Sounds terrific! Look forward to hearing it, if we can. And I wonder if the earlier lectures were recorded. Series sounds wonderful. Thanks for telling us. Arianne Laidlaw On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 5:57 AM, John Bird <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Thanks to Ben Click for his very kind words! But Ben did not give a full > sense of the work he did in putting on an amazing night. A sit-down dinner > for about 250 donors, and then a flawless program with big names and a > large, enthusiastic crowd. If Ben ever asks you to go to St. Mary's for > one > of his annual programs, jump at the chance: an incredibly beautiful campus > on the banks of the St. Mary's River, impeccable hospitality, and a genial > piano and guitar playing host. It was a great Mark Twain night in southern > Maryland! > > John Bird > Winthrop University > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Click, > Benjamin A > Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 10:22 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: John Bird Rocks 1200! > > Dear Forum Members: > > This past Saturday night (April 24), our John Bird sat onstage with NPR's > P= > eter Sagal, CNN political analyst Amy Holmes, and CBS Sunday Morning's Mo > R= > occa and participated in a panel discussion, which Sagal moderated, called > = > "Twain's Relevance Today: Race, Religion, Politics, and the 'Damned Human > = > Race'." > > In short, John was magnificent--quantum! In front of an audience of 1200 > c= > ollege students and community members, John was the glue that held the > pane= > l together! In what could have been a night of just laughs, but no Twain, > = > or a night of only Twain and little current relevance or laughs, John was > e= > ngaging, informative, insightful, and as funny as Mo Rocca and Peter > Sagal.= > It was a night that paid true tribute to the genius of MT. > > When the semester ends, and I have time to post some of the highlights of > t= > he evening on the Twain Lecture Series website (www.smcm.edu/twain) , I > wil= > l. In the meantime, please congratulate John on his triumph this past > Satu= > rday night. If the intent of what we are doing in this year of Twain is > to= > keep the man and his works in the American consciousness, then what John > a= > nd Peter, Amy, and Mo did on Saturday went a long way to that end! =20 > > Thanks, John! > > Ben > -- Arianne Laidlaw A '58