I have been worrying about an aside in a recent review on the Forum by
Terrell Dempsey, who writes: "Like the tourist attractions in Hannibal,
most of the histories written on Hannibal are fluffy. . . ."
  Will some readers assume that his comment includes the Mark Twain Boyhood
Home and related buildings as fluffy?  At least the river is watery.
  I worry that such comments might encourage travelers to skip Hannibal as
just another trap for dollars. But visiting the Home and especially the New
Mark Twain Museum could encourage visitors to read or reread Mark Twain's
work--to me, the solid goal.
  I hope that Twainians who have recently visited Hannibal will comment on
whether the effort was worth it.
   Lou Budd