I've had the opportunity to meet many famous people over the years. Recently I have decided
to collect photos to record these events. Click on the thumbnails below for an enlarged photo which will autoclose in 10 seconds of me and:
Charlene Barshefsky, Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Bush, John Glenn, Rudy Guiliani, Dennis Hastert, Bobby Ray Inman, Gary Johnson, David Kelley,
Reeve Lindbergh, General Colin Powell, Darrell Royal, Louis Rukeyser, Lee Tergerson and Ted Turner. |
|
 |
On October 12, 2002, I spoke to former U.S. Trade Rep Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky during her
niece's wedding reception in Naperville, Illinois. I worked with her brother
Al Barshefsky, a Bell Labs Fellow, for many years and had
carefully followed her public career. Although a member of Clinton's cabinet, Charlene is a hero
to this libertarian for her countless successes in removing trade barriers and enhancing free trade. She is one of those rare individuals who have
changed history for the better.
|
|
 |
On July 9, 2004 in Vancouver at TOC
summer seminar, I chatted with Nathaniel
Branden. Ayn Rand dedicated Atlas
Shrugged to him and her husband. I met all 3 of them for the first
time in New York in 1965. Mr. Branden is well known for books
on self-esteem. I've attended his talks dozens of times; he sat next
to me at the Ayn Rand stamp ceremony
in 1999. |
|
 |
I met Barbara Bush after she spoke to the
New
Orleans Financial Conference on December 1,
2001 right after Chris Matthews conducted a version of his Hardball program. Mrs.
Bush is impressive. I think of her as the
grandmother of America. Recently I discovered she is my distant
cousin as are her son and husband. |
|
 |
I swapped stories with Senator John Glenn, the first American in space and
later the oldest American in space. This photo was taken in New York City on November 3, 2001 when
John was awarded the Order
of Magellan medal, the highest award of the Circumnavigators Club.
Even though it was less than 2 months after the 9/11 terrorist attack, all 11 of the questions
during the Q & A period were about his experiences in space. |
|
 |
On September 29, 2002, I met Rudy Giuliani before his well-received speech to 2500 people in
Lisle, Illinois on leadership.
I gave him a map of Manhattan
to show him the results of my research to discover the first owner of the land on which the World Trade
Center was built. Rudy was eager to learn the name: Jan Jansen Damen. His wife, Ariaentje Cuvilje Vigne my 11 x great
grandmother, the Matriarch of New Amsterdam, was the second owner. Rudy will always occupy a special place in our
memories for his competence, professionalism and grace under pressure when we think about 9/11 and its aftermath. |
|
 |
On May 28, 2005, I thanked Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert
for his heart-felt speech at the the 250th anniversary of the birth of
Daniel Burroughs,
a soldier in the American Revolution. The memorable ceremony at the Griswold cemetery in Plano, Illinois involved
the boy scouts, the girl scouts, the American legion, the Sons of the American Revolution color guard, a
fife and drum corps, and a bagpiper. It was an extraordinary patriotic event that will be long remembered
by everyone who attended. |
|
 |
On September 5, 2002, I thanked fellow scholarship donor Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, who graduated from UT at age 19,
for taking the time to attend the annual banquet of the Texas Ex-Students Association in Austin. He was America's first
4 Star Admiral and served under Carter as Director of the National Security Agency and under Reagan
as Deputy Director of the CIA. David Yu was the 2002 winner of the Parrish Computer Science Scholarship. |
|
 |
On July 5, 2002, I congratulated New Mexico Governor Gary
Johnson on his stunning speech to the Libertarian Party.
Gary is an ironman triathlete, a brilliant executive and a practicing libertarian.
He vetoed over 750 bills to stop all
tax increases, protect individual rights and reduce the number of state employees.
Read how close the Libertarian Party came to eliminating the income tax in Massachusetts on November 5, 2002. |
|
 |
On July 4, 2003, I congratulated David
Kelley, Founder and Executive Director of The Objectivist Center on another fantastic
summer seminar.
Summer seminars are week-long educational events on the philosophy and culture of Objectivism held on college campuses.
The week is also devoted to analyses of current events, history, art, etc. It is also an opportunity to get into extended
discussions with some very insightful and benevolent people. |
|
 |
On December 6, 2002, I met Reeve Lindbergh after her talk to the Centennial Celebration of the Circumnavigators Club
in New York City. President Bush and Governor Pataki sent congratulatory letters. Reeve is the daughter of Charles Lindbergh.
She was delighted to learn that in 1995 I had visited her father's grave located in a remote part of Maui. |
|
 |
On May 11, 2006, I had the honor to meet former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell before his speech at Benedictine
University. General Powell, a hero to this audience, was greeted with a standing ovation.
Powell told a series
of ancedotes explaining the United States unique power in the world. In this
patriotic speech, he quoted the Declaration of Independence at length.
During Q & A, General Powell got another standing ovation when he patiently and forcefully corrected an anti-war person who
accused him of lying about WMD in Iraq. |
|
 |
On September 4, 2003, I reminisced with legendary Darrell
Royal, the Football Coach who led Texas to 3 national championships and a fellow scholarship donor, at the
banquet of the Texas Ex-Students Association in Austin. I have spoken to Darrell Royal several times over the years. The 2003 winner of the Parrish Computer
Science Scholarship is Shan Wang. |
|
 |
Here I'm talking again to Louis Rukeyser, America's most popular economic
commentator. He has been on television every
Friday night for over 30 years. This photo was taken in
Las Vegas on March 10, 2002 at his 10th annual Investment
Conference. I have attended 5 of them so far.
In 2002 the attendance was down to 6,000 a far cry from the 10,000 back in 1999 during the
famous bull market. |
|
 |
On December 7, 2002, I met Lee Tergesen who plays "Beecher", my favorite character on the HBO award winning series
OZ.
I met the cast:
"Cyril",
"O'Reilly",
"Poet"
and "Alvarez".
Lee introduced me to Tom Fontana, the genuis who created OZ, a complex, intensely graphic adult prison drama demonstrating
how ideas lead to actions and to consequences. |
|
 |
In November 1999 I met Ted
Turner of CNN, Atlanta Braves and AOL Time Warner fame at the annual Circumnavigators
Club Banquet in New York City. Ted was awarded the prestigious
Order
of Magellan medal, the highest award of the
Circumnavigators Club,
an organization for people who have made a
trip around the world. I'm the Treasurer and Webmaster of
the Chicago Chapter. |
|
