Bob Zeman - Traveling Among the Villages of Lake Victoria
Bob Zeman went to Uganda last November to travel among the villages of Lake Victoria,
support the schools with computers, participate in a University graduation party of a girl whom he had supported,
see the birds and be initiated into a clan.
He will describe how he did this at low cost.
The country has been ruled for 34 years by Yoweri Mosevini and the roads and trains need help.
But the people work hard for low wages.
Bob was the only white Mzungu at the girl’s graduation party.
And he is now known as Kabugozza of the Ngonge (Otter) clan.
Ladies Night -
Marc Ashton and Libby J Atwater The Spirit of Villarosa
Marc Ashton
Boca Raton, FL (2016) —
Author Marc Ashton was kidnapped at gunpoint in his longtime home of Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2001.
The Spirit of Villarosa tells this story, but even more captivating is the interwoven tale of Marc’s deceased father, Horace Dade Ashton,
a great adventurer, whose persevering spirit is the catalyst for his bold escape.
Marc promised himself he would tell his father’s story, if he made it out alive.
The Spirit of Villarosa gloriously delivers that promise.
Spanning the globe and nearly a century, Horace Dade Ashton’s adventures are seriously larger than life.
All of the famous events he witnessed and fascinating people he met will literally astound readers.
From being President Theodore Roosevelt’s personal photographer to witnessing the Wright brother’s first flight,
to sleeping in the same room in a Tibetan monastery that Jesus did, to becoming indoctrinated in Voodoo, to meeting Rasputin and Mark Twain,
to capturing snakes and bank robbers, and so much more. Horace did it all.
Horace Dade Ashton on Girder
The Spirit of Villarosa not only tells the tales of an adventurous father and a son’s terrifying ordeal,
but also illustrates the challenging truth of having such an illustrious father, whose beliefs and values often clash with his son’s,
and whose bold adventurous life choices create consequences for those around him.
Beyond that, it is also a spiritual story of what human beings can accomplish when faced with the prospect of enlightening adventures,
or their own violent deaths, and how these can be so similar
About Marc Ashton
Marc was born in Washington, D.C. and arrived in Haiti as an infant, when his father, Horace Dade Ashton, became Cultural Attaché to the United States Embassy.
Marc remained in Haiti most of his life, marrying, starting a family, founding numerous businesses, employing thousands of people,
and treating all he knew with respect.
He remained on his beloved island until the day after he was kidnapped and held for ransom by four armed thugs.
Marc retired to Boca Raton, Florida, where he is active in the community and serves as president of his homeowners’ association.
Ready for Another Trip
Marc Ashton began his education at the Union School in Haiti, where he was raised.
In 1953, he went to Munro College in Malvern, Jamaica, but completed his secondary education at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Virginia,
and Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He then attended Indiana University.
Marc Ashton served in the United States Army from 1963 to 1969 and received an honorable discharge.
He was awarded the Order of DeMolay in 1976 for his efforts towards helping prepare young men develop civic awareness, personal responsibility,
and leadership skills.
Marc Ashton is a retired businessman.
He is among the founders of: The Haitian American Chamber of Commerce, (HAMCHAM); L’Association des Industries d’Haiti,(ADIH);
La Societe de Financement (SOFIDES).
He is presently president of the Parkside Homeowners’ Association in Boca Raton, Florida.
He has ties to businesses in Haiti, where he lived from 1940 to 2001.
His family ties reach to Virginia and Indiana
Ashton Dog Team C
Early in his career, Marc Ashton ran a commercial fishing operation export business in Haiti before establishing agro-industrial businesses in which
he grew fruits and vegetables for export to the United States and Europe.
Over a span of 35 years, he also became involved in the hospitality industry, operating a travel agency and several restaurants and small hotels.
In 1974 he created a regional airline, Haiti Air International, which he managed until 1979.
He went into manufacturing from 1976 to 1991, employing more than 2,000 people.
In 1984, with two partners, he purchased the Toyota dealership in Port-au-Prince
Marc Ashton lived in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince from 1940-2001, Haiti;
Malvern, Jamaica in 1953;
Lynchburg, Virginia from 1954 to 1956;
Indianapolis, Indiana from 1957 to 1958;
and Boca Raton, Florida since 2001.
Marc Ashton has no previous books, but as a businessman he has written numerous documents through the years.
