CURRENT MISSION

Seeking balance in my life.

ABOUT ME

Talks a lot, listens well. Intelligent, sensitive. Well read, well balanced, thoughtful. Deeply concerned about social justice issues, empowering women, equality of opportunity. I abhor tribalism and fundamentalism, though I am an atheist. Understands the world from a geopolitical perspective which takes into account history, geography, economics and politics of a country and region. Cathy says "Jake is a very curious guy. He loves to meet and engage with people from different cultural backgrounds. He is a serious thinker, especially about world political, economical and environmental issues. He is scrappy but has a very kind heart and loving nature. His favourite word is obfuscate, so don't."

Interests

I'm a hands-on retailer running my own store so when people come in, I engage... in the busy summer season, I have 4 or 5 great conversations during the course of the day on varying topics that nurture my soul and feed my curiosity. The topics range from religiosity to political hot-spots of the day to women's rights to educational issues... and anything of significance to whomever wishes to discuss... I have no boss to pull me away so I have fun everyday... It's stimulating and challenging and I have many fine folks coming by to catch up. Of course they often buy what I sell as I've been going for 40 years and now working on third generation of humanity! I've been a dedicated Kiva proselytizer for 4 years now helping hundreds of mostly women's groups with a hand up out of poverty. I have lots more to say... but that's enough for now.

• culture
• books
• running
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• atheism
• economics
• geography
• history

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My most meaningful travel memory was in 1984, in Mumbai. I am university educated, saw films about life in India, studied the cultures and thought I knew what to expect... but I was absolutely "culture shocked" when I came upon a family of 5, happily living in a storm sewer that was placed along the roadside. This family had occupied this 5 foot high by 5 foot wide concrete mass that served as their home. They had been living there for months as the giant pipe was just laying there seemingly being readied to be used at some future date... until then, this family at least had some semblance of shelter... and grateful for it! To watch the kids play and the joy the was self-evident made me really feel the stark differences between my life and theirs. Theirs was simple... mine was overly complicated. The simple joy that family had was available to me but needed to be discovered. I felt out of balance with the wealth that a rich, white bastard like me comes from as I confronted that abject poverty that befell that family of 5, through no fault of their own. The privilege of birth and the mere chance to whom and where I was born, juxtaposed to the plight of that family of 5 has haunted me ever since, even shaped me into who I am to this day.

Every trip and most deep conversations take on a life of their own... as the adventure begins and life in earnest takes hold as its deeply sought meaning unfolds... it's about relationships and building emotional connections built on life experiences that makes the ordinary in fact extraordinary.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a very deep and varied background emanating from my parent's background through to and including me. I could write a book!

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada