.
My favorite story thus far? When he makes a deal with a dear friend; whichever of the two should pass from this life first, he must return in a friendly manner to enlighten the other on the experience of being on the other side.
Talk about confidence!
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