ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GO TO HANNIBAL...


without going to the museum near Florida. They have his coach (which ought
to be sitting in the carriage house at Hartford), and a lot of furniture
(that was also in the Hartford home). And they have the birthplace cabin,
and one of two ms of TS, and no banjo music. And do take time to drive to
the "main intersection" of the original town of Florida. It's a good place
to be FROM. If I recall correctly, it has two churches, three occupied
homes, and claims to have the smallest population of any town in America.
Somebody told me it grew from 3 to 4 last year. This may have evened out the
local congregation, assuming two were ministers.

Kevin
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Wesley Britton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 1:30 PM
Subject: Re: My Mark Twain text


> Oh, go to Hannibal!   It's a wonderful river town and the people are just
> great!  Sure, there's the tacky wax museum and other overt-the-top
> commercial businesses, but my stay back in '85 was one of  the highlights
of
> my Twain tours.
>
> If you can go on memorial Day or something like that, you can really get
the
> flavor of the community.  While I was there, I found a little watering
hole
> where I got to talk to many citizens and found myself sharing good will
with
> the
> folks there.  On my way out, I attempted to buy some ice for my cooler,
but
> the bartender wouldn't take any money from me.  "You enjoyed our town so
> much," he said, "that I want you to take this as a gift."  A small thing,
> perhaps, but indicative of a good experience.
>
> Remember--unlike the Elmira center or the Hartford house, Hanibal is a
town
> that wants to show off its best attributes to attract both tourists and
> industry.  Scholars and historians can find what they will, but also just
> plain folks who have a wide variety of entertainment's and sites to see.
> I'll go again in a heartbeat.
>
> Wes Britton
>