Our own Pat Boone....

Nancy recently took Pat Boone out to dinner and Pat mentioned how much she missed dad, and how much she missed the family. Nancy thought that it would be great to find a way for all of us to stay in touch with her, so I'm posting her address and phone number here:

Pat Boone
5200 Irvine Bl. #315
Irvine CA 92620-2057

(714) 544-7198

I love this photo of Pat and the boys. It was taken at Julianna's wedding, and Pat has it prominently and proudly displayed in her living room.







I'm also including a photo from 1998 of Pat with Emily, along with our friend, Bram, who passed away last year. I don't remember Bram meeting Pat, but somehow it makes me happy to see people from different parts of my life placed together.

Love, Anne

My friend, Paul White

A front page article appeared today in the Los Angeles Daily News. It's about Dantae Livingston, a gang member who has renounced his gang ties and is finally on a track toward finishing high school and hopes to be going to college. After being kicked out of the last three high schools he's attended, he had the great fortune to be sent to West Valley Leadership Academy, a public county school run by my friend, Paul White.

Dantae joined a gang at age 12 after seeing his older brother gunned down by rival gang members. And when Paul offers to help Dantae leave the gang, Paul puts his own life on the line. A wonderful story of courage and commitment. Here's the link (be sure to watch the short video too): Click here to go to the article.

I recently went to a graduation at WVLA. It's a small school and each student has a separate graduation ceremony. The girl graduating had been addicted to crystal meth when her parents and brother called the police in desparation and had her arrested. That led, eventually, to her being enrolled in WVLA where she dropped her addiction, received straight A's, enrolled in college classes, and is the top seller at a local retail store.



When Paul's book was being printed, he was looking for endorsements so I asked Jack if he would consider reading it and writing something up for the jacket. I am so thankful that he did, and the book is now published. Here's the link to Amazon:
Click here to go to the Amazon link.

Road Trip! Day 10 - The Voyage Home

Well, we travel home today leaving Yosemite behind. We had a great time.

I have a memory seared in my mind from my youth and my sisters know this well. If anyone mentions the last name O'Meara - all of us immediately think of Mike & Thelma O'Meara of Bakersfield and their kids Shauna, Brenna, Erin & Patrick. Mike & Thelma were stationed at Fort Ord with Mom & Dad where they were inseparable. Mrs. O'Meara, Thelma, tells the story that Mom & Dad took care of her when Mike was deployed overseas. They have been good friends ever since.

We visited them when I was younger than Andrew and it was a visit we all remember well. They had a motorized "surry" that we rode in and were allowed to drive. We drove that thing all over their huge yard. We also rode their horses - bareback as I recall - with the help of their kids. They also had cows and many other animals.

Halfway between Yosemite and Laguna Beach is Bakersfield so we arranged a visit with Mrs. O'Meara. We pulled up to find Mrs. O'Meara waiting for us - Mr. O'Meara passed on 10 years ago. We visited for a while and then she walked us back behind the pool and there was the surry (minus the fringe)! It was all ready for Andy to drive. It fired right up and off he went. He had a ball.

We were joined by Brenna and her daughter Nora - we all went to lunch and had a grand time. We came back and, of course, Andy had to drive some more. He also spent a great deal of time with their dog, Ginger.

After a 2 1/2 hour visit, we hit the road again and we are now home. The O'Meara's will be in Laguna a week from Monday for the Pageant of the Masters and invite all who are around to breakfast at the cottage on Monday the 23rd at 9:00 am. Thelma, Shauna, Brenna & Patrick will be there with spouses.

Awesome Dinner with Afghani Friends

Emily and I went to Nazhla and Hameed Karzai's home in Maryland. As Nazhla is eight months pregnant, I tried to get her to consider the possibility of ordering take-out, but in the wonderful tradition of Afghani hospitality, she insisted on cooking and welcomed us as family. Em and I are not sure we've ever eaten as well as we did there, and Emily had an entire shopping bag full of leftovers to take home. Em didn't think her fridge was big enough to handle it all.




We got to see little Sameel who is now almost two years old. If you remember, the very first posting on this blog is of Dad holding Sameel in Laguna, pointing out where Sameel was going to learn to skimboard...

Nazhla talked about how when they first arrived in this country, her family couldn't figure out why they were continually visited by dad. Who was this man? They couldn't figure out why he took an interest in them, without even knowing who they are or whether they were good people. She said that moving to a new country, you feel like you've lost your individuality in the eyes of those around you, and that you're labeled, "immigrant." When she met dad, she felt like there was hope for them. Here was a man who was seeing who they really were, seeing past the label. Her family felt like dad saw them as his family, and for that they are all deeply grateful beyond words. We told them how that relationship was as important to dad as it was to them, and how happy we are to continue in it.

