Hi Michelle!

A couple of days ago we went to Super H – a huge Korean grocery store with a good food court. We had bulgogi and crab cakes and it was great. A woman sitting at our table went out of her way to make us feel welcome, so it was more than just a good meal. We went back today for sushi (crunch roll – fried shrimp, avocado, cucumber, crab, “made crunchy”) and some spicy Chinese chicken and soups. It was a good lunch and grocery store trip and something wonderful happened.

I ordered the sushi and went over to where Leslie was ordering the Chinese food. She was saying that what a young man sitting nearby was having looked better than what we’d planned on getting and when I looked over at his food, the young woman sitting with him said, “Mr. Kemp.” It was Michelle, a former student who had done a really good job working with Karen refugees. Having an understanding about these things, she was able to touch people’s lives and she was willing to give self to people. Nice.

Things like this happen, connections, memories, things that affirm us all – Michelle, Leslie, me. Photo: Karen woman holding Michelle's hand as they walk

I had a student once, who had worked at the edge for quite a few years – a missionary in Latin America, liberation theologist. She said to me (old Marine, hospice worker, refugee worker), “You know, you and I are the oldest and least cynical people in this room.”

More dreams and sparkling realities

Voting: Below is a link to voting for Gardeners in Community Development, AKA, "The Garden" - the people and effort that have meant so much to our East Dallas community and the refugees who found refuge with us. Each vote takes GICD a step closer to $5000 for walk-ways and other improvements for elderly (that's me) and handicapped (not just yet) gardeners.

Visit www.deloachcommunitygardens.com to view videos from nominated gardens. GICD's entry is next to the last, Center for Growing People. Thanks!

To Phyllis: I taught and practiced that what we do should make a difference. If we weren't there, would it have happened? If the answer is no, without us it wouldn't have happened and if what happened helped or lifted people up, then we’ve done well. I saw Phyllis, my former Dean today and it was a lovely reunion. She said (or I think she said) something about challenges in working with me and later I’m thinking, thanks to her being able to let me do the work, which wasn't always easy for her to do, and me doing the work, many students had life-altering learning experiences and many people were healed, helped, informed, lifted up – mercy was given and received. If you think about it, it was an amazing thing we did.

Our House

Our house was built in 1931. We bought it in 1979 and have lived here ever since. We’re talking about moving for several reasons:

• David will be graduating in a few months and wants to live in a more progressive place than Dallas (and so do we). Our plan all along has been to live close to one another and we intend to be where he is.
• We’re getting older and less willing to do the upkeep on this house vs. what we think a condo would involve. It would be interesting (though I'm sure, expensive) to live in a house with climate control, with central heat and air for example.
• We like to travel for months at a time. Living in a place where we can just lock the door and go has enormous attraction to us.

Thinking in real terms about leaving the house, I thought I would put together some of the photos I’ve taken of the house, the garden, and living here. Looking at the photos clarified that it’s not just the house, but our life in this house – what we see when we look out the windows, what we bake, the neighborhood, the birds singing, and so on.

My Mom lived for several years in the little house behind ours. She died there and we took care of her through months of cancer. Our son grew up here. Oh, there are joys and treasures and memories beyond measure in those happy times in our little family ... all the Christmases, the tent in David’s room, cooking, baking, snow days, ball in the hall, Grandparents living with us (3!), Christmas tree forts, playing in the front yard – back yard – field – railroad tracks, the babies, homework, eating at DK’s little table in the kitchen, Goldy, Judo, Chris and David playing in the mud – building fires – playing up and down the street, Katy, Laura, Chuck living out back, making the couch into a boat, the tree fort, the garden, Little Wolf, not to mention Running Bear! It just goes on and on through countless happy days in this house. Leslie and I being in love, making love, being parents, sharing life, working together, lying in bed and having coffee and a back rub almost every morning, now growing old … and so

Here are some photos of our house and life

Nice secluded house for rent

The little house behind our house will be available for rent in May. Details:

Lakewood/Old East Dallas area – 3 minutes to new Whole Foods, 8-10 minutes to Baylor, 10-12 minutes to Central Market or SMU, 12 minute bike ride to White Rock Lake.

