I have been hosting backpackers since 2008. I have a very difficult time finding hosts when I travel so now I only accept Couchsurfers who can host me if I plan to travel to their country.

I am inundated with requests in Santa Monica so I grow my network where I plan to travel. My apartment is tiny and there is a small single bed. I am willing to give up my bedroom for a couple if I need a couch or floor space if I travel to their country.

POLITICS and PHILOSOPHY
Neo-Marxist Revisionist (Marxism for the 21st century) utopian, eco-socialist, secular humanist.

I am a devout atheist. I believe in the Big Band/Big Crunch, especially now that the James Webb telescope has discovered galaxies from other Universes older than our baby universe.

I suspect there are evolved beings so far beyond humanity that we cannot perceive or comprehend them. Those who sense them peripherally often revere them as spiritual deities.

I was an Army brat and grew up on various Army bases in Japan, Oregon, Texas, Hawaii and Washington State. I was a flight attendant, supervisor and manager so traveling is in my blood.

I'm a political radical, science fiction fan and futurist thinker waiting for the post human, technological singularity (if I live long enough)...

As a teenager I was a news paperboy, mowed lawns, shoveled snow, and had chores at home. I played woodwinds in The Swingteens during high school.

I served in Vietnam, and have had several careers; teacher, parole agent, and flight attendant.

The career I loved the most was as an international flight attendant, supervisor and manager for supplemental (unscheduled) charter airlines. I traveled all over the world transporting passengers to exotic locations, prisoner flights, emergency disaster relief, evacuating refugees from war zones, transporting US troops and United Nations Peacekeepers.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As a young hippie, long before the internet, I traveled the world looking for adventure, crashing wherever I found space; Joanne Woodward's abandoned sailboat in Tahiti, an old windmill in the Netherlands, a lighthouse in Spain, a boatel in Amsterdam, a fishing boat on the Ganges, caves in the Mediterranean. I met Joni Mitchell in 1969 in Matala, Crete, where there was a community of hippies living in caves.

The 60s to the 80s were a golden age. I met many kindred souls who would flash the peace sign when they saw my long hair and offer me a place to "crash". It was the Brotherhood of the Road.

Couch surfing is a way for me to pay it forward. I give priority to anyone who has, or will host me.

I also have 40 acres of rugged land in Shasta County near French Gulch and Whiskeytown, not far from Sutter's Mill where gold was first discovered in California. My Green Party Eco-warrior friends are reconnoitering the property to design an intentional community, living off the grid with earth sheltered housing. Anyone interested can contact me to camp on my property as long as they wish. It's difficult to access.

COUCH SURFING EXPERIENCE

Most of my guests have been wonderful people; honest, mature, responsible individuals and have received positive references.

I've had a few bad experiences, one woman who claimed to be a Buddhist monk, and was probably homeless demanded I pick her up and showed up on my doorstep with terrible hygiene. Some couchsurfer see something they like and figure I won't miss or I have more than I need. Please, if you need something, ask first. I have a lot of clothes and other items couchsurfers left behind, so feel free to ask if you like a t-shirt, need a warm jacket and I will most likely give it to you; I have more than I need.

The worst experience ever was a persistent German woman with no money and no references. She showed up on my doorstep at night. I said she could stay for one night and I would provide her with a reference to find another host. She wouldn't leave. She was hungry so I fed her and loaned her my bus pass, which she never returned. She became extremely hostile when I told her I had other couch surfers arriving. She finally left after robbing me of my rent money while I was taking a shower. I reported her to couchsurfer staff. Another couchsurfer, from Italy, stole my passport wallet; she is also no longer on couch surfing.

A young homeless girl who had no references, was penniless begged to stay for one night. Her parents had kicked her out and she was posing nude on the internet. I referred her to local resources for housing and other social services. She is now attending Santa Monica College and back on her feet.

