CURRENT MISSION

Explore Russia , Ukraine and Paris.

ABOUT ME

Citrus Heights was named for its orange groves which are gone now. Joni Mitchell's lyric in Yellow Taxi described what happened to Citrus Heights: "They pulled up the trees and put in a parking lot." It looks like every other California suburb now with strip malls and lots of parking lots.
As a boy I roamed the fields and climbed oak trees to have a look around. Oak trees make great tree forts, they're really solid.
I was a boy soprano in our church choir. My mother's family was very musical. Our yearly Christmas tradition was singing Handel's Messiah.
I have three adult children and two grandsons. We still sing together as a family.
Most of my work life was involved in building weaving looms, an esoteric craft to be sure. I enjoyed designing and building these instruments which in turn were used to create fabric and tapestry by our "Aloomni".
Now my focus has shifted to creating relationships with people I meet during my travels. The Couch Surfing circle is expanding my network of friends - a fascinating group of free thinkers who open new worlds for me. It's wonderful.

PHILOSOPHY

What's the meaning in LOL - lots of luck or love? Alfred P Doolittle, the dustman in My Fair Lady, laments, "They're always throwing goodness at you - but with a little bit of luck a man can duck." Throwing goodness is somewhat like having a food fight in the Dharma Cafe. I want to be in that mix, for sure. Sometimes people duck but most often love sticks... with a little bit of bloomin' luck.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a citizen of the world. My journeys have revealed such wondrous things from the markets of Casablanca to the rainforests of Costa Rica. It's poetry - all of it.
The most satisfying part of traveling though is the people you meet. I look forward to meeting you in your home and to hosting you when you visit the Puget Sound in Washington.
The best fit for me is to meet you as a day host. I'd very much like to see your neighborhood, check out the local music and art scene or go on a hike, perhaps paddle a lake or stream together.
Share with me your passion for your place in all of this, I'd be delighted if you would.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Years ago I worked for the American Friends Service Committee and learned the importance of building relationships between people. CS is a perfect way to build relationships. It goes beyond the virtual world of Facebook providing instead face to face interaction which is my preference. In the play, Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is told to "Go on, run away. Bring me back the world." There is some of Heathcliff in me. Not running away necessarily but wanting to bring back the world - for me, my friends and family. Yes, I would very much like to do that.

Interests

Don Quixote was the guy who ran out of his house, jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions simultaneously. At times I feel that way because there is so much in this life which interests me. I have lived in communes - urban and rural, studied abroad, raised sheep, lumberjacked, flown airplanes, built houses and traveled in 28 countries.
I practice Reiki, Body Electronics and sound energy healing with Tibetan Bowls. Hiking, kayaking, gym workouts keep me reasonably fit. I like experimenting with recipes, enjoy cooking, too.
Guitar playing and singing round out my interests.

• arts
• poetry
• singing
• folklore
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• running
• electronics
• traveling
• juggling
• woodworking
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm walking around with Simon Winchester's Madman and the Professor, the story of the New Oxford Dictionary. A couple of days ago, I was in the local thrift store here in Everett, Wa. when someone called my name. It was Janine, my Tai Chi partner. Somehow we got on the subject of the book and how Minor, the madman served as a Union doctor in the Civil War. A man standing nearby overheard our conversation and said, "Minor's brother became the mayor of Seattle." How great is that - a book club in the middle of Value Village.
Music is a big part of my life. Mozart's Requiem in D Minor is one of my favorite choral works. It's full of angst yet haunting beauty. The film Almadeus presents a brooding figure in the death scene as the composer desperately tries to finish his work, The D Minor Requiem. I am utterly transported everytime I hear this mass.
On the opposite end of my musical spectrum is Blondie's Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room. In between are Miles Davis, Billy Holiday, Mancini, Chet Baker, Andrea Bocelli, Leonard Cohen, Bartok, New York Voices, Jim Hall, Basia, Take 6, Telemann, Luis Bonfa...
Comedies are my choice in film. Fools Rush In, Pride and Prejudice, Trial and Error, Opportunity Knocks, The Sting, Roman Holiday but I also like Bond films, Black Orpheus, Dead Poets Society, North by Northwest...an eclectic mix for eclectic taste.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Parenting three children

Teach, Learn, Share

Life experience is a teachable subject but experience differs quite a lot between people so we meet in the fertile ground of imagination. What is it that makes us unique as individuals? How do we help one another on our spiritual journeys? My son is a wise teacher and I often talk with him about these things. It's a continuing conversation about life and our place in it. If what I've shared with you resonates, let's go exploring together.
Things I can share include basic guitar, English, woodworking, juggling, throwing goodness in the Dharma Cafe...
Things I would like to learn: Russian, French cooking,
Tai Chi.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Martinique, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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