One bedroom cottage with living/dining area, kitchen, bath – 550 square feet. Newly painted. Mostly carpeted, some parquet floor. Living room & bedroom windows look out on rose & perennial garden. Photo: Living area. See bedroom window far right of photo.

Three ceiling fans, one air conditioner – unfurnished with gas range, refrigerator, provided. Good built-in cabinet space, shelves, bike storage.

Very private & peaceful on quiet residential street. Cottage is behind our home, so quiet is important (we’ll be quiet, too). Photo: From living room window

Limitations: no smoking inside, no pets, no loud motorcycles, 1 car only.

$600/month, bills paid (with moderate utility use). Phone, cable, internet not included. One year lease with security deposit.

We are seeking a single, quiet person or couple with references.

Reply by email to schedule an appointment. chaskemp gmail.com

Heroic journeys

Do you believe in magic?
These people have been on my mind.

Aaron is a former student of mine, who, along with his wife Diane, has a small farm (http://www.oneworldfarm.com/) in Venus, Texas – a farm and a state of mind where new hope is found – where the answer is Yes – where a man with far-advanced alcoholism (a fifth/day) became sober and more than a year later is still sober – where a child with no place else to turn found a home and love and a new life – where furniture made by refugees can be bought – where dogs find refuge – where people find refuge. Some people wonder, what’s the deal on the child who found refuge at One World Farm and the answer is, there’s no deal, it just is. Here is something on Youtube on the Karen. Photo: Here comes the sun ... it's alright

Claire was working in the garden, was bitten by a mosquito, infected with West Nile virus, ended up in critical care for many weeks, became a “feeder” (fed via a tube), and many months later is still wearing leg braces, using a cane, and suffering lingering neurologic effects. The rehab team wanted to do some cognitive restructuring, so assigned her mental exercises like designing a shopping center. Let’s see, do we want the paint store next to the hardware store or the tire store? Claire said, “Naw, I’m not gonna do that.” Instead, she studied for her nurse practitioner boards to become re-licensed – a very very difficult and complex undertaking. And she passed. Next on the agenda was finding a place to get in the many clinical hours required for re-licensure. After several rebuffs she ended up volunteering at Agape, where she distinguished herself in providing women’s health services, helping people deal with sexual issues, inspiring staff and volunteers, and keeping it real.

Chuck has renal cell carcinoma with distal metastases. He has known despair and defeat and has persevered. Markedly thinner than before, sometimes the sadness written clearly on his face, he has continued to study and teach his faith. This past Christmas he asked for help in connecting with people in need. I put him in touch with Nora (speaking of Heroic!) and by the time Christmas rolled around, 54 people – the poorest of the poor, the ones who never get to a Christmas handout program – had a nice Christmas. And good grief, he continues to referee basketball games! I should also note that his wife Joan, a beautiful and good woman, is central in this journey.

Small wonder that I would be thinking of them - Imagine!

Asia 2010-2011

Happy Trails to You!
Looking back on this last trip to Asia; going over favorite memories, these things emerge.

Hong Kong: As always the Star Ferry, the bus ride to Victoria Peak, Tsim Chai Kee for shrimp wonton noodle soup, getting apples and oranges for a good price at Fa Yuen Market, the Indonesian encounter, feeling so safe at the Dragon Hostel that we kept our door propped open most of the time we were there except when asleep. Photo: From Pacific Coffee on Victoria Peak ("The Peak"). This is the second time I've used this photo - I really love it.

Bangkok: Nice clean cool no-brothelish hotel and having coffee outside in the morning, amulet market, figuring out how to take the buses well, food courts and especially Siam Paragon, chicken street, figuring out that we were never going to get a cab or tuk-tuk for anything other than robbery cost, salad bar at Tops Market.

