TOM PING BEHIND THE BAMBOO CURTAIN

As a native of Taiwan Mr. Ping's mother tongue is Mandarin so he always feels quite at home in China. Tom wants to extend a warm and heartfelt thank you to the White family for letting him tag along (again!) on their family vacation china.

One of the first things Tom did in China was worship at a church for westerners in Beijing. Toooo-toooooot!

He saw a real live Chinese Panda Bear. Tom had only ever seen them on take-out menus from Chinese Restaurants so this was quite a thrill for him. He had always wondered if they were fictional creatures like unicorns, trolls or eskimoes and was truly amazed to actually see one of the rare creatures in the flesh.

Of course, Tom went to see the Great Wall. Here is the eastern extreme of the wall where it meets the sea. Simply amazing!

Tom peeked out through a window in the wall with Emily and Seth, on the lookout for Mongol hordes, but was disappointed only to find tourists.

Emily and Joel with Tom Ping. Tooo-tooooooot!

Tom Ping is quite the connoisseur of Chinese Food, or as Chinese people call it... "food."

Yummy.

Looks like his eyes were bigger than his stomach.

He did not like the prawns though. Blech! Tastes like cat food, he told me. Toooot!

Although Tom is also quite nimble-limbed he is not being faster than a human because his legs are too short. Chinese signs are hilarious. Thanks to Josh and Emily for sneaking Tom through customs.

TOM JUST STARED AND STARED...IT WAS EMBARASSING.

"Mr. Richards, would you be so kind as to pose with my toy?"

"Did you make this toy?"

"Uh...no."

CLICK

OUR INTREPID TRAVELER WENT TO UGANDA AND ALONG THE WAY MADE STOPS IN SOUTH KOREA, CHINA, INDIA, AND ETHIOPIA!!!

Oh yeah...Tom's friend, Emily, tagged along as well.

These are some choice shots of Tom in South Korea's Incheon International Airport.

During his layover in New Delhi, Tom read the newspaper. He likes to keep current on world events, don't ya know?

Tom, who travels incessantly, is something of a connoisseur when it comes to airplane food. He ranked this particular meal among the top in his experience.

Tom loved Uganda. Here he is next to the nile river!!! Did you know that the source of the nile is in Uganda?
It was a real thrill for Tom to see a real live Giraffe.

Tom especially loved Emily's brother-in-law, Jared White, and appreciated the important work he is doing with Invisible Children. It was a surprise to me when I learned that he altered his will upon returning to the United States to leave all of his earthly wealth ($0.17, a button and a werther's original just slightly used but still in its original wrapper) to Invisible Children upon the unfortunate occasion of his death.

Gulu, Uganda.

Despite being careful to always sleep under mosquito netting, Tom still came down with Malaria. Poor Tom!

Here is Tom blasting away on his horn directly into the ear of Emily's Father-in-Law, Joel White. Joel and his wife Chris live in Beijing, China!

Here is Tom later in the trip kicking back in the White's beijing apartment. As a native of Taiwan, Tom has mixed feelings about China, but enjoyed his stay there nonetheless.

Beijing from the White's window.

Many thanks to Emily White for letting Mr. Ping hi-jack her trip. Tom loves the Whites!!!

TOM IS ON ASSIGNMENT!

Check back in a few weeks to learn if he survived.

TOM RIDES THE MARANATHA RAPIDS IN A BARREL...WELL...ER...IN A PEANUT BUTTER JAR!

Tom suffered a romantic setback this week, and such was his overwhelming melancholy that I suspect that he actually hoped that this stunt would fail. I begged him to postpone this latest adventure until his outlook on life improved, but he shrugged me off and pressed on with his ill-advised plans. Inspired in no small part by Annie Edson Taylor, who on October 4, 1901 became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel Tom ping claimed to have been planning this adventure for quite some time. The whole thing struck me as hasty and suicidal.

Here's Tom standing atop his jar in front of the mighty falls.

Then Tom declared "enough pictures!" and with one last heroic toot on his horn he allowed me to lower him into his jar. The question weighing heavy on all of our minds was if that jar would double as his coffin.


I'm sorry this video is sideways. Perhaps you could pick up your laptop and hold it sideways.

TOM PING ACCOMPANIED THE BOYS STAFF ON THEIR SECOND ANNUAL EXCURSION TO HOLLYWOOD

Kevin, Dominik, Lucas and, of course, Nathanael were gracious enough to permit him access to their getaway.

Too-ta-toooooooooot!

As a musician, Tom, credits the Beatles as one of his greatest inspirations. This was a thrilling moment for Mr. Ping. He also wanted to be photographed on Michael Jackson's star, but the crowd at that location was too much for our dimunitive friend.

Tom! Watch out!!!

Tom's friends, Kevin and Lucas chilling out at the beach.

Tom's new friend, Dominik, is from Germany. He had never set foot in the Pacific Ocean before.

Tom is brave, even brash, but he knows better than to venture too close to the pounding surf. Thanks guys for the adventure. Thanks also to Nathanael for serving as Mr. Ping's photographer for the outing.

TOM PING HAS MADE HIS FIRST TELEVISION APPEARANCE!!!

Thanks to the Whites, who are not only really good friends of ours but also the owners of the Idyllwild Inn and talent scouts extraordinaire, Tom Ping has made his first television appearance in a commercial for a local NBC affiliate. If I may quote Josh White, "I don't know what it is...Tom Ping just has 'it.' That indefinable 'it.' Do you know what I mean? He just has a certain animal magnetism... in a word he's 'sexy.' I just had to have him in my commercial."

Watch this commercial and see for yourself. Between 36-39 Tom Ping appears in the background just north of Josh White's right elbow on the lower portion of the sign that hangs below the main sign. He's all the way to the right, next to the chain. He kind of appears as a little cirlcle near the base of the chain. Tom Ping was concerned that they might make him do a nude scene, but that didn't come up so he was relieved. It has been a dream of Tom's for a long time to work with Manny on a project like this.

(The quote above attributed to Josh White may not have actually been uttered by Josh White, but I am confident that it does, in fact, accurately reflect his feelings toward Tom Ping.)