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From:
"K. Patrick Ober" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:47:40 +0000
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Let me pile on.
It was, truly, a wonderful event! Henry and Cindy orchestrated a fabulous meeting. The young scholars were remarkable. The old and usual suspects were at their prime. New friends such as Shoichi charmed us all. The Hartford house sent a terrific delegation of Patti Phillipon and Mallory Howard, flushed with the very knowledge I was seeking; Elmira's Barbara Snedecor is now "the voice of Livy" for me, and I will hear Barbara every time I read Livy; Bob Hirst, the ultimate gentleman and Twain scholar, was his usual delightful and insightful self. Kent Rasmussen was not the only person to shed a tear at seeing Gladys Coggswell perform "A True Story." It was an unforgettable experience. The sites were remarkable. Quarles Farm came alive for me. The cave took on a new significance when we visited the chamber that Dr Joseph McDowell fixed up so his teenage daughter would have her own special place to hang out, off the beaten path. [The good doctor's shenanigans in the cave were the subject of my 2001 Elmira presentation, and I never dreamed I would be able to stand at the site of his misdeed and tell his macabre story.]
The scenery of the river all around us was also something to behold:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23257649/photo.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23257649/photo2.JPG
With both Elmira and Hannibal meetings going strong, we now have a place to get together every other year. 
[If your journeys take you to the Mark Twain Papers in Berkeley, I also recommend a visit to the Kent Rasmussen Boyhood Home; I had the pleasure of a guided tour earlier this year, including a drive past the historical elementary school where Kent learned his A's through T's; the U's through Z's were not fully mastered until junior high school, Kent admits. If you are seeking truth, though, you are far better off with Henry, in Hannibal.]
Pat Ober

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