Chiang Mai: Lanna House, a nice hotel with decent breakfast buffet, Central Airport Plaza for the best food court, taking 20 baht song taoews everywhere, mango with sticky rice and sweet coconut milk, khao soi noodles. Photo: David and Leslie near Hue - speaking of photos I love!

Phnom Penh: Being with Samnang’s family and David at this place of good memories, Juedi’s cooking, dinner with Henning and Ment, hanging out with Lance in Battambang.

Saigon: Being back with Mrs. Kim and the sweet girls who work there, the pork chop lady – WooHoo!

Hue: Being in this beautiful city, staying in the Binh Duong II, eating at Thu’s (mmm, banana pancakes), taking a car into the countryside on a beautiful rainy day (see photo above).

Hanoi: Staying at the Camellia2, breakfasts at hotel, meeting up with David, Chicken Street with Jim, Halong Bay junk trip, going to King Cafe with David, graduation day at the Temple of Literature (see Photo at left), walking around the old quarter.

Overall: Traveling with David, traveling with Leslie (speaking of perpetual motion machines!!!), Leslie tracking the money so well, Leslie's brilliant plane seat work (we had some great seats), doing really well on public transportation, so much championship food, just the whole thing.

The Bus Ride (a story written on the bus from Battambang to Phnom Penh)

Introduction: One of the people who posts on the Lonely Planet Thorntree Travel Forum calls himself Bun Cha, which is also the name of the brilliant grilled pork, noodle, and sweet fish sauce soup dish (usually accompanied by the little fried spring rolls called nem) served mostly in Hanoi. Photos taken at various times.

His name was Trevor, a recent graduate of an average Australian university. His girlfriend, Jennifer was an American, a university drop-out – “I’m taking a year or two off to sort my head out.” They had traveled from Bangkok, where they spent two weeks mostly on Kao Sanh Road, to Phnom Penh. With visits to the “killing fields,” Tuol Sleng, and the tour to the garbage dump where ragged children sift through the stinking detritus (a tour!?), Phnom Penh was a sobering experience, so they were glad to get to Siem Reap where they met the most fabulous tuk-tuk driver … But they needed to have a real Asia backpacking experience, so bought tickets for the 12 hour bus trip to Ban Lung.

“Is there a toilet on the bus?” Asked Trevor. “Yes, have toilet,” said the pretty and terminally bored girl selling tickets. They boarded at 6 in the evening and the first thing they noticed was that the seats didn’t have much legroom. “But hey, it’s Asia and we’re backpackers.” As the bus pulled onto the road, Jennifer asked, “Where’s the toilet?” “I don’t know.” Trevor answered. “I’ll ask the guy who’s riding up there with the driver. “Where is the toilet?” The question drew a blank look from the driver’s assistant. “Where Toilet?” Blank. “TOILET?” Shrug. Back in his cramped seat he said, “I don’t know where the toilet is – I couldn’t get them to understand the question.” Jennifer is getting irritated, her voice rising, “You’d think they would learn to speak English! Why don’t they know where the toilet is!” Across the aisle a weathered western traveler says, “There’s not a toilet on this bus.”

By now the TV monitor is showing a series of boy meets girl videos and the singing actually isn’t that bad, but jeez it’s loud. The bus is rocking, horn blatting along the “highway” and the air-conditioning vent is drip-drip-dripping on Jennifer which upsets her, so she and Trevor switch seats (“It’s gonna be a long damn trip” he thinks) and by now the video is a Chinese movie featuring preposterous fights and sword fights and pretty girls with tragic looks if you know what I mean and I think you do.

The bus stops at a restaurant where you probably don’t want to eat. “There’ll be toilets out back.” the man across the aisle says. “Well finally.” Jennifer says, but returns unhappy. “They’re just holes in concrete – I can’t do that!” Trevor shrugs. He’s getting a little tired of it. The driver blows the horn and everyone gets back on the bus.

