CURRENT MISSION

To see the old world, the new world and the one in between them.

ABOUT ME

I'm 47. I'm nice and surly and sometimes both at the same time, but I am the kindest person you will ever meet. Honest. People have told me that.

My alter ego is the GuerrillaScribe, one of the Guerrillas in the Midst.

Born in a small town in Alabama, I've managed to get much farther than I ever thought I would. A child of the '70s who came of age in the '80s, I wrestled with Generation X appeal and angst and commercialization and laconic bursts of creativity. Now I find myself a paid writer and world traveler. Home was in the True North (a far cry from the Deep South) and then, for quite a spell, Central Europe. Now, after nearly a decade abroad, I've returned to the homeland, but not home. Married, quite happily, to my best friend and the girl of my dreams, life has taken some unexpected turns, but no surprise bumps in the road. So long as the horizon meets the road, it's going to be an excellent sojourn.

PHILOSOPHY

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." - James Michener

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Whatever I can do to help by showing fearful travelers that a big world won't swallow you and leave you cold and alone.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosted a few folks and met some real gems, too. It's a grand thing.

Interests

Reading, traveling, writing, finding new places that aren't known to me (even if they are to others) and seeing the world first hand, not just through a guidebook or on the Internet.

• writing
• performing arts
• dining
• running
• comics
• reading
• traveling
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Anything by Bill Faulkner has a place in my worn satchel, likewise for William Gibson and Jon Courtenay Grimwood. TV? Baah, no time for it, but movies, ah movies. "The Motorcycle Diaries" and "Say Anything" and "A Very Long Engagement" and "Strange Brew" and more. Music? Too varied to even ask, but give me early R.E.M. or early '80s alternative and hard country and I'm a happy, happy man.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have seen the snowfall in the deserts of Jordan and watched as a sandstorm enveloped my tent in the desert of Iraq. I have tread upon vast ice fields in the far reaches of Sweden and Finland and I have dipped my feet into the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. I held my son's hand as he walked into the sea for the first time.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you to run a trout line or navigate a new city by finding the tallest building and keeping it as your guidon. I can also show you how to perform emergency first aid.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

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