"As Poor Richard says"

In Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth," Richard Saunders, one of several of Franklin's pseydonyms, is a summary of the 1732 edition of Poor Richard's Almanack. The title gives the basic meaning of address: Saunders' describes through various references to Poor Richard the keys to life of wealth and meaning. A life of wealth and meaning is one that combines both recognition and appreciation of what is had and a desire to give back and work harder for a better life. It's not just about pulling a Thomas the Train with an "I think I can, I think I can;" rather, it's about seeing the mountain ahead of you and taking each step, each trial as it comes. In essence, Saunders is parenting the colonists with instructions to work hard, dream big, but remembering where they started and who helped them get them to where they are now.

As I was reading through Benjamin Franklin's "The Way to Wealth," a small thought occurred to me: Poor Richard's Almanack would be great on the "must read" lists for people of the 21st century. In today's world of "swag" and "YOLO" young adults could do with getting a reality check. Franklin's humor and directness would be the perfect antidote to this generation.

So, I did some research. Apparently, there's a book entitled Poorer Richard's America: What Would Ben Say? by Tom Blair. If you look to the right, you will see an image of the front cover. It made the The New York Times' Best Sellers list and addressed the big issues of the early 2000s like China and marriage. But, really, I don't think that young adults would really be "in" to reading that sort of book unless it had comic strips in it.

So, after looking on the Internet, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, Poor Richard has a Facebook page. Sadly, it appears the only pages concerning Poor Richard's Almanack include restaurants or a page with a Wikipedia like to a copy of the famous Almanack.

What about Twitter?  Surely, Poor Richard could make a few of the top tweets with his crafty sayings. Well, there are several Richard's tweeting, and the main @poor_richard seemed more inclined to "hate" on the President and his political party than offer practical advice that all Americans could use or, even, relate to.

I guess, no one on Facebook or Twitter or the publication business fully understands how to relate to this newer, hipper, more technological savvy generation of go-getters. If Zac Efron or Glee can get quoted for their "inspiring" quotes, why can't Ben Franklin, the top dog of all things quotable, even get some recognition? Here's my first step to anyone who chances upon this blog, follow this link:

http://www.unsv.com/voanews/spec
ialenglish/scripts/2010/11/07/0040/Poor_Richard's_Almanack_by_Franklin_Benjamin.pdf

Read it, print if off, write off a few of your personal favorites, read it again, and start living them. Poor Richard may have been first written in the 18th century, but I still think that his sayings are more than relevant to today's time. Check it out. What have you go to lose?