And so it goes into the night, the singing, the biff-bop-pow of endless fights, the blatting of the horn. Jennifer finally has no choice and uses a rest-stop toilet. “They don’t have any paper! Oh my God!” The air-conditioning finally fails around 11:30. By now the video is the most awful variety show low-brow comedy routine and the volume is even louder.

Trevor and Jennifer hear a man behind them say, “Turn it off.” Nothing happens, of course, and again the man says, “I said, turn it OFF!” The guy beside the driver looks back, then turns away. “TURN IT OFF, I SAID!” Trevor looks around and to his horror, sees a man standing up with a double-barreled shotgun in his hands and it’s almost like Trevor is looking into the side-by-side barrels like two huge nostrils, the kind of nostrils where you could pick your nose, with a finger in each nostril at the same time! Boom! The monitor vaporizes! Boom! The DVD player explodes! Their ears are ringing and the smell of cordite fills the air. The man walks toward the front of the bus, the driver shrinking against the window and the driver assistant guy huddled shaking in fear on the floor. The man reaches over and pushes the door opener. The door opens and the man steps out of the bus and walks into the darkness of the Asian night.

“My God,” Trevor says, “What just happened? Who was that?” The man across the aisle says with a slight smile. “What just happened was justice. And that was Bun Cha.”

Hong Kong on the way out of Asia - Asia!

Tuesday. The taxi ride from the Bangkok hotel to the airport was memorable for a circuitous route, some white-knuckle speeds, good time, and a pleasant negotiation with the taxi driver at the end. We had an easy flight from Bangkok on a plane less than half full – mostly Indians, many of the men with long beards and turbans. After a last minute on-line check, Leslie found that our plane had many open seats and so changed our seats to

the two end seats of a four-seat row. Nice! Glad to be on Cathay Pacific. Photo: Coffee at Pacific Coffee on the Peak overlooking the harbor

At the HK airport we had an interaction through which I realized, “It’s not me, it’s you” (the person at fault, as usual, in general). What a breakthrough! All these years, thinking, “It’s not you, it’s me” – but then to find out, no, “It’s you!” Leslie had a slightly different take on things.

Back in Hong Kong, the beginning and end of all our Asia trips, we go quickly through the best-managed airport ever, down the ramp to the A21 bus, hop on, pay our senior fare of $16.5HKD (~$2.10USD) each vs. at least $230HKD (~$30USD) for a taxi, and in less than an hour we’re at our place at the Dragon Hostel in the Sincere House on Tung Choi Street at Argyle Road. It’s the Dragon Hostel, but it’s really a guesthouse. Our room is larger than before (sleeping area 7.5’x7.6’ + some hall space and bathroom 2.4’x5.75’). The exchange rate is 7.78HKD to 1USD (all prices in this blog are in HKD). With temps in the 50s and 60s, it’s as cold as we’ve ever seen here.

In an effort to avoid the Chungking Mansions (where we always change our money) we discover that the bank wants to charge about $15USD to change $200. Not likely, so on the bus we go, down Nathan Road, and through the portals of one of my favorite and one of Leslie's least

favorite places, Chungking Mansions. Leslie did the deal and when I suggested she give the money to me after the pay-out (we’re in a wide corridor of a notorious place) she growled at me and wanted to talk about it. I was looking at the money-changing guy and I kind of shook my head and shrugged and he actually smiled – an unheard of action on the part of a CKM money-changer. Photo above: A back section of the harbor from airport bridge

By now we’re pretty tired. Bus back up Nathan Road to pay for the room, then to dinner at Good Hope Noodles, where Leslie decided she didn’t want to eat because of the general grubbiness – always a good move to follow ones’ instincts (oh, and there was a hair in her food). Incredibly, the waitress deleted the cost of her noodles. I finished mine and Leslie had the last of the tripnic for dinner: bacon sandwich, fried bananas, and frozen yogurt.

