CURRENT MISSION

Adventure and Life

ABOUT ME

I'm past 65, a military veteran and early postal retiree.

I don't think about myself much, except when people make me. For instance, when I see how unhappy some people are, I figure I must be a pretty happy sort. I'm always astonished when I find out that somebody has been thinking about me and trying to figure me out. I don't try to figure out anybody. "You can't study men, you can only get to know them" (CS Lewis).

If I have a plan in life, it's to find something I love to do for its own sake, then do it. What I most enjoy is to feel my body in motion. After that, it's seeing beautiful places, meeting new people and exploring new ideas. I love music, but my favorite music is silence. I love art, but I prefer nature. I love cities, but most of all I love walking on a trail or beach. I love big general ideas, but usually I'd rather dwell on the details that express the individuality of a person or place. I hope that gives you an idea.

Oh ... you should know I'm a vegetarian (milk and eggs OK though I try to limit that) and I stay sober. I have no interest in altered states.

PHILOSOPHY

I don't know that I have a philosophy. I have few opinions, and those I have I rarely speak out. I don't want to be right if that means somebody else has to be wrong.

The last election cycle confirmed me in that. These days, when I'm alone I think mostly about mathematics, because it's almost the only subject where it's actually possible to prove things (not always, but usually).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm moderately experienced as a surfer now, after a long trip in 2010. I do go to gatherings where I live and nearby (StL, Peoria).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've met a lot of companionable people, lots of great conversations, learned a great deal, seen many things I never would've otherwise.

Interests

Poetry, mathematics (more and more these days), Buddhism (I founded a Zen group that has lasted 20 years so far), Chinese language and literature, running, bicycling, theater, and travel.

For about 2 years, I volunteered with a local 211 helpline, and I still help them out occasionally. I felt I was doing good, but I ran out of something and had to quit.

I also sometimes volunteer for the local Humane Society. There's a feral cat in my town that I visit and feed twice a day. I may adopt a cat soon.

• arts
• literature
• poetry
• theater
• vegetarian
• running
• walking
• traveling
• music
• buddhist
• history
• mathematics
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite kind of music is silence (see above). I sometimes read SF, but when I read lately, it's mostly math.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jerzy Grotowski in person. The Experimental Theater Club of Cafe La Mama. A teach-in at Swarthmore College in 1970. Euler's formula, affine spaces, the Poincare disk, the Arena Chapel in Florence, Guggenheim Gallery in Venice.

Teach, Learn, Share

If somebody asks me a question, I'll try to answer it. If I don't know , I'll say so.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Myself, I hope, and my odd way of looking at things.

Somebody asked me once what traveling did for me. "You see people and houses," she said, "what's the point of that?" I was dumbstruck, but now I think I have an answer.

What I like to see is not just people, but how they make communities and live and work or play together. I don't see just houses either, or mountains or trees, but how they make landscapes. I need to be moving to get the whole picture. I like to see mountains turn into deserts, or country turn into cityscape. Usually, I do this best on foot or on a bicycle. I do it like I eat, for the flavor.

I grew up in the Southwest, in a desert environment, but now I seem to love cities more and more.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Thailand, United States

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