Hal and all,
     As always, such a wonderfully magical time, I'm still trying to put 
it all in perspective. There certainly were those bittersweet moments, 
given how many heavyweight Twain scholars we've lost over the last four 
years. But mostly it was a rollicking good time with dear old friends -- 
and a fair number of new ones. This was my fifth Elmira conference 
(starting in '97), and I never take for granted the quadrennial 
opportunity to eat, breathe and share Twain with those afflicted with 
the same marvelous madness.
      And Quarry Farm . . . heaven on the half shell, indeed.
      More coherent thoughts to follow, but, impossible to close without 
seconding thanks to Barb and all those who smooth the path to Elmira.

On 8/5/2013 9:18 AM, Hal Bush wrote:
> I invite all participants to record here you initial thoughts about Elmira
> 2013...  as a mean of processing our collective experience.  For me:
>
> --Many thanks to Barb and all the staff for a great event.
>
> --I'm blown away by the vigor and commitment of the Japanese Twain
> community.  Many of them traveled up to 18 hours or more to be in NY for
> the show.  My thanks for their diligence and contributions to the fine
> program.  In addition:  I felt like the memorial for Prof. Nagawara (whom I
> called the Henry Nash Smith of Twain studies in Japan and mentor to many of
> our colleagues) was one of the poignant highlights of our gathering.
> Nagawara-sensei's story is compelling:  he miraculously survived the
> Hiroshima attack, in which many in his immediate family were killed, and
> yet went on to become an advocate and huge fan of one of our great American
> authors.  What an amazing life!
>
> --Sunset on the porch at Quarry Farm on Saturday = priceless.
>
> --Mainly, it's about seeing old friends; but that's just me.  (There were
> some good papers, too!)
>
> Cheers (and Otsukare-sama deshita!), --Hal B.
>
>
>