My very first MYSTERY guest!

For awhile, I have considered whether or not to spotlight people whom I find to be very interesting in my blog. This week, I made it happen when I interviewed a lady who used to live in Leoti. Here it goes!!!



Many a year ago, I stood in a line at our local grocery store waiting to check out. I also remember gazing at a girl who was a few years older than me. She was a pretty red-haired teenager. Even if we had been standing closer to each other, I never would have spoken to her for two reasons. One, she was a teenager and I was just a kid, and two, back then, I was painfully shy around people I did not know. Not in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that many years later, we would connect and she would become one of my BESTEST friends ever!



I won't bore you AGAIN with the details of why I started my blog originally. I WILL tell you that unbelievable things have happened in my life because of my blog. One of the greatest is that people who I have not spoken to in years or even EVER BEFORE in my life, have spoken to or met, have connected with me via the blog. Remember the red-haired and pretty girl from the check-out counter? After 30 years plus, my blog has reunited us. She was and is Chris Campbell. Our friendship started out with occassional email. Then she called me as soon as she read my post that there were three more teenagers in town who could really benefit by people coming together to give them Christmas gifts. Chris and her family wanted to help them. And..BOY! Did they ever help!!! Two very large boxes, 80 pounds to be exact, were delivered to our house so that we could take them to the teenagers. The gifts were simply unbelievable and the kids LOVED them!!!



That first telephone call lasted OVER four hours! I could've talked longer but life never stops so we had to go. Since then, we've spent several more hours catching up with each other.



When I got the idea of doing interviews, Chris and another local lady came to mind. I contacted Chris and she agreed to do it. Yay!!!



Doing this interview has been so neat! We did it all over the internet. I sent my questions to her through email. She responded to the questions on her computer in her PRIVATE and decked out jet! Is that kool or is that KOOL??? She was in transit from her home in Connecticut to her main home in Tuscany. I think that you'll enjoy finding out what Chris has been up to since 1977 when she left Leoti!



Chris was born in September of 1957 in Lawrence, Kansas. Her mother was Joan Campbell and her maternal grandparents were Edward and Joy Dierks. All of Leoti. She graduated from Wichita County High School in May of 1975. From here, she moved to San Diego where she received her education at the University of California. She majored in biochemistry and biophysics. Chris now has her PhD in biochemistry. After completing her education there, she started her own pharmaceutical research company. Through the research that she and her staff did, they developed a compound for a major drug. She then sold her business and research to a large, well-known pharmaceutical company.



Through all of this, she has borne four children--one boy and three girls. Now, she has one grandson.



Chris has chosen to share her life with a high profile man whom we will refer to only by his first name, Peter. Chris and Peter are firm believers in the maintenance of privacy. I understand that completely.



God had special plans for this couple. He was bound and determined that the two would meet. They both owned individual homes just a few doors apart in California but they never met. That all changed when they were in Tuscany where both owned homes. After they had fallen in love, two of their four homes were sold. LOL! Peter has two children and ten grandchildren.

Since leaving Leoti, Chris has also lived in Washington D.C., Chicago and San Diego. I asked Chris and Peter what they do in their off time. They told me that they love to travel and have been all over the world--Australia, Bora Bora, South America, Africa, China, Russia, etc.

In addition to all of the travel, they also enjoy taking cooking classes in Tuscany since they both love to cook. Yummy!

Even with all of these things to keep them busy, they still manage to find a considerable amount of time to help those in major, MAJOR need. They do philanthopic work which is a major passion of both of them.

My interview took place with me sitting at our computer armoire and Chris sitting in their decked-out and very private jet that was in transit from their home in Connecticut to their main home in Tuscany. Once they landed, they spent a couple of days there before leaving tonight, Wednesday, for Darfur in the Sudan Region of Africa. The couple participates in various U.S. and worldwide organizations whom they feel do a great deal of good including SaveDarfur.org, Unicef, Save the Children among other smaller organizations. The primary focus of these groups is to help people in regions of the world where human atrocities are ramped and the basic human rights are stolen by either circumstances or governments. These organizations also focus a great deal on children which is another major passion for Chris and Peter. They not only donate to these groups but hold charity fundraising events and visit the countries, etc. Several of their good friends who also do all of these things including the clinics, are people whom we hear about on television, the radio and read about in the tabloids as we stand in check-out lines throughout our country. I will not publicize these people's names in this post so that I can protect their privacy.

As you know, the people who work in these clinics, etc. are putting their own lives in jeopardy. As a result of that, teams of security people must travel with the workers. During this next trip which is starting just about now, Chris will be giving vaccination injections in addition to other activities. Chris and Peter are very hands-on with these organizations.

Their main home is in Tuscany, Italy where they spend most of their time. (You ought to see their home there! Nothing you've seen on TV or in architecture and home design magazines compare to it!) They also have homes in New York City, Greenwich, Connecticut, Rancho Santa Fe, California, the Bordeaux Region of France and Dubai, UAE. WOW!!! They spend time in these locations based on their charity/family/consulting schedules.

Chris was in Leoti for the first time in ten years last July. She hopes to return to Leoti this next Summer so that she can visit with family, friends and spend time at our famed fair. She hopes to be here more frequently in the future. We're looking forward to it!!!

I asked Chris how new and old friends could write to her to catch up. She decided that the best method was via email as it tracks them down throughout the world via satellite and blackberry. Her email address is rsfdoc@yahoo.com

My question to you is this. Is Chris Campbell an amazing person or an AMAZING PERSON??? That answer is easily answered without a second's worth of deliberation.

Please pray for Chris and Peter as they head out to tackle more human distress during the next several days.

As for you, Chris, I have thoroughly loved doing this interview with you and I hope that I did you justice! Many Leotians are proud of you and all that you have done and will continue to do in our world...

VLE-B