Reader Mailbag Volume I

Time to reach into the official “Kemp’s Blog Mailbag” and answer some e-mail/comment questions…

• Becky asked: “What does Kemp mean?”
  
  First of all let me clear up the misconception that it’s short for anything; it’s not (you would not believe how many people ask me that question – so I though I would take the preemptive measure of getting that out of the way). Kemp (originally a surname) is a family name of Celtic/Gaelic origin that stands for “Warrior and Champion”. So my first name is Celtic, my middle name is Armenian and my surname is Spanish… figure that one out…

• Becky also asked: “Besides sausages, what's your favorite dish to cook?”
  
  I love making my special bar-b-que ribs. I start with my “special” dry-rub, and then splash on my secret sauce. Also Spanish Tortilla, Toasted Raviolli and my Abuela’s Arroz con Pollo.

• Becky then asked: “Do you bake?”
  
  Technically, yes. If she had asked if I bake well, I would have to alter my answer a smidge…

• And finally Becky asked: “Was I only supposed to ask one question?
  
  Matters not one whit how many question you ask…

• Samantha Jo asks “If you were to be a Sesame Street character, who would you be and why?”
  
  Well, most people would say Oscar the Grouch because, at times, I can be a bit of a grouch – but nowhere near the grouch that my brother is… any-hoo… I would have to say Grover. Why? Because he can do anything… he’s smart, fearless (Super Grover!), eloquent and erudite, and he is a direct descendent of Yoda… at least in my mind he is seeing as how they both were/are brought to life by Frank Oz… what do you think? Did I put too much thought into that?

• Sarah asks “If the PB & the J were boys, what would their names have been?”
  
  The PB would have been Nishan Kemp (after my Uncle Nishan, who was more like a grandfather to me, and for whom I was given my middle name) and the J would have been Marshal Kemp (after one of my wife’s Uncles).

• Ronnie asked: “What other names did you consider for The PB & The J?”
  
  The PB almost was Isabella and J was almost Maria.

• Jeanine asked: “Are you still considering ending your blog?”
  
  As of now, no. I’ve reacquired my creative spark (on both this and TBWA) and will continue doing it until I either lose it again or the people in the black, windowless vans take me away… whichever comes first.

I enjoyed the questions. If you have any more , leave ‘em in comments or send me an email – kempsblog at gmail dot com

Thanks… and enjoy…

Are these the little girls I carried?

Honey Mustard had class the other night and wasn’t home yet.

The Peanut Butter and The Jelly were playing with their dolls so I quickly went down to the laundry room and got some laundry to fold... yes, I fold laundry...

I brought the laundry up, put it down near the couch and then had to put the dog outside as she was dancing a jig and I know if I didn’t put her out now, she’s piddle all over the floor.

So I put the dog out, brought her in and gave her some water. All told, about 7 minutes I was away from the laundry basket.

I go into the front room to fold it, and to my surprise, my daughters... my 4 ½ year old daughters... had folded it all.

You read that right... they folded the laundry... all of it... nicely... and had it in perfect stacks...

I remember them not being able to hold their heads up like it was yesterday... and now here they are folding laundry (and nicer than the job I can do quite frankly)...

I don’t want to sound like a schmo here... but I was amazed. I know, I know, I know... they’re getting older, there are a lot of things they can do... but it still surprised me and brought home one, simple fact that, I think, some parents tend to forget...

Time.

Flies.

Enjoy it while you can...