Sounds terrific!  Look forward to hearing it, if we can.  And I wonder if
the earlier lectures were recorded.  Series sounds wonderful.  Thanks for
telling us.

Arianne Laidlaw

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 5:57 AM, John Bird <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thanks to Ben Click for his very kind words!  But Ben did not give a full
> sense of the work he did in putting on an amazing night.  A sit-down dinner
> for about 250 donors, and then a flawless program with big names and a
> large, enthusiastic crowd.  If Ben ever asks you to go to St. Mary's for
> one
> of his annual programs, jump at the chance:  an incredibly beautiful campus
> on the banks of the St. Mary's River, impeccable hospitality, and a genial
> piano and guitar playing host.  It was a great Mark Twain night in southern
> Maryland!
>
> John Bird
> Winthrop University
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Click,
> Benjamin A
> Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 10:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: John Bird Rocks 1200!
>
> Dear Forum Members:
>
> This past Saturday night (April 24), our John Bird sat onstage with NPR's
> P=
> eter Sagal, CNN political analyst Amy Holmes, and CBS Sunday Morning's Mo
> R=
> occa and participated in a panel discussion, which Sagal moderated, called
> =
> "Twain's Relevance Today:  Race, Religion, Politics, and the 'Damned Human
> =
> Race'."
>
> In short, John was magnificent--quantum!  In front of an audience of 1200
> c=
> ollege students and community members, John was the glue that held the
> pane=
> l together!  In what could have been a night of just laughs, but no Twain,
> =
> or a night of only Twain and little current relevance or laughs, John was
> e=
> ngaging, informative, insightful, and as funny as Mo Rocca and Peter
> Sagal.=
>  It was a night that paid true tribute to the genius of MT.
>
> When the semester ends, and I have time to post some of the highlights of
> t=
> he evening on the Twain Lecture Series website (www.smcm.edu/twain) , I
> wil=
> l.  In the meantime, please congratulate John on his triumph this past
> Satu=
> rday night.  If the intent of what we are doing in this year of Twain is
> to=
>  keep the man and his works in the American consciousness, then what John
> a=
> nd Peter, Amy, and Mo did on Saturday went a long way to that end! =20
>
> Thanks, John!
>
> Ben
>



-- 
Arianne Laidlaw A '58