We heard about Hameed's older brother who was in medical school in Czechoslovakia, while the Taliban were ruling Afghanistan. All Afghani students were supposed to act supportive of the Taliban, but Hameed's brother refused. One night, one of his professors came to him and said that he (Hameed's brother) would be arrested the next morning, so he'd better leave right away. His brother escaped to Germany and did not see his family for at least ten years. Hameed was seven at the time, and so when he finally saw his brother, his brother said that the two of them were going to take a two week trip and get to know each other as adults. That trip turned out to be the cement for a deep friendship between brothers that is truly an inspiration. His brother had to repeat medical school in Germany and has lived there ever since. He claims he is way-overqualified to be a doctor since he had to go through med school two times.

When Hameed came to America, he took a job at WalMart and was handed a mop and asked to clean the floor. He thought to himself that in Afghanistan, their family wasn't rich, but they had servants, and mopping is a job for servants, not him. As he thought about it further, he said he began thinking about the life of those servants, and saw how difficult it must have been. And how he was really no different from them. It was the "mop moment" where he realized that we are all equal partners in one large community of humanity and that no one is higher or above anyone else. This "mop moment" forever changed his view of himself, America, and the world.

Nazhla said she had a similar moment when she came to America and got a job selling shoes. The first time someone told her she had to put shoes on a stranger's feet, she thought that this was not something that she should have to do. But her thinking changed and she found that same sense of equality that Hameed did.

(Hameed's cousin is Hamid Karzai, the current President of Afghanistan.)

It was a wonderful way to spend an evening, particularly right before attending the documentary on Gabor. And right before dad's favorite holiday, the 4th of July. To spend time with those who have come to this country to find freedom. A rare privilege.

Road Trip! Day 9

I know what you are thinking...when will this trip be over! Well, we go home tomorrow. Back to Laguna Beach - back to the real world.

We took it kind of easy today. Andy and I went horseback riding. Andy's horse was named "Also" which, I guess, means that they are running out of names. Mine was "Icon." A pretty dusty trail but good fun through the woods and across a couple of streams.

Spent the afternoon in the pool with various kids playing every game that they could conjure.

Tonight was a western bar-b-que on the hotel property. Chicken, carne asada and Mahi-Mahi - all of which, I am sure, cowboys ate around their own campfire. We panned for gold and finished up with S'mores - topped it off nicely.

Road Trip! Day 8

We leave our lovely B&B and head for Yosemite. We had a ball there - swimming, ping-pong, darts and great food. Andy was sad that he did not get to see the pet (sic) snake nicknamed Fred but did get to play with the cat, Princess.

After a quick stop in Columbia, a little gold mining town with people in historical garb, we headed for Yosemite. Once inside, we headed for the Ahwanee Hotel to have lunch. Located in the valley, this beautiful old hotel has housed presidents & royalty. The restaurant was open to the patio which allowed squirrels to come into the restaurant which Andy loved.

We drove around a bit and headed for the lodge, Tenaya Lodge -a great spot for kids. In the evening, we went on a "flashlight" hike. About a 1 mile hike in the woods by flashlight. Good fun.

Road Trip! Day 7

Gold Country! The other big theme in the 4th grade was the gold rush. The first stop was the James Marshall State Park - the spot where the first gold was discovered by, who else, James Marshall. He discovered a nugget while working in a lumber mill. We toured the park and museum before moving on to Sutter Creek Gold Mine. We began by panning for gold. Then we went underground into the mine. Very cool.

From there we traveled to the Black Chasm Cavern. This is a vertical cavern that not only has great stalactites and stalagmites but it also has rare helictite crystals, for which Black Chasm is famous. These crystals appear in only 5% of the caves in the US and this has the largest population of these crystals. Basically what happens is the water calcifies inside the rock and is pushed out forming these asymmetrical forms.

We pushed on to our B&B in Jackson. A wonderful Victorian Mansion in which we were the only guests in the house. One other couple were in the guest house. They directed us to a local restaurant in a brand new Tuscan Villa. Absolutely gorgeous and the food was pretty good.

Tomorrow, we are off to Yosemite.

Road Trip! Day 6

We are in Sacramento expecting blazing weather after a very cool coastal excursion. As we were walking to the Capitol, we were struck that it was not hot - 78 degrees or so - very nice. I met a guy in the pool last night from New Orleans - his house survived Katrina - right on Lake Pontchartrain - only 5 of 22 houses survived. He visited the capitol yesterday and actually met Arnold along with Sly Stallone and Bob Barker - I haven't seen such a diverse group since my picture with Dan Lundgren and Sonny Bono!

Outside, Andy was taken with the memorial to firefighters.

On to the train museum. What a delight - could not visit there without thinking of Grandpa Kemp and Great Uncle Jack. Andy is a chip off of the old block.

Tomorrow - Gold Country!

Road Trip! Day 5

First on our agenda is a trip to Alcatraz Island. What a great tour! A short boat ride out to the island drops you on the dock for a brief intro and then you are on your own until you get up to the cell house where you then get an audio tour - a very good audio tour.

From there we visited yet another Mission in San Francisco and then a quick trip through Golden Gate Park and on to the Golden Gate Bridge - good fun. After a quick trip to Muir Woods, we headed for some warmth in Sacramento. Unfortunately, Uncle Paul was not feeling well enough for us to visit so we headed to Sacramento a day early.

