I will start with some necessary redundancy.

It is essential to acknowledge the wonderful effort of Barbara and crew
in not just creating a program that was perfect, but in pulling it off.
There!
It just cannot be stated often enough.

It is also essential to acknowledge the contribution of each person who
attended Elmira, for each was responsible for making the meeting a
wonderful event. There were no strangers. Plop yourself down beside
anyone at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or any session, and you found you
had a friend. It may have been a friend you have known for 4 years or 8
years or more, or maybe a new friend you just met. The meeting is the
"right size" and has the "right people", and that's all that is needed.

Memorable folks include Kent Rasmussen (who essentially dragged me to
Elmira 2001 and even coerced me into submit a paper, as I kicked and
screamed and protested that "No, no! I'm a doctor! I get hives when I am
around educated people!")...Kevin MacDonnell (who knows how many
shoestrings Twain used in his life, and what his favorite brand was, and
the preferred lengths....or if he doesn't know, will manage to find out,
eventually)....Gretchen Shallow, one of the most gracious people I have
ever met....Tom Quirk, who took a chance with a book by an unheard of MD
that came out of Elmira 2001 (I am accustomed to people foolishly
putting their health in my hands, but Tom is the only person to risk his
academic credibility, and for that I am eternally grateful)...Ron
Hohenhaus, the "new kid" from Australia, who presented one of the most
fascinating presentations I have ever heard...Rick Talbot, a really
funny guy (Kent helped me sucker him into buying a copy of my book;
thanks, Kent!, sorry, Rick!)...the wise and witty Bob Hirst....the
wonderful Tom Tenney...Penny David, an absolutely charming and
fascinating dinner companion (who bought a copy of my book because she
is a lovely person)....Henry Sweets with his great tales of life in
Hannibal, then and now and always...my fabulous international
panel....and all of the rest of you, far too numerous to name, but all
so important to the whole experience.

And a special comment must be made about Hal Holbrook, of course, who
has long been the reference point for many of us when we consider who
Mark Twain is, a testimonial to a remarkable actor and a caring soul who
epitomizes all that is so fine about the Twain community.

When he gave his impromptu remarks during the Saturday afternoon
session, I felt a chill down my spine as he made his brief comments;
they were the words of Hal Holbrook, but they were coming from the
spirit of Mark Twain. Part way through, I came out of my trance (I was
somewhat mesmerized, I suppose) just enough to recall that my iPhone has
a recording function, and I was able to get the last 2 minutes of Hal's
comments recorded, with fairly decent sound. Since then, I have played
back his words a dozen times.

I have named the brief recording the "we need somebody to tell us the
truth" quote. A quote for all seasons, a quote for all times. Here is
the part I love best, for those of you who weren't there:

"We all know one thing.
We need somebody to tell us the truth.
Not twist it.
Not make it their own territory.
But to tell us the truth."

They are the words of Hal Holbrook.
But, as a testimony to Hal's greatness, I am pretty sure that it was
Twain's voice I heard, down there in the ground floor lecture room of
the library on a Saturday afternoon in August of 2009, explaining to us
why we had all come to Elmira, why we all feel sadness when we left
Elmira. We all need somebody to tell us the truth. About the world.
About ourselves. That's why we all came looking for Mark Twain. And,
strangely enough, 99 years after his death, we all found Mark Twain.

If anyone is interested, I would be happy to send an e-mail attachment
of the recording. It's a 4MB folder, so it might be hard on your inbox.
But it is succinct reminder of why we love Hal Holbrook, for all that he
has done for keeping the image of Mark Twain alive, and a testimony to
the brilliance of Hal in telling the truth of Mark Twain to all of the
world.

Pat Ober