Nancy Ellis-Bell: "The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog"

Literary agent - turned author, Nancy Ellis-Bell came to Kepler's last night to talk about her book, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog. Whether you're a bird-lover or just love a good story, you're sure to get a kick out of this video. Here Nancy tells the story about when she first realized her blue-and-gold macaw, Sarah, could talk. What timing!

Now we present our first video blog! \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ (drum roll) \/\/\/\/\/\/\/

What Would Martin Say?

Clarence B. Jones is the author of What Would Martin Say? - the fascinating and somewhat controversial book about his friend, Martin Luther King, Jr. Jones spoke at Kepler's on July 23rd. Bookseller and event host, Craig Beebe writes about the event - what he describes as a night he'll never forget. ~

What a great event, filled with lively discussion, fascinating stories, and a glimpse into history that I am sadly too young to have experienced. Clarence B. Jones is probably the most prominent person I have ever introduced, at Kepler's or anywhere. If you don't know his name offhand, that's not unusual--but he was a close friend and adviser to Martin Luther King from 1960 to 1968, joining initially as a member of his legal team and then becoming much closer over the years. Following King's assassination, Jones went on to have a very successful career in business; he was the first African American member of a major Wall Street investment firm, was named Fortune Magazine's Man of the Month twice, and counseled governments around the world on business matters. He was instrumental in the negotiations that ended the 1971 prison riots at Attica in New York, and has also gained acclaim as a producer and supporter of the arts. He received a White House Letter of Commendation from Bill Clinton, and in January was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center at Stanford.

This is a man of great experience, accomplishment, and importance in American civil rights history, but really American history in general. And yet, I found, he is a man of great humility and humor as well--who thanked not only the MLK Center but also the Federal Bureau of Investigation for helping him with his research for this book. (That was thanks to the many bugs they had on his phones during the period he worked with MLK--the transcripts of which are now declassified, including one in which he was admonishing his son to work harder in school!)

I was very pleasantly surprised by the size of our crowd, as well. It's hard to tell with a figure like Mr. Jones, a man who doesn't have a household name and yet is known to many, whose book has been out for a couple of months already. But a sizable initial crowd occupied the first 50 chairs we put out (including what seemed to be an entire high school class with their teacher), and so we had to break out the extra chairs. As the event went on, and Clarence regaled us with stories of his relationship with MLK--such as how the great man wouldn't sit next to him when they went out to dinner because Clarence would always steal food off his plate!--additional customers seemed to realize this was something they didn't want to miss, and our crowd grew as the evening progressed.
(This includes one gentleman who, as it turned out, was the grandson of a man Clarence had known, an editor and journalist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the 1960s.)

I should say a few words about the book. What Would Martin Say? is Clarence's examination of how Dr. King might respond to some of the pressing issues of today, including affirmative action, terrorism and the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, and the state of current black leadership. Clarence uses King's writings, speeches, and their own interactions to create a highly readable and occasionally provocative book--I think it is safe to say (and Clarence would agree) that some of his conclusions are likely to be controversial, particularly regarding what Clarence believes King might say about illegal immigration and the methods of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. But he is very comfortable with that, and actually seems to revel in being provocative, as he said when he was discussing the upcoming presidential election as a referendum on race.

But beyond any controversial conclusions contained in the book, both it and his presentation on Wednesday were more fascinating for the stories and memories contained therein. For a young man like me--born over 20 years too late to have seen the Movement in full action, and robbed of the chance to hear Dr. King's voice today except on grainy videos--Clarence provides an amazing glimpse into the past, a front-row seat to witness the private conversations, jokes, and struggles that were not caught by any video camera (although many were caught by the FBI, as I mentioned earlier). Some of these stories are difficult. Audience members asked some questions about how Dr. King's awareness of the many threats he faced as such a figure, and it was clear that he knew there was a high likelihood he would be killed for his work. And yet he pressed on, along with so many brave people, in spite of the risks he knew that carried. Clarence is a testament to that, and has dedicated his life to preserving Dr. King's legacy, and fighting the many misappropriations of that legacy. Whatever one thinks of some of his conclusions, he is a great man and it was an honor to meet, host, and listen to him last night.

Sadly I was forced to cut him short, long before the evening would have naturally concluded--I think our audience and Clarence could have talked all night! I was told that was typical for Clarence's events; there is just so much to talk about, and he is such a great storyteller. Hearing his impression of Martin Luther King's preaching is something I'll never forget.

In short, one of the more memorable evenings I had here at Kepler's. I'm grateful to Clarence Jones for the work he's done for equality in this country, work that is ongoing and probably will not be finished in our lifetimes.

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In case you missed seeing Clarence B. Jones at Kepler's, here's a clip from an interview with Tavis Smiley on PBS.

