Pat Boone's All American Meats

"Have you ever thought 'gee, I sure wish I could buy some mail-order meat from Pat Boone and have some of the proceeds go to support the Religious Right'?" asks the People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch.Well, guess what: Pat Boone is selling steak.If it distracts him from writing articles like "The Mosque at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" I suppose that's not such a bad thing.A couple of years ago, I had a funny experience. I was waiting on line at a cafe atop the Golan Heights with a friend who, as it happens, used to be a member of the Nation of Islam (as a teenager, she worked with Malcolm X; she's since become a Jew). "That man in front of us," she muttered, "He looks so much like Pat Boone." I don't know if he heard her, but he turned around and smiled at us and it really was him. That night, just to be sure, I checked out his website, and sure enough, he was touring Israel at the time, with a busload of family and friends. And that wasn't all that I learned:

In 1959 Pat Boone wrote the lyric to the theme from the movie “Exodus,” about the creation of the State of Israel. It provided him a special connection with the country, one that he has maintained. Today Boone is Christian Ambassador to Israel, leading many tours of the country for the Christian Broadcasting Network. He also possesses an Israel Cultural Award, the country’s highest award for a non native. He is spokesman for the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews “Wings of Eagles” program, allowing 300,000 Jews from iron curtain countries to resettle in Israel.

What killed me then and what kills me still is this: If I had wanted to, I could have reached out and put one hand on my friend's shoulder and one hand on Pat Boone's--talk about your Six degrees of Kevin Bacon! The mind fairly boggles. It's the kind of thing that makes me believe in God.