Folks;  Thanks to everyone for a very pleasant and inspiring day up in
Hannibal.  Special thanks go to Henry and Regina for their hard work putting
it together, and Bruce for managing the panel.  Good turnout-- including a
couple of attendees whom I would call somewhat colorful, especially Mark
Twain himself!! (inside joke)    ; )

The talks were very good, and I cannot rehash them much here except to say
that some pioneering editor might like to gather some of these comments for
posting in some illustrious journal.  I personally got to thinking about a
lot of things, and was edified by the proceedings.  Maybe some of the others
will read this and want to chime in on the Twain-LIST, for the edification
of those unable to attend.

The drive back down along the river and through Louisiana (MO), was quite
nice.  First we stopped at Lovers Leap [sic; no apostrophe on the signage].
We were moved by the sad tale of the Natives who evidently saw no other
options for their star-crossed love, and thus plunged together to their
demise.  Quite a view of Hannibal and the river.

Beyond that, are some more very lovely views overlooking the cliffs and
river south of there.  That road is called the Little Dixie Highway, by the
way.  I am not sure what to think of that, maybe Terrell Dempsey could
enlighten us more about that one.  We tried to feed some cows, but they
gazed at us city-folk with great suspicion and possibly paranoid delusions.
After about 10 futile minutes, we pitched our handfuls of grass at them and
returned to the air-conditioning of my car.  (Although they had no interest
in our grass, they were definitely interested in each other).

I especially enjoyed meeting the Missouri State Trooper about 30 miles north
of Wentzville.  The ticket was officially for staying too long in the left
lane.  I believe my students were amused by my driving acumen, which made it
all worthwhile, of course.  Anything for our students.

That is the 2nd straight time I have gotten tagged going to or coming from
Hannibal, which may explain my absence up in those parts in the foreseeable
future.  If anyone drives those roads, I advise doing it well within the
laws of the state of Missouri and of the local magistrates, who are stubborn
about such matters, unlike St. Louis City cops, who are relatively sanguine
about such matters and treat traffic rules as they do in, say, Manila (if
you have never witnessed traffic in the great city of Manila, take my word
for it, it is not very good).

Peace,

Harold K. Bush, Ph.D
Saint Louis University