Well, it's Saturday night, and the last night of the conference, and it has been a mixed bag. Kinda makes me wish it was Inkshed, where people are taken to an isolated location and more or less have to make their fun . . . (doesn't that make Inkshed sound appealing?? It really is; it's the most community-building experience I've ever had, except maybe for summer camp . . . )

Oddly enough, the social aspects of this conference were hurt because the town is dry. It says a lot about the place of alcohol in this culture, I suppose - but absent a bar in the hotel to gather around, there was very little gathering, which was a disappointment.

But be that as it may. The intellectual part of the conference has been outstanding; I have a zillion new ideas in my head and I wish I had had time to think about them as I got them. I took some notes, though, so the next few weeks should be really interesting (in my head, anyway!).

And, here's something unusual: In the last two days, I've met two guys named Emil. (This brings the total number of guys I know named Emil to four.) One of them was an older man, who drove one of the Nifty Fifty automobiles that ferried us about from place to place last night (he had the venerable '57 Chevy). And today I met a grad student named Emil. (He was impressed that I could pronounce his name - he says he usually gets called "Eh-mil" or "Ay-meel" instead of "A-mil.") (I realize those pronunciation cues make sense to my Emil and those of you related to him . . . not sure about everyone else . . . ) Anyhow, how completely unexpected . . . I wonder why there would be this (relatively) large concentration of guys named Emil here in west Texas?? There must be some immigration pattern I'm not aware of, which isn't hard to imagine: I learned yesterday that there were a large number of Czech immigrants in this area, and that they came through a holding point similar to Ellis Island, which I'd never heard of. Boy, the things you learn when you travel . . .

Ah, well. Sessions start early tomorrow, so I should get some sleep . . . I have to check out of my room before I head to the conference so I'll have to get up extra early, which is never easy for me . . .