Should have sent this a couple of weeks ago, but the Elmira conference was
excellent, and everybody ought to gear up for 2001.  Gretchen Sharlow and
her
staff went out of their way to make this a special conference, with great
sessions, great food, and great events.  It really was a fine conference.

I have a lot of personal highlights, including of course the excellent
sessions
and papers.  But it's meeting the people that stands out--notably for me,
meeting Taylor Roberts and Kevin Boychinski.  Taylor and I settled the state
of
Mark Twain studies until about 2:00 in the morning on the last night.  Great
to
meet these people who propel our list.

I should also mention the first great Mark Twain smokeout:  eight or nine of
us
standing in a circle and smoking cigars at the original site of the
octagonal
study.  Not the first time cigar smoke has inundated that hill.

I also got the chance to pay off to a few forum members the promise I made
sometime back of a favorite beverage.  Good to see Wes Britton again and pay
up!
 Mark Twain scholars sure are fun people to be around.

John Bird