I am extremely careful who I host now, but occasionally someone will pilfer small items they think I won't miss. If you see something you admire, tell me and I will most likely offer it to you. Other than those few aberrations I have had wonderful couchsurfers who always receive an excellent reference.

Interests

My sports are baseball, body surfing, skiing and boxing. I cycled New Zealand and ran my last full marathon at age 50. I'll be 80 in 2025 and am still going strong.

I have a deluxe Scrabble board; couch surfers for whom English is not their native tongue can use their phone to pick words.

I am a voracious reader and traveler. I travel to Green Party, science fiction and world fantasy conventions. Sometimes I use my flight attendant travel benefits to bring a companion, but I usually travel alone or with a couchsurfer who has or will host me

Couchsurfers usually offer to clean or cook; I don't ask or expect. I will not accept money to stay longer so please do not offer. I often make an American breakfast for my guests; oatmeal, pancakes with bacon and eggs or plain cereal. I also make burritos, my famous pasta; salads and plant based hot dogs for vegans.

I try to practice a minimalist lifestyle and maintain a low carbon footprint. I am an anti-establishmentarian, eco-warrior, climate environmentalist, internet activist and political activist.

• politics
• traveling
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• skiing
• baseball
• science
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Cli-Fi, Cyber punk, Steampunk, hi-tech cutting-edge, near future hard science fiction, urban fantasy, alternate history and speculative fiction in general.

Sapiens and Homo Deus, Green Earth and The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Earth and Existence by David Brin. The Genius Plague by David Walton, Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, etc. I have been a beta reader for David Brin and David Walton, and was acknowledged in "The Genius Plague".

Movies: Birdy, Baghdad Café, 2001, Alien, Bladerunner; more listed on my Facebook page.

Classical music, Bebop, Dixieland, Reggae, Soul, Blues, Rock, Punk, Bluegrass and some Rap.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 1963, as a young Navy Seaman based at Anacostia Naval Air Station outside of Washington DC, my friend, John Evans and I went AWOL to attend the Poor Peoples March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with Martin Luther King.

We were confined to base and told there would be a race riot; it was the most peaceful demonstration I have ever been to. It opened my eyes to racism and inequality in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. America still has a long way to go to end bigotry and the class struggle.

After the Navy I would hitchhike to rock concerts and demonstrations all over the country; Kent State, the Battle in Seattle, Million Mom March, and every anti-Vietnam moratorium.

I toured New Zealand on a bicycle in 1990 and 1995. I have backpacked in Europe, Southeast Asia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and Tahiti. I often crashed on floors, sleeping outside in my bivouac sac wherever I ended up at night.

I was a Peacekeeper for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention in August 2016 and stayed in the basement of the Arch Memorial Church with other activists. I was very disappointed when Bernie sold out and supported Hillary Clinton and when he rolled over again when Obama rigged the primaries for Biden in 2020. That was when I realized Bernie, AOC and the fraud squad, were the controlled opposition.

Teach, Learn, Share

I often mentor as well as learn from young couch surfers. We share tips on how to travel on a low budget. Everyone is free to peruse my collection of Lonely Planet and other travel books.

My Facebook page was hacked; I lost all my data and travel photos since 2006 and I lost my Yahoo data from 1995. If anyone can recover my data, you are guaranteed a couch for a month.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have hosted many couch surfers since 2008, most were responsible and considerate. I usually feed them or they cook for themselves if they have a special diet. I am inundated with requests I have to turn down, but I give priority to couch surfers who have hosted me. I almost always give my couchsurfers a glowing reference.

I have been hosted in Spokane, San Jose, Helsinki, Belgium, Norway, Glasgow Finland, Dublin, Bakersfield, Tenerife, and in Salt Lake City for the Annual National Meeting with Jill Stein.

Couchsurfing isn't the same since it became corporate. It used to be free after you hosted three Couchsurfers. Now there is no incentive to be a host so most people let their membership lapse if they're not traveling.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Australia, Chad, England, France, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chad, Egypt, England, France, India, Japan, Morocco, Norway, United States