Our room at the Dragon is one of the larger ones and has windows. Windows are the good news and the bad news as this is not a quiet part of a not quiet city. The step up into the bathroom (the usual tiny space) is, according to Leslie, “Luang Prabang high.” So here we are with a few days in Hong Kong and then back to the states. A good place to be. Photo: Dragon Hostel commons - Stanley at his desk

Wednesday. We had a good night’s sleep, due in large part to turning on the aircon fan. Breakfast at the café run by “Jenny” at the Fa Yuen Market. Leslie had soup with noodle, vegetable, egg, and pork and I had the usual egg, bacon, and toast. After breakfast we went to get apples from the nice-looking woman at one of the fruit and vegetable stands. There were too many men pushing carts through the narrow aisles, so the woman said come back later. I wanted to walk down a little aisle nearby where there were some foreign places (Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian), so we went there. There were a number of Indonesian people eating and several were super-friendly, telling us about the food and wanting us to eat there, but we said later. Back at the vegetable stand we bought 4 apples for $10 and the woman gave us 2 very tasty mandarin oranges. Of such things are good times made. Photo below: Random street scene in Central

After relaxing in our room for awhile we thought

we might mount yet another expedition to what we call the “middle class people’s shopping center” or the Sham Shi Po area where the amazing Golden Computer Arcade packs ‘em in. For once, choosing something easier, we walked around our neighborhood and the Ladies Market for about an hour and a half. We saw the BBQ place where I had such a good meal when I’d gotten totally lost in 2005 (this time outside the BBQ place the police were tending to an old woman who had fallen or something) and later we stopped in the Taipan Bakery for a coconut tart and a scone.

We walked back to the Fa Yuen Market to try

the Indonesian food. With help from a woman selling sim cards I got tasty nasi campur (that’s phonetic) – rice with a piece of chicken, some kind of fried grain patty, and a packet of coconut-based gravy with black-eyed peas, tofu (or chicken) skin, and some kind of vegetable to pour over the rice, all wrapped up in brown waxed paper stapled together and unfolded and eaten with ketjap manis and several sambals at an amazingly small counter with some friendly Indonesian women. What a time! Photo above: Our happy little room at the Dragon Photo below: Indonesian cafe. Food is in the paper packets on the counter

Leslie took a nap while I wrote and read (The Winter King, a book about King Arthur).

After she awoke I went on a BBQ pork quest while she went to the buzzing busy Dragon office/common room with a constant in and out of Chinese tourists, Europeans, and assorted people. The quest was for Wing Hub Roasties, which I had tried and failed to find our first time through HK in November. The reason to go to Wing Hub is that they are one of the few places in HK or the world, as far as that goes, that they do Chinese BBQ in the old way, with wood fires. This time, with a better map I was there in about a 15 minute walk. I was a little early to bring food back, so I wandered, including wandering back across Nathan Road and to the flower market, including the ultimate orchid seller, then got turned around – Oh Lost! But the better map served me well and I was soon in the take-away line at Wing Hub, where they had sometimes 2 and sometimes 3 men chopping and slicing non-stop. It was quite a performance and then it was my turn and of course none of the chopping guys spoke a word of English and my pronunciation of char sui was off, but someone came to my rescue and they chopped it up and got me out of there for $30 for a big serving of pork on rice. I went a few doors away where I’d seen someone buying bun and tried to get 3, but the woman would only sell me 2 orders of 3 for

$15 ($2USD). Okay, so I got 3 pork and 3 chicken, which was fine, because I’ve never had chicken. Another good guesthouse picnic.

