I believe I am on a pilgrimage. I meet people along the way, sleep in strange places, and become who I am shaped by these experiences.
The Pine Barrens to NYC - I grew up in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey and enjoyed the ocean along Long Beach Island. I moved to New York to attend college, a transformative experience I would trade for nothing. There I met people from all walks of life – paupers, rich men, and slaves. Working with the homeless in one of the largest cities on the planet was a transformative experience, allowing me to begin to understand the complex interrelationship between the economy, government, the private sector and culture.
After New York I spent six months in Southeastern Ohio researching emergency food programs talking to thousands of people seeking emergency food assistance. I will never forget a person I met there, they’ve changed my perspective forever.
Traveling the Globe – I’ve been fortunate to travel a good piece of the globe. My first trip was to Rota, a small city on the southwestern coast of Spain. After college, I returned to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago, a 400+ mile hike across the north of Spain. I’ve also been able to visit Greece, Brasil, France, Mexico, England, Jamaica and Maui. I’ve spent a good chunk of time working on Nantucket, where I’ll have a house soon.
Washington, DC to the People’s Republic of Boulder – I spent seven years in Washington, DC and was there during the September 11th attacks. The city’s not yet fully recovered psychologically and after a few years, I found it a drain. I met my beautiful wife in graduate school and when we got married we moved to Colorado to start our family. Boulder, Colorado is my favorite city in America. The people, landscape, climate, and food scene cannot be beat. I live with and love my wonderful wife Olga and beautiful daughter Evangeline. I had a dog named Kirby, but we recently had to give him up.
When I’m not spending time with the fam or working, I distract myself with:
- Running – I’ve run about a half dozen marathons. It would be nice to take 13 minutes off of my time and qualify for Boston.
- Playing the Banjo – I stink, but enjoy playing three or so songs on my Deering Good Time.
- Making Food From Scratch – Since moving to Colorado, I’ve taken to roasting my own coffee, baking my own bread and barbecuing a lot. I’d love to have enough space for chickens and bees.
