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.)

CAPTAIN PING AND HIS INTREPID CREW "SHOOT THE PIPE"

Bowden and Lucy helped me make Tom Ping's boat, THE GOOSE, for his latest adventure.

Here is Captain Ping with his crew- Santa Claus, Gadget, and a Gunslinger.

That hole is the entrance to over 600 feet of pitch black terror and raging water.

The crew took shelter inside the cabin, and then it was time to shove off.

Good luck, Tom!

We waited at the other end for a long time, but Tom Ping and his crew didn't appear.

I had no choice but to mount a rescue mission and thus I set out into the pipe to rescue Captain Ping and his crew.

I sloshed nearly the entire length of the pipe before finding their vessel hopelessley hung up on a rock. I set them free and with a feeble toot on his horn our courageous adventurer led his crew back into the swriling torrent.

Much to everyone's relief they emerged safe and victorious at the other end of the pipe.

Captain Ping aboard his vessel, THE GOOSE.

I KNOW YOU'RE ALL HANKERING FOR ANOTHER ADVENTURE WITH OUR INTREPID FRIEND, TOM PING...

...and I apologize for the four months of silence. In truth, Mr. Ping has been dealing with some fairly serious personal problems, which he is not inclined to discuss publicly. Even if he were so inclined his lawyers have advised him not to. So please, no questions.

You'll be excited to know though that Tom is back on his feet and planning the most daring adventure of his career. We'll keep you posted.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! TOM IS BACK!!!

He had a scare though. When I left him last Tuesday there were three sugar baskets, but when I retrieved him this morning one was missing and the other two had been knocked around. Tom was lying flat on his back, knocked out cold. But when I called to him he gave a little feeble toot on his horn and staggered out from behind the sugar baskets. I can't believe that someone actually bought one of those sugar baskets, and I agree with Lisa who theorizes that somebody probably bumped into them or something. In any event, my heart skipped a beat when I saw them all mixed up, but I was relieved to find Tom layed out behind the last one. Whew! Close call!
Nicely done Mr. Ping. Now lets start planning the next adventure!
It's good to have you back. I was worried about you!