We met up at Ernesto's Mexican Restaurant (aka Enrique's) with Matt & Kendra for a great dinner - thanks PD for the recommendation. I took a picture with my phone but lost the picture - oops.

Capitol visit and Train Museum tomorrow.

Road Trip! Day 4

Awesome dinner at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf last night - a nice walk from our hotel. This morning we grabbed a Cable Car and rode it to the Cable Car Museum and barn. What fun - Andy loved it.

Then we strolled down into Chinatown - what a different world. After lunch, we headed for Ghirardelli Square - the only other time that I have been there was with Anne just after she graduated from college on our drive from Humboldt to Laguna. I sure wish I had visited there before my eating habits were changed!

Off to the Hyde Street Pier to tour some ships. A tug boat, a car ferry and an old British cargo ship. While on the cargo ship, Andy noticed a man playing sea-faring music on a small, hand-held accordian - the kind that is octagonal shaped. He asked the tour guide that if a ship Captain was annoyed by the music (which apparently Andy was) could the Captain shoot him? Everyone's a critic!

We ended the day with a tour of the USS Pampanito - a WWII submarine. Way cool. Had another remarkable dinner at McCormick & something (not Schmick) with an unbelievable view at Ghirardelli Square.

Andy has been intrigued by the street performers. His favorite was a guy with two large branches. He pretended to be a bush and would jump out at people. Who doesn't love a good startle?

Road Trip! Day 3

Today's plan starts with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In a word - awesome. We got there early which is key. We toured most of it in about 3 hours - not nearly enough time - and when we left, the line was very long.

We began by watching the feeding of the "Outer Bay" which is their big tank with sharks, sun fish, tuna and dorado - which we all know as Mahi-Mahi. From there, we went to lunch....

Another unbelievable exhibit was the Jellyfish exhibit - "Jellies as living art."

Unfortunately, we did not have time to stick around for Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth," we were devastated. So we hopped in our gas-guzzling SUV and worked hard on increasing our carbon imbalance.

We headed for Santa Cruz to visit the stomping grounds of Fern Benson. We headed straight for the boardwalk to see the roller coasters and other fervor - unfortunately, all of the parking lots were full. After 45 minutes of trying - we bailed and headed for the Mission Santa Cruz. Probably the smallest of all of the Missions, it was fun to see.

Before going on this trip, I purchased a portable GPS navigation system that has guided us very well. Both in the car and on foot!

Off to San Francisco!

New Book edited by Gabor

Wanted to let you know that Gabor has a new book entitled, "Slavery, Resistance, Freedom" which he has dedicated to dad, and mentions Emily in the acknowledgements. Click here to go to the Amazon link.


Here is the last page of acknowledgements. It will magically expand if you click on it.

"From Budapest to Gettysburg"

Jon, Emily, and Anne found their way to Pennsylvania to see the premiere of Jake Boritt's documentary about his father, Gabor Boritt. Fortunately, Jon had the presence of mind to write up the experience and post it on his blog. It's so beautifully expressed that I don't have anything to add at this point, but would highly recommend you read it yourself, as the post is also a lovely tribute to my dad and a project he loved to support. Click here to read Jon's blog from 7/2/07

Road Trip! - Day 2

Having survived the cold weather (it was 85 degrees at home when we left) we began day two with the agenda of a tour of Hearst Castle and cruising up the coast through Big Sur and into Monterey. A recurring theme as we travel up the coast is to visit Missions along El Camino del Mar - this was one of the major themes in 4th grade.

When we arrived at Hearst Castle, it was just above the fog level.

Our tour guide looked like Anderson Cooper of CNN. He and Andy became best friends and he made Andy his assistant. Andy kept asking lots of questions - in the Kemp fashion. Our favorite questions had to do with the wars & battles at the "Castle."

The pools were Andrew's favorite - I have to admit that I liked them alot too.

This was the first time there for all of us. Great fun.

From there, we headed up the coast a bit to see the elephant seals. There were a bunch of them - these are the males - just laying around on the beach.

We jetted up the coast and had lunch at Lucia Lodge in Big Sur. A neat little restaurant & lodge right on the cliffs - Jenny was a little nervous but it was a beautiful day and great food.

With a couple of stops along the way we made our way to the Mission in Carmel where Father Serra is interred. A beautiful little Mission.

Now we are in Monterey - dinner in Fisherman's Wharf and on to the Aquarium tomorrow.

Road Trip! - Day 1

Well, we made it - we are off on our road trip that meanders through California along the coast up to Fort Bragg and then down through Sacramento, the gold country and finally, Yosemite.

Day one was a travel day - stopping for lunch in Santa Barbara and arriving at our hotel in Cambria - just a few miles shy of San Simeon and Hearst Castle - our first stop tomorrow. I had read that there was a good skimboarding spot in Cambria and it turns out that our hotel was just down the street.

Two problems with this...one, Cambria has been socked in with fog for months - temperature was about 57 degrees and the water was chilly even with Andy's wet suit. He lasted about 20 minutes and we headed directly for the jacuzzi at the hotel to warm him up. Nice beach though, good little skim spot.

On to Hearst Castle tomorrow.

T, J & A