CURRENT MISSION

I've got two weeks off work in late July, a big empty house, and I can't go to the beach because I'll be nursing a new sleeve tattoo. I want to meet someone from somewhere to keep me company! Surprise me!

ABOUT ME

I'm a thirtysomething college grad and Special Forces vet (I used to be Army Psyop, in case you know what that is). I'm well read, political but not crazy, informed and capable of conversation. I'm a good cook but only if you like spicy and over-the-top flavors. I'm not too well traveled (I missed my chance to deploy) but insatiably curious. I was raised Catholic, kind, compassionate, nice to animals and a perfect gentleman. Probably not much to look at, though. Well, you can be the judge.

PHILOSOPHY

Do the right thing and the rest will sort itself out. Well, really it won't. Probably things will fall apart faster than they otherwise would have. But you will have been right, that's the important thing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can host for a couple weeks at the end of July.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None!

Interests

I love cooking, looking for ethnic restaurants, trying to find the best barbecue, talking politics, telling stories, laughing, flirting, sunny days, the beach, red clay, learning to garden, mixing drinks, playing D&D, staying up all night on the computer, sleeping late, good books, and dogs.

• animals
• dogs
• books
• poetry
• cooking
• bbq
• exercise
• drinking
• gardening
• politics
• nursing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Fantasy & sci-fi including Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Ian McDonald, Crichton, Aasimov, Whitley Strieber, etc. Dune. Redwall. Good mystery writers with odd detectives like Martin Cruz Smith, John Burdett and James Church. Everyone should read 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman, which is like 'Trainspotting' meets Harry Potter. History. Politics, especially international stuff (which is interesting) but not domestic stuff (which is irritating). The Economist magazine. MST3K, Psych, Futurama, Marty Scorsese and bad monster movies, the kind where half-naked women are eaten by giant reptiles that time forgot. Nineties rock. Progressive hiphop. Bluegrass and southern music, which rocks, but not contemporary country, which is boring as hell. Mustard Plug. Tinariwen. Irish music. Heavy stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I can remember driving from Fort Benning, GA north to Indiana on the 4th of July, passing through Kentucky on a winding highway in the dark, where every new switchback suddenly revealed a sky full of blooming fireworks and then hid them again behind the mountain. Back home up north I used to love taking naps on the edge of the pier at Lake Michigan, looking down about ten feet at waves crashing onto the green and weedy rocks of the breakwater there, but since I came down here I've had a soft spot in my heart for that bright blue sky of North Carolina with the piney treetops in front and red clay underfoot. I can remember being on an exercise at Fort Bragg, sitting down in a clearing waiting as we often did, sprawled against our packs and idly turning hunks of gravel over and over in our hands under that skyline. My friend Rami, who is from Lebanon, helped me pass the time by translating some of my poetry into Arabic, and helping me memorize some of his, since we both considered ourselves writers. The South has grabbed a nice big piece of my heart since that moment, honestly.

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, I don't know much, but I know some, I guess.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States