Marc Ashton has ties to the Explorers’ Club in New York City and plans to print a special edition of The Spirit of Villarosa for this group.
His father, Horace Dade Ashton, was a founder of this esteemed organization.
Marc is also president of the Parkside Homeowners’ Association in Boca Raton, Florida, and is highly regarded by its members.
About Libby J. Atwater
Libby J. Atwater is a journalist, teacher, and personal historian who has written for individuals, families, businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions,
magazines, and community newspapers.
Her work appears in numerous anthologies, and she has received awards for her writing.
Libby J. Atwater attended elementary school in Hillside, New Jersey, and Alhambra, California.
She graduated Alhambra High School with honors and three scholarships to UCLA.
As an undergraduate at UCLA, she majored in English literature and minored in social studies, receiving a B.A. degree.
Her postgraduate work led to lifetime California elementary and secondary teaching credentials.
She was was a California State Scholar, UCLA Alumni Scholar, Alhambra High School PTA Scholar, California Girls' State delegate,
and a recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Best Citizen Award.
Mark Twain & Wife Playing Cards Photo by Harace Ashton
Libby J. Atwater created Choose Your Words in 1994 to provide writing and editorial services to businesses and individuals.
In 1997 she transformed her company to a personal history business.
She is a member of the Association of Personal Historians, Inc., an international trade organization, and has attended its annual conference regularly since 1998.
She is an affiliate of The Memoir Network, the former oral history chairperson for the Museum of Ventura County,
and a volunteer who helped preserve the stories of victims and survivors of 9/11.
Libby served as an English teacher in Beverly Hills before becoming an editor and writer for businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and newspapers.
She began her business, Choose Your Words, in 1994 to offer writing and editing services to businesses and individuals.
In 1997 she began ghostwriting personal and family histories, while continuing to writer her own stories.
She grew up in Hillside, New Jersey, and moved to Alhambra, California in 1961.
She later moved to West Los Angeles, living in Westwood, Santa Monica, and Brentwood for 33 years. She now lives in Ventura, California.
Libby J. Atwater has written at least ten nonfiction books, including her 2013 memoir, What Lies Within.
Her book has been reviewed by
True Stories Well Told
in December 2013, and on The Bill Frank Show, a radio interview program.
Here is the link to interview:
http://bit.ly/1qEwIDX.
She just won a Silver Award from
Women’s Memoirs
for the first paragraph of her upcoming book What Took You So Long?.
Libby Atwater is a member of the Association of Personal Historians, Inc. (APH) and the Docent-Volunteer Council of the Museum of Ventura County.
Her book is in the museum’s store.
She attends meetings of the Ventura County Professional Women’s Network (VCPWN) and the Ventura County Writers’ Club
and will sell her book at the VCPWN Annual Expo.
Her book sold well at the 2013 APH annual conference and will be featured in its conference store in 2014.
Libby J. Atwater wrote newsletters for the American Heart Association, Greater Los Angeles Affiliate, magazines for the Jonathan Club,
Los Angeles and Santa Monica, and articles for Beverly Hills: The Magazine,
The Brentwood News, Palisadian-Post, and The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
As a staff writer for the American Heart Association and The Brentwood News,
she specialized in profiles and interviewed celebrities such as Dudley Moore and Randy Newman.
Before writing professionally, Atwater’s letters to the editor often appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she wrote a letter about the country that was published in The New York Times.
Road trips are as American as baseball and Disneyland but more fun than either.
The only ingredients for a great road trip are a destination, a reliable vehicle, a good companion, and a flexible attitude.
Rick Flores (#1120) and Daniel Kasey Estrada share a love of travel, adventure and the great outdoors.
They have taken a number of trips together to explore some of the many wilderness areas and great National Parks available in our wonderful country.
Join Rick and Kasey as they tell their tales of the open road visiting the lesser-known sections of Carlsbad’s famous caverns (watch out for castration rock!),
the hidden gems in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, the truly Lost Coast of California, the mysterious self-propelled stones of Death Valley
and the "center of the known universe" somewhere in Arizona.
Hear tales of drive-thru margarita stands, UFO research centers, bone crunching Indian spirits and the pot smoking capital of country;
venture from some of the driest parts of the United States to the always wet but wild Northern California Coast;
learn why the middle of nowhere just might be the best place to be.
.jpg "Uganda - Click to Enlarge")
.jpg "Uganda - Click to Enlarge")
True Stories Well Told
