CURRENT MISSION

To enjoy life and help others enjoy theirs

ABOUT ME

Last week I uncovered a 400-year-old Hebrew book at the back of a dusty bookcase in Manhattan. That's what I do for a living: locate, buy, and sell rare and special books. Every day, I'm out discovering more buried treasure. Except when I am volunteering at the HousingWorks bookstore cafe. And I can't imagine any career that I'd enjoy as much.

I'm a union organizer turned antiquarian bookseller in Jewish, Left-wing, and quirky books (when it's all 3, it's a home run). An atheist who finds religious thought interesting. A believer in worker's control who has employees.

I also love making music--sometimes around a campfire and sometimes in front of a crowd.

Ethnically, I'm a WASP-Jewish mix. Which means that I sometimes don't know whether to kvetch or to smile and nod and say everything is just fine. OK, so I've been scientifically hybrid to enjoy the blandest food on earth, but, diabolically, I love to cook with lots of ginger, garlic, and bok choy.

I am a Humanist, but I feel a very strong attachment to Jewish history & culture, and that shows up in my work, the holidays I keep, and the organizations I am part of. And I respect whatever you believe

PHILOSOPHY

Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am not able to host right now, but hope to at some point soon. I really believe in people helping each other out and in building ties between people that way. Opening up our homes is a very powerful way to do that

Interests

In the Summer I love riding my 1940s Rudge bicycle & international travel. I also enjoy indie music & films, German cinema especially. I love exploring new cities and old buildings.

I love museums, music, and performances. I just saw a great show at Elizabeth Streb's SLAM, which was really excellent. Swimming at the lake, barbecues, & camping. Making sushi & playing guitar. Scrabble & IKEA

• pets
• culture
• books
• singing
• dining
• cooking
• running
• movies
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• camping
• atheism
• swimming
• history
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

I love Heeb magazine; I read the Onion for my serious news & Alan Furst for fiction--it's the closest thing to climbing into a Bogart movie. Currently into The Impossibility of Sex by Susie Orbach.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was part of a delegation in the 1980s of American students that was on the campus of the University of El Salvador; we marched in a demonstration of 50,000 unionists and members of the popular movement there. Pretty awesome feeling.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'll show you how to cook shrimp and bok choy and would love to sing with you. Can I make pancakes for you from scratch? or tell you something about that old book from your grandmother's library?

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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