A moment ago, I noticed that today's date is August 18 and recalled its signficance in Clemens family history. As much was made of last year's centennial of Mark Twain's death, it may be worth mentioning that today is both the 115th anniversary of Susy Clemens's death and the 111th anniversary of Mark Twain's only grandchild, Nina Gabrilowitsch's birth. It's hard not to wonder what Mark Twain would have made of that coincidence.

While I'm on this subject, I'll add that I've also wondered in which room of Redding's Stormfield house Nina was born. It seems most likely she was born in the room that Clara and Ossip occupied while Mark Twain was still alive. On the other hand, as the couple stayed in the house at least four months after Mark Twain died, it seems possible they could have moved into the master bedroom. If that were the case, Nina might have born in the same room (in the same bed?) in which Mark Twain died. However, I'm guessing that didn't happen. More emotionally stable people than Clara wouldn't rush to occupy the bedrooms in which their parents recently died.