[I first sent a similar message out on June 22, the evening after Convention ended, but it must have drifted off into the cyberozone; so here's take 2:]
A hearty yasher-koyekh and kol-hakavod to Fred Isaac and the organizers of the recent 2005 Oakland AJL Convention! The hotel was very comfortable and well-situated and (for the first time in a while), pretty reasonably-priced. The area offers an abundance of physically beautiful landscapes and top-notch cultural offerings (the Paramount Theater, e.g., is a splendid deco palace). And the weather could not have been better, as close to perfect as it gets! The programs were highly informative and again presented us with the pleasant dilemma during several time frames of having to select one appealing session over one or even two others that sounded equally tempting--at one point, I found myself drifting back and forth between two sessions (fortunately they were in adjacent rooms)! The food was good and showed some creativity. And the committee planned some stellar "extra-curricular" activities. I found the exhibition on spice boxes at the San Francisco Jewish Community Museum inventive, enticing, (literally) aromatic, clever, informative, and often humorous. I was pleased to have the opportunity to explore (never long enough for such a rich, diverse, and beautiful area) my former, long-time home by riding the historic F streetcar line in San Francisco, enjoying again the great WPA murals in the Rincon Annex, visiting some of my other old haunts such as Fort Mason and the beautifully revitalized, historic Ferry Terminal with its abundance of upscale shops. I was happy to run into several AJL Convention attendees on the west side of the Bay, too. And, to top it off, I finally did something I never found the time to do in all the years I lived in San Francisco: take a ferry back to Oakland. What a great way to cross the Bay! Many of us waited a long time for AJL to get (back) to the Bay Area, and our wait was well-rewarded! So, thank you very much, Bay Area Convention Committee for making people feel so at home in my old home and putting on a first-rate show! Elliot >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< > < >Elliot H. Gertel 111-C Hatcher Graduate Library North < >Irving M. Hermelin Curator of Judaica Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1205 < >The University of Michigan [EMAIL PROTECTED] < >University Library Area Programs 734-936-2367 (phone) < >Near East Division 734-763-6743 (fax) < > http://www.lib.umich.edu/area/Near.East/judaica.html < > http://www.lib.umich.edu/rrs/egertel < > < >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
