By the numbers: 65 year old male. Father to three, friend to many. I have visited 45 US states, 6 Canadian provinces, 5 countries. I've been to live shows for 35 different artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, five in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, four in the Country Music Hall of Fame, nine in the Blues Hall of Fame, and 17 in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. I am pretty much always planning to go to the next concert, festival or event. Music, food, nature and sports are some of my favorite ways to connect with others by exploring our similar and different experiences.

I love Couchsurfing! Couchsurfing is a great way to meet and get to know adventurous people from all over the world. I have made a number of lifelong friends and had many amazing experiences through CSing. I was active in CSing from 2011 to 2018. Then I took a break until now (August 2023). I have hosted many CSers, attended local CS events, helped plan the 2017 Twin Cities Couch Crash, and attended the 2017 Madison Couch Crash. I have only been a CS guest a few times, but all were positive experiences – way better than staying in a hotel.

At age 65, I have been through many phases in my life: growing up on a Minnesota farm, college and grad schools, 15 years on the West Coast (SF Bay Area, Vancouver BC, and San Diego), raising three kids, various jobs and careers, etc. Sometimes the days and years blend gradually into each other and sometimes there are big changes as the phases shift. We all go through these kinds of phases and changes. By sharing our experiences, we can help each other navigate our way through life far better than any of us can do on our own.

Being a part of various communities is important to me: my family, my hometown friends (who I’ve known 50+ years), the people in my neighborhood, my music community, and so on. Couchsurfing is another community that is very important to me. We are a global network of individuals that make the world a better place every day by increasing communication and understanding. And we have a lot of fun while doing it.

I am a storyteller, so I will tell a story. From about 1985 to about 2005 I spent a lot of time crisscrossing the western parts of the United States and Canada by motor vehicles and trains. This country is huge and there are many areas that are still wilderness. But there are good people everywhere, and cool people are attracted to both to cool places and of course to each other. And that leads to magical moments. One such moment for me was at a house party in San Francisco next to Golden Gate Park. Some surfers (ocean surfers) from Santa Cruz lived in the house and there was a late night jam session: my friend Terry on guitar, a sax player, and three young women from Italy who knew how to sing. We played “La Bamba” and there was ecstatic chaos. You never know when those kinds of moments are about to happen.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like hanging out with CSers. My experience with Couchsurfers is that the ones I've met are almost all way smarter than the average bear.

Interests

Community. Community radio. Music. Guitars. Technology. Higher awareness. Education. Communication. Equality. Liberty. Justice. Social justice.

• education
• technology
• music
• blues

Music, Movies, and Books

I like sappy old-fashioned movies with happy endings.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I worked on a scientific team that made the first complete human chromosome-specific cosmid libraries from flow-sorted DNA. This was back in 1988, in the early days of the Human Genome Project.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot of cool spots around here.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States

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