This Thursday will be a celebration to honor our members who have served in the military from WWII to the present.
We will have special guest appearances and entertainment.
Members and guests are encouraged to wear military uniforms.
Ladies Night
Clayton Jones - Searching for Ho Chi Minh
Clayton Jones with Philppine Guerrillas
As a foreign correspondent in Asia for a decade, traveling everywhere from Sri Lanka to North Korea,
Clayton Jones has found the greatest mystery lies in understanding the founder of communist Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh.
Clay went up and down the length of Vietnam seeking clues to the unknown history of "Uncle Ho," interviewing his old colleagues.
Even to this day, baby-boomer Americans still debate whether Ho was a communist or simply a nationalist trying to unite his country.
What is the truth?
Clay warmed up for this quest by spending time with communist guerrillas in the Philippines, interviewing Khmer Rouge in Cambodia,
and taking a train across North Korea.
Along the way, he was the first journalist to find Imelda Marcos’s 3,000 shoes (and her bullet-proof bras) during the 1986 Philippines revolution.
He interviewed the Emperor of Japan, spent a day with the King of Thailand, enjoyed a leisurely lunch with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen,
and even met one of Asia’s 20th-century greats, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
Clayton Jones in Hanoi
The Ho Chi Minh story finally came together when Clay found Ho’s adopted son,
who revealed stories that influenced the Vietnam War and give insight into Ho’s character and background.
In all his Asian travels, Clay learned how events are driven both by Big Ideas and the small quirks of unusual people and unusual circumstances.
Clayton later became international editor for The Christian Science Monitor, leading a team that won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting
(based on the discovery of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia).
He was also president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.
He lives in Boston with wife and daughter.
Chuck Jonkey Historic and Cultural Adventure to Cuba
Chuck Jonkey
In 2009, Chuck explored Old Havana that has remained unchanged since the 1950’s when the Castro revolution took over from Batista.
There he was witness to a wild rumba West African festival and recorded a session of son groups.
From the old time cars that still roam the streets of Cuba, visiting the famous Malecon walkway,
participated in a Santeria ceremony (Old African Voodoo style religion),
to the Callejon de Hamel and Santeria dances.
On this night Chuck Jonkey will take us on an historic and cultural adventure to Cuba.
He will share the color, music and passion of Cuba.
Chuck lived with the locals where he filmed and recorded the traditional music.
One of the styles found in Cuba is the famous Rumba.
Chuck’s
Rumba CD with the Group Agüiri - Yo
was recorded live in the Old Havana section on the beautiful island of Cuba.
Rumba’s roots go back to West Africa and was imported with the slaves when they were brought to the Carribean.
This amazing music is fused with Spanish folk music.
Rumba is also an integral part of the Santeria religious rites and celebrations.
Another fun musical style is "Son."
Chuck recorded two Son groups and even filmed a Santeria Ceremony.
Chuck recorded the Son group
Septeto Caracol de la Habana
live in Havana in the home of one of the musicians.
Son music is a nice blend of spanish guitar music with african rhythms and percussion.
Son is one of the major precursors to salsa music.
Ladies Night -
Shane Berry & Rick Flores
Exploring the Colorado Plateau
Shane Berry & Rick Flores Click to View Complete Photo
Shane Berry and Rick Flores have taken many trips to the Colorado Plateau to explore and photograph its magnificent scenic wonders.
The Colorado Plateau is one of the most unique areas of the country.
Roughly speaking it is where four southwest states meet: Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
It is a region that is geographically and topographically distinct from any other part of the western United States.
The area contains 25 plateaus, hundreds of mesa, thousands of buttes, dozens of towers, monuments, temples, spires, badlands, sand dunes, painted deserts hoodoos,
slot canyons, and other geological features that have been revealed through erosion, geographic uplift, and wind swept time.
No other part of the country contains as many national parks, state parks, national monuments, or other types of protected areas.
It is also a wilderness area, one of the last largest remaining areas of the untouched mythical American frontier.
Even to this day the area contains some of the largest blocks of undeveloped land in the west.
Red Toadstool
It is an area that has inspired artists, photographers, explorers, and nature lovers.
It was home to many different Native American cultures that have all left their marks on the landscape.
It is an area of intense unmatched natural color where exposed incredible sandstone formations shimmer in the sun and inspire the imagination.
Join Shane and Rick, both accomplished photographers, as they discuss their adventures in Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Canyon de Chelley National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, and other less well known but equally magnificent destinations. Hear about their exploits as they discover and photograph False Kiva, the Subway, the Wave, Toroweap, House on Fire, Dead Horse Point, Fallen Roof, the Bisti Badlands, Zebra Canyon, Goblin Valley, the Great Gallery, White Pocket, Havasupai, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and other colorfully named national treasures. You won’t want to miss this presentation.
The Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles thanks our members, Shane Berry & Rick Flores, for volunteering this presentation.