Please note, I will not be able to host any more visitors in the near future. Family situation!
I'm a former anthropologist turned into a college administrator. I'm at heart bi-coastal, with strong roots in both California and New York. I am intensely political, with a perspective considerably to the left of the two U.S. parties. I have a vegetable garden, a cat and love my Brooklyn home. I enjoy sharing it. I am a vegetarian, but don't care what guests cook in my kitchen. BTW: The beard is long gone. It was after a week camping in the Adirondacks.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have a reasonably large house, and my youngest son is now a student in California. I greatly enjoyed having his friends around during the summer, and find it's great fun keeping it going. I have already had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and feel like I'm just getting started. If I cannot go see the world, couchsurfing brings the world to me.

Interests

Very political, as I said! Deeply interested in the environment, and most especially in environmental justice. I don't think that corporations are people, or that any government agency should have the right to read my e-mails. I think Black Lives Matter. I think the fight for $15 is a start, but really just a start. I think affordable, high-quality healthcare is a human right. I would love to retire eventually in a socialist US, but I'm not holding my breath.
I try hard to live my beliefs, although it isn't always easy. Every light bulb in the house is LED, every pipe in the cellar is insulated, and I occasionally drive guests crazy by insisting on composting and recycling. Looking seriously for an alternative to the Democratic Party and will probably vote Green in November.
I attend a lot of lectures, films, musical performances, plays. I love trying new restaurants. I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years now, but am perfectly OK with guests cooking meat in my house (as long as they understand that I'm not having any).

• cats
• environment
• cooking
• wine
• vegetarian
• partying
• gardening
• movies
• socializing
• camping
• anthropology

Music, Movies, and Books

Music of every kind, ranging from Shabbaz Palaces to Willie Nelson, including a good dose of world music; action movies are OK in small doses, but I really like movies that make me either think or laugh. Most recently saw An Irrational Man, The Overnight and Brooklyn. First one made me think, second made me laugh out loud, third left me teary. Books? I am reading constantly, and go through Kindles regularly. I read junk fiction (mostly detective stories - wrote one, even), world literature, serious political works (most recently, The Next Revolution by Murray Bookchin). If I could spend an evening with a contemporary writer of my choosing, it would be Rebecca Solnit. I regularly read both the NYRB and the LRB, Atlantic, Harper's, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, and the NYT and Daily KOS daily on-line.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Flew in a single-engine small airplane through the Andes. I was the passenger, not the pilot. Scary, but memorable. I think I would do it again, given the chance.

Teach, Learn, Share

The older I get the more I realize that I value experiences much more than possessions. What can I teach? I would like to think it's the importance of reaching out to others, the importance of commitment to creating a better world for those who will come after us. What can I learn? I feel like I learn from everyone who comes into my life, whatever their intent; the Dalai Lama, (who, along with Edward Snowden, is one of my heroes) has a lot to say about that. What can I share? A bottle of wine, a hug, real conversation.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, a bottle of wine, serious conversation, corny jokes.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, France, United States