Dear Old John Kemp
Submitted by Beloved on June 24 2000 23:10:52
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John Kemp was the boy lover of Rosemead, California. He had come from the same area in Canada as my family and had settled near them at frist in Lemon Grove. Every year Mr. Kemp won the garden club award for his front yard. In his back yard he kept a zoo. Two Reeses Monkeys, lots of exotic birds, and many small animals like turtles. The children, boys and girls, flocked to his home. My grandmother explained to me about Mr. Kemp. She was not a Christian; believing that a loving God could not allow all the harmfulness like disease, starvation, earthquakes, floods, etc. I knew she was wrong about this at the time; but I didn't have the answers then. She went on to say that Mr. Kemp actually performed a service to the community. (1) boys have strong sexual desires. (2) Girls get pregnant. She said it was better for a boy to go to Mr. Kemp than to get a girl pregnant. I suspended any judgement in this area because I just didn't really understand. One day Mr. Kemp seemed more than usually happy to see me. He started feeling between my legs while I sat with him on the couch. I said "What are you doing?" He then simply told me how he had been with the teen boy next door. I did understand a little, but it was only technical understanding. I never had an erection and had no feelings about this kind of thing. Anyway, when I asked my grandmother about this, she stressed that John Kemp was not a bad person. She said that I should continue loving him. I told her that I had never stopped loving him. I was just asking. Grandmother never gave me any personal advice as to what I should do. She thought that this was my own personal choice. However, I did NOT have it with Mr. Kemp. I didn't want to, and he sure was not going to force me. He was really a dear old man. Mr. Kemp died of colen cancer about 40 years ago. It was awful - disguesting even to be near. My aunt and uncle spent many hours daily feeding him and cleaning up after him. I wasn't living in Rosemead at the time and I did't know he was in this condition. I would have been there for him if I had known. I only write these things to remind people that Jesus did say that he fulfilled the law and that he gave us a new commandment: "That you love one another." I believe if people would not act hatefully toward one another, we could all be simply honest. As a boy, I would never tell on another boy. This is because I knew the penalty would be too severe and unloving. But so much is lost when honest information is concealed. Why cannot we love each other and tell the whole truth always? |
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