CURRENT MISSION

To see the world, or at least the US. Find out about other cultures and make new friends..

ABOUT ME

Born in northeast Ohio, but did not spend much time there, as I grew up in Tampa. I was married for 25 years and have two grown children. The past 25 years I have been divorced. I was on the advisory board for the Chemical Engineering Dept. at the Univ. of Florida for 10 years, and have also had season football tickets for 16 years. When in Gainesville I stay at the Magnolia Plantation B&B. Great hosts there. Upon college graduation I went to work and had been with the same company for 34 years (Anheuser-Busch), living throughout the US. .

PHILOSOPHY

Be tolerant of others. We are all different, and that is what makes life so interesting.

Have tolerance and be helpful of those with special needs. Those that have been handicapped in some way need friends that can make their lives more livable and less of a challenge. Many have a very difficult time making and keeping friends. Patience goes a long way in making their lives more meaningful. The mentally ill seem to be invisible to most, they need our understanding more than most.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When living in Los Angeles my family was involved in culture exchange events. We had an extra room and were asked to host two high school age boys from Stuttgart that were traveling with their soccer club. We eventually hosted 16 youth teams while in LA. We had teams from England, Germany and Denmark stay with us for a week at a time.

I ended up coordinating the LA events with the trip organizer in Denmark.

My son traveled with a team to Sweden, Denmark and England. I took my daughter's team to Germany and Denmark when she was 14 years old.

We were hosting a girls team from Denmark when it was time for my team to travel to Europe. It was a funny feeling waving good-bye to the Danes when they were in our driveway waving to us as we departed for the airport on the team bus.

All in all, the concept of "Friendship Through Soccer" was a very rewarding experience.

Interests

I have an interest in world and national economics, and read about it every day. I follow college football and basketball (season football tickets for the University of Florida). I love to watch soccer and go to matches if they are close by. I love history and art and hit the museums when I am in a new town. The outdoors is where I also like to be, as I like hiking, biking and camping. Member of the Florida Trail Association. After retiring from my work, I became a runner, and started practicing yoga, enjoying the healthy lifestyle.

I have hiked the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain to Lexington, Va. Much of the Florida Trail and all of the Bartram Trail .

• arts
• culture
• beer
• yoga
• running
• coach
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• sports
• soccer
• economics
• engineering
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Six great books read I've recently read: "The One Man" by Andrew Gross, "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" by Mark Sullivan, and "A Nation Without Borders" by Steven Hahn, and "John Adams" by David McCullough. Read the "Dune" series. "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow.

I tend to like movies that don't have foul language in them. Comedies and historical movies are the best. Marx Brothers, Crosby & Hope, Cary Grant (Bringing Up Baby). My music likes are very broad. Don't like RAP and Hip Hop, due to the foul language.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I guess that would be being a youth soccer coach and helping to promote youth cultural exchanges while I lived in California. I started coaching when my boy was 6 and finished 11 years later when my daughter was 14. I knew nothing of the sport when I started. When I finished my girls had a 1st place trophy from the Vildbjerg Cup and a 3rd place trophy from the Dana Cup in Hjorring. When I started with my girls in the competitive league, at 10 years of age, I told the parents that I was not concerned about the winning. The goal would be that the girls would have enough skills to make their high school teams. When we returned from Europe, all of the girls were to start high school. I then retired from coaching, and 15 of the 16 girls became starters on the high school teams as 9th graders. They had the skills and a "can do" attitude. Three of them went on to win state high school championships as juniors and seniors.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a great beer taster. And it helps the conversation along sometimes. I enjoy learning about different cultures, and peoples impressions of what they have seen and experienced.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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