CURRENT MISSION

A friend of mine made me realize the importance of living in the "present." That's my goal and my pursuit.

ABOUT ME

I grew up in a little town among the wheat fields of Kansas. Practiced law in Kansas City and then moved to California in 1992. I divide my time between San Jose and Los Angeles (where I have a small film production company with two partners). I'm usually in San Jose for two to three weeks each month.

PHILOSOPHY

One day I was struck by the