A mail carrier from Florida is this year's Ernest Hemingway look-alike.
But the most interesting story in this article is about Richard Hemingway, 44, of Davison, Michigan, who found out last year that Ernest Hemingway was his father, via his mother's deathbed confession. He was born five days before the elder Mr. Hemingway killed himself in Idaho. The article continues:
Ernest Hemingway secretly married his mother while living in Cuba, likely while also married to fourth wife Mary, and supported her financially, said Richard Hemingway, who described himself as a machinist, amateur inventor and poet and song writer. His mother passed on advice from Ernest Hemingway, telling Richard Hemingway not to study great classical literature. "He believed it would keep writers from developing their own style," he said. "I stayed away from the great books of literature."
Richard attended the 25th annual Hemingway Days festival this week in Key West. Last year he entered the look-alike contest, but didn't even make the finals.
But this is the money quote: "I would have taken writing more seriously if I had known Ernest was my father."
Why? Well obviously, the thinking was "well, heck, if I knew I had Ernest Hemingway's blood running through my veins, I probably would have been more confident about my abilities."
How many of us live our lives assuming there's nothing spectacular within us, and so simply don't bother to try certain things?
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