I'm very sorry to hear this, and would also like to know the names of loved
ones, who might be comforted by these poignant and heartfelt memories, and
the grateful spirit in which they are being recorded here.

Generosity, humility, wisdom -- all to which I concur.  Also a witty and
sociable guy, the kind we all aspire to be, I hope; or as Larry put it, the
kind of guy that drew so many of us to this field in the first place.  Put
most simply, Vic will be missed. --Hal B.




On Mon, Dec 5, 2016 at 2:52 PM, Gregg Camfield <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Vic was one of the most generous of Twain scholars.   I didn't know that
> wh=
> en I first met him at MLA in 1993.  We were both going from one session to
> =
> another; I didn't know him from Adam, but he knew me by name.  When saw my
> =
> name badge as we were passing, he stopped, quickly introduced himself, and
> =
> then said, rather abrubtly, "I'm reviewing your book for the University of
> =
> Pennsylvania Press."  After that he moved on.  The remark seemed cryptic
> an=
> d therefore worried me.  Indeed, as an untenured assistant professor
> needin=
> g that first book, I was more than worried.   But I was greatly relieved
> wh=
> en, several hours later he found me and said, "I'm so sorry; I've been
> worr=
> ied that my comment might have given you the wrong impression.  I really
> li=
> ke your book!  I hope I didn't cause you any undue consternation!"  It
> turn=
> s out he had been searching for me for those several hours, greatly
> worried=
>  about the impact he may have had on me. He said he just caught sight of
> my=
>  name tag and had to introduce himself, but almost immediately realized
> tha=
> t the introduction needed more time.  He told me he tried to turn back to
> c=
> atch me right away, but lost me in the crowd.  I think he made himself
> more=
>  anxious than he made me! =20
>
> At any rate, that began what was to be a very enjoyable friendship.  He
> wen=
> t out of his way to mentor me, as I know he went out of his way to mentor
> m=
> any young scholars.  He was conspicuous for his interest in us not just as
> =
> scholars, but also as teachers and as human beings.  For him, scholarship
> s=
> erved as a way to cultivate wisdom, and it certainly worked in his case.
> G=
> iven how sorely we need wisdom and generosity, our collective loss is, I
> be=
> lieve, incalculable.
>
> Gregg
>
> Prof. Harold K. Bush
Professor of English
3800 Lindell
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO  63108
314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
<www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>