Emily Rampton-Behind the Orange Curtain

Hi Jerry.

I'll be at the picnic. I have no immediate family left to visit in Orange County, so the reunion gives me a good excuse to come back and visit with old friends.

I continue to lead a quiet life in my Portland bungalow, with two cats in the yard, a Prius in the garage and solar panels on the roof. Yes, Portland gets enough sunshine for photovoltaic systems. Over the years I've done a variety of clerical work specializing in software applications. I still enjoy choral music, gardening, and crossword puzzles. I've done a fair amount of traveling and hope for more when I retire at the end of this year.

Speaking of jobs and travel: During my sophomore year in high school I worked part-time in the school library and was therefore an employee of the State of California. To hold this important job, I vaguely remember signing a statement that I was not and never had been a member of the Communist party. (That statement is still true.) But 10 years after we graduated, I bravely traveled to the Soviet Union at a time when huge billboards of Brezhnev were posted everywhere. Such a trip would have raised suspicion in the 1960s and probably would have cost me my job in the school library. I returned to Russia for another visit in 2006. This time, every possible surface was covered not with Brezhnev posters but with advertising for consumer goods. This photo, amazingly free of advertising, was taken in St Petersburg.

See you in September.

Emily Rampton

Great to talk with you Emily. You have a real gift of intelligent curiosity! My gifts are fairly residual at this point. Glad you keep up your interest in what may be a fascinating world--I would not know. I seem to have discovered a few clues, but they are never about anything important. I did notice the serendipity gods were attending your visit-- with Penny, Kit Hansen, my wife Rebecca, and me! etc. keylaw@justice.com - Tom Key

Emily - We won't reveal your party affiliation, that's between you and the House Un-American Activities Committee. On the party affiliation front, last week we visited a friend in Nashville who works for Toby Keith. Mr. Keith had just said that he was a lifelong Democrat who likes Obama. The Dixie Chicks must have been dumbfounded. - Jerry