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