CURRENT MISSION

To enjoy life, every day, every moment. To love others.

ABOUT ME

Travis and I are bearded gay men. Maybe it seems clichéed to list that up front, but there it is. It's not that we're gay gay GAY, but the fact that we're a couple of guys who like other guys does inform the rest of our lives in ways both subtle and profound.

We've been together 19 years now. That still amazes me sometimes. We're both just past 40, and are starting to hit our stride, I think. We're happy with each other, our friends and our lives. Work takes up a lot of our time, but we try to not let that define who we are. We love generously, smile often, enjoy the people and experiences that life brings us, share as we're able, and try to keep our baggage to a minimum.

Oh....and we love our Mommas.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We've hosted a good number of travelers now, and have made some good friends through CouchSurfing. At some point we'll get around to trying out a couch or two ourselves!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Honestly, I'm starting to think of CouchSurfing in spiritual terms. The way it brings people into our lives with this immediacy and the sharing that follows...it feels almost sacred. People who come to us are always on a journey in more ways than one, and the hospitality and shelter that we provide...well, it always seems to give back to us far more than we've given. With each guest, I seem to be ever more happy that we CouchSurf.

Interests

I'm a complete nut when it comes to architecture; for me, getting to know a city is all about getting out, exploring the streets and looking at the buildings and houses and trying to understand what gives a place its identity. In general, if I fall in love with a city, it's because I love the housing stock. I love walking a new city. Travis? A little walking can go a long way for him.

It does go without saying that I like art and music, right?

Travis is a nurse. It's a second career for him, and one he started just a few years ago. He loves the work, and I'm regularly jealous of the flexibility of his work schedule. Whenever I mention this jealousy, he points out that his job regularly involves an up-close relationship with poo, and I have to concede that this is probably a deal-breaker.

What else?

We like movies. Video games. Um....walks on the beach? Candlelit dinners? This is getting to sound like a personal ad!

• arts
• singing
• architecture
• cooking
• walking
• movies
• video games
• tv
• magic
• music
• cartography
• nursing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

My top-10 movie list: The Wiz, Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, From Russia With Love, The Women, Babe: Pig in the City, North by Northwest, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, A Room with a View, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Kung-Fu Hustle.

I also have an unhealthy obsession with reality television. Sad but true.

Travis's top-10 movie list: The Ten Commandments, Halloween, Dune, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Sole Survivor, The Other Sister, Kentucky Fried Movie, Big Fish, Vegas in Space, The Last Emperor

Travis doesn't like reality television. He does, however, like those awful true-crime shows on the History Channel where the narrator talks like it's the most exciting, serious thing in the whole world.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I used to sing with the Choir of Men at the National Cathedral in DC. If you saw Ronald Reagan's funeral on TV, you probably saw me, if only briefly. Maybe it seems overblown to call my time at the Cathedral amazing, but for me it was. I completely love that beautiful building, and the music I made in it, and the ways my contribution shaped the experiences of people who came there...it was pretty special. Travis and I also were one of the first gay couples to get married there. And yeah, that was an unbelievable experience too.

PS - I LOVE how these maps make me look much more widely-traveled than I actually am.

visited 18 countries (8%)Create your own visited map of The World

visited 36 states (72%)Create your own visited map of The United States

Teach, Learn, Share

I bake a mean pie. No kidding. One day, I decided that I needed to learn to make piecrust, and I took out Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and tried, and tried, and tried, and eventually, I got it. And now I know that magic place where flour, fat and water live together in a beautiful balance and make something tender, flaky and delicious.

My biscuits are getting pretty good, too.

I'm happy to share what I know. The world would be better off with more good pie in it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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