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Senior citizen activists hear an old familiar voice
Pat Boone, clad in green, greets thousands from around the state.
By LUCY MORGAN, Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 7, 2003
TALLAHASSEE -- Singer Pat Boone was the main attraction at the Florida Capitol Thursday as thousands of senior citizens gathered for a day of music and education.
Dressed in a bright green ultrasuede coat, white boots and light green pants, Boone was hard to miss. Admirers gathered around to have their pictures taken with Boone, who took time out from a concert tour to sing Under God from his new album, American Glory.
Boone and Florida's first lady, Columba Bush, were there as part of Ambassadors for Aging Day, an annual event that draws senior citizen activists together from around the state.
Boone, 67, noted that he, too, is a senior citizen, and said he wants to counter the negative images conveyed by some young performers who take off their clothes and do sexy choreography. He also is helping to promote literacy and the arts.
His song, Under God, comes at a time when a federal appeals court in California has ruled that using the phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance violates the constitutional separation of church and state. Boone hopes the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the decision.
Born in Jacksonville, Boone lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., and was on his way to perform in Punta Gorda.
Many of the seniors in the audience volunteer as mentors and tutors in cultural arts programs.
The group of seniors spent the day in training sessions and heard performances by the Florida Kinship Center's Grandmothers Choir of Tampa and other groups that help spread music and the arts to Florida schools.
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