And that’s a day or so in the exciting life of the easily amused Leslie and Charles in Hong Kong. Photo: Star Ferry. Photo below: On the ferry

Thursday. I slept poorly last night. I had an apple and a granola bar for breakfast and went with Leslie to the Fa Yuen Market for another bowl of soup from Jenny’s. We took our laundry to what turns out to be a Thai operated place, did this and that in our room for awhile, and started out for the Peak: Bus #6A to the Star

Ferry, ferry across the harbor (free for seniors), bus #15 up the winding narrow road (I sat in one of the front seats on the top deck and had a nice time talking with a German couple headed for 10 weeks in New Zealand), and then there we were, again, on Victoria Peak looking out over Hong Kong and the Hong Kong harbor. Of course we went to Pacific Coffee and straight away got a table next to the big window so we were hanging over the steep side of the Peak with the Peak Tram coming up the track almost directly beneath us. A good time, reading the South China Morning Post over an espresso on one of the clearest and certainly the coldest day we’ve ever had in HK.

Bus back down, got off at exactly the right place to walk about 15 minutes to Tsim Chai Kee Noodle where we had what we always have – the world’s greatest shrimp wonton noodle soup, steamed vegetable with oyster sauce, and (for me) Coke. Photo: THE MENU

Total $52HKD or $6.60USD for two people – not bad! We’re going back tomorrow. Walk toward the ferry along elevated walkways, through the IFC Shopping Center, past the big construction site with fewer sidewalk superintendents than usual, because of the weather I guess, and back on the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui, bus up Nathan Road, pick up the laundry, to the room, and collapse.

For dinner I started walking back to Wing Hub Roasties for duck, but (1) I was pretty tired and (2) I’ve had a lot of rich food in recent weeks, so instead went to the Taipan Bakery and got an egg tart and a coconut tart, which along with an apple and some milk made a decent meal. Leslie had leftover wonton noodle soup, frozen yogurt (kept from the breakfast buffet from the Bangkok hotel), and an apple from the Fa Yuen Market.

And that’s another day in the exciting life of the easily amused Leslie and Charles in Hong Kong. Their motto is, Where’s the Party At!

Friday: Breakfast at Fa Yuen Market again. We eat at one of the first places on the 3^rd floor. The next section is where the bird fanciers meet (men with one or more bamboo bird cages with song birds in them and they hang the cages from whatever while they have tea and talk with their other bird fancier buddies) and the last section has dim sum and whatnot, along with old people, including one man with a poodle that sits quietly while the man hangs out with his friend having dim sum and tea. Photo below: These jewelry/gold stores are on every 2nd or 3rd block along Nathan Road

After breakfast Leslie went back

to the room and I took the bus down Nathan Road first to the Chungking Mansions to buy a couple of little bags and then to a Pacific Coffee to meet Phil, an internet friend, along with his perpetual motion machine son, two year old Henry. Had a really nice time, a nice man, neat kid.

Back to the Dragon and Leslie and I took off for Tsim Chai Kee for more shrimp wonton noodle soup and so on – of course. Last Star Ferry rides to the Island and back, walking around the neighborhood. Making a Ladies Market run and Leslie doing very well with some gifts. She went back to the room and I went to the roasted duck place for some great duck on rice. Leisurely packing. Good night moon. Good night Hong Kong. We had championship neighbors this leg (it can get a little loud at Stanley’s with comings and goings and groups of young Chinese travelers talking in the halls, but not this time around). Photo: Fa Yuen Market

Good night’s sleep, fixed coffee, Fa Yuen for breakfast, said goodbye to Stanley, walked a few blocks to the A21 bus stop and away we went to the airport for $16.50 each (just over $2USD/person). Had a kind of weird encounter with an older American woman who had a couple of bags stacked in the seat beside her. I asked her to move them and she said (combatively), “Where would I put them?” I said,

“In the luggage bins” and reached to give her a hand with them and she says, “You can’t take my suitcase!” “I’m not taking your suitcase – whatever” and went to another less desirable seat. What a jerk. The people she was with, her son and I guess her daughter, were apologizing and I’m saying, nevermind. Across the bridge, over the harbor, and we’re here, Hong Kong International Airport – light years beyond DFW not quite international airport. Sigh.