The Grieving Garden

This was a lovely and touching event. The Grieving Garden, by local authors Susan Gilbert and Suzanne Redfern, is a book with twenty-two contributors, all parents who have lost a child to death. The youngest child was a baby who died two days before she was born and the oldest was a 56-year-old woman who was killed in one of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Seven of the contributors, including the authors, were in attendance at the event.

The book is quite remarkable in that the format is perfect for this topic and for the typical reader, which would likely be a parent who is seeking help and support after losing a child. The authors posed 24 questions to their contributors who then decided which questions they would answer. The book is divided into four parts, with several of the questions and answers making up the chapters in each part. The evocative result is that the reader feels as if she knows each contributor by the end of the book and has been privy to a remarkable and powerful journey. In my introduction, I quoted John Donne who said, "The death of each person [man] diminishes me..." Truly, each of these parent-writers were diminished by the loss of their child, but they have traveled the hills and valleys of their grief and have somehow become able to provide a gift to the community through this gentle and sensitive book.

Although there were over a hundred people at the event, the atmosphere felt almost like a giant support group. The reading was also a benefit for Kepler's community partner, Kara, a local grief counseling organization, so many of the audience members had become aware of the event through Kara's efforts. Thus, many, many of the people in attendance had either lost a loved one or were there to support someone who was grieving. The authors, who did a wonderful job describing the book and sharing the podium, were very sensitive to the stories of loss and questions that came from the audience.

Indeed, some people could be seen weeping quietly and, scanning the crowd, I noticed others who were lost in thought about their missing loved one.




Those not in the "grief club" (who have not experienced the death of a loved one) may think this to be a sad and depressing event. However, while there was not a lot of laughter, a sense of comaraderie and gratitude enveloped the large audience as they settled into the safety of being around others who understood the complex experience of loss. Tellingly, we sold out of The Grieving Garden during the event, the first time that has occurred for me as a host.
(This entry written by Kepler's event host, Bobbi Emel)

Robert Butler: Longevity Revolution

Aging expert, Robert Butler recently came to Kepler's to promote his new book, The Longevity Revolution.

Bob Butler is one of the leading figures in his field.  He coined the term "ageism".  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Why Survive?  Being Old in America.  He founded the Nation's First Geriatrics Department.  He was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.  Several attendees thanked Kepler's for having him.  The author has an easy, warm manner and a smooth presentation.  During the question period, he walked closer to the audience member to hear the question better and then repeated the question for the audience on the mic.  His book covers not only health aspects of longevity, but the impact on society, and policy changes needed in order to move forward in a more positive way.  Trivia point:  during the reception the woman from the Stanford Center on Longevity who was doing the introduction mentioned that he is dating Barbara Walters.

Points from the talk/book:
The book is dense with observations and ideas.

Even though people are living longer there is a decline in disability.
Many problems in late life start when people are young.
Genes only account for 25% of your longevity.
Raising the wage cap for Social Security taxes from $100,000 to $150,000 would take care of 60% of  the funding problem with Social Security.
America's 145 medical schools have only 11 departments of geriatrics.

Some key recommendations on what we need to do:

Fix Social Security.

Individuals need to save more. 

Support a healthy start for children.

Plan to re-invent yourself several times in your life.

Icon of Evil - John Rothmann

John Rothmann, one of the authors of Icon of Evil, recently spoke at Kepler's.  Author Events Manager, Pam Grange, hosted this event.  Here are her notes:

This was a wonderful event!  The subject matter is chilling, and John is a fascinating speaker and totally held the attention of the audience – including me.  Rich had to come whisper in my ear that it was almost 8:30, and we needed to wind it up!  Luckily John is also a very fast signer, even though he was gracious and charming to everyone and seemed to talk to them all at length.  He has quite a number of fans from his role as talk show host on KGO, and he also teaches at USF.   Yep – people just kept coming, and we ended up with a rapt crowd of 100.

 Just a quick synopsis of the book.  It’s extremely well-researched - about 40 years in the making (although it only took them 6 months to actually write it.)  In 1921, the beneficiary of an appointment the British would live to regret, Haj Amin al-Husseini became the mufti of Jerusalem, the most eminent and influential Islamic leader in the Middle East.  For years, al-Husseini fomented violence in the region against the Jews he loathed and wished to destroy. Forced out in 1937, he eventually found his way to the country whose legions he desperately wished to join: Nazi Germany.  The book provides compelling evidence that al-Husseini's actions and writings serve as inspirations today to the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations pledged to destroy Israel and the United States. In fact he was responsible for translating Mein Kamf into Arabic, and, to this day, it remains at the top of bestseller lists all over the Middle East.