Subject: taps for the oyster From: SBANKER@aol.com Date: Mon, 28 May 2007 13:23:58 EDT To: Anna@berenfeld.com, VeraJBarad@aol.com, boris@concord.org, eric.britton@ecoplan.org, jdreyfuss@att.biz, Ebschildkraut@aol.com, ghwjr727@hotmail.com, avghahn@terra.com.br, dleveringlewis@msn.com, jethromarks969@hotmail.com, nitajem@verizon.net, moleski@canisius.edu, tim.obrien@mindspring.com, rohagan@rogers.com, ras20@nyu.edu, pbelew@juno.com, SBANKER@aol.com, vpollard@att.biz, EBW327@aol.com May 28, 2007 Oysterers: It is five years since we met in Paris for the first time. And now it is time to call an end to The Oyster Foundation, at least as far as full-scale meetings are concerned . It has been an exhilarating run and I am indebted to all of you who participated in our events in Paris, St. Michaels, Montreal and Washington. There is an archival record of our proceedings, and I am proud of its quality and its diversity. www.moleski.net/oybook/ There are those who thought I formalized things to too great an extent by insisting on written presentations. But I am glad I did, and those of you who review the contributions will, in the end, agree with my insistence. Thank you, Marty Moleski, for maintaining the site. I believe that new friendships were made and new alliances formed. I think particularly of something Joe Schildkraut said in Paris — that the only thing he regretted about The Oyster Foundation is that he hadn’t met Ed Marks ten years earlier. Now both of them are gone. But there were many other pleasurable encounters in those few years. What are the mathematical possibilities when you have a total of two dozen people (16 or so at a time) convening? It started in 2002 when I decided to go to Paris to celebrate my recovery from illness. Before I knew it, a dozen or so friends said they wanted to join me. Was it because they cared for me, or they loved Paris? I think it was a combination of both. Although my health is stable now, I do not feel up to long trips or complicated arrangements. Where might we have gone? Hong Kong, Barcelona, Buenos Aires were on the docket. If you go to any of those places on your own, please write and I will circulate your observations. My philosophy was to pick a place and a restaurant that would be interesting and comfortable, but not distracting. For example, several years ago I received a proposed menu from Paul Bocuse in Lyon that was affordable but glitzy and self-conscious. To me, The Oyster Foundation existed for the sake of conversation and collegiality. Anything that distracted from that was undesirable. The result, over four years, was one of the highlights of my life. I had a warm personal relationship with all who attended, and I was fascinated to see their interactions when they met, some for the first time. By calling an end to The Oyster Foundation, I certainly don’t mean to say goodbye to any of you. Our meetings will simply be more spontaneous and in smaller groups. Stephen Banker President, emeritus The Oyster Foundation See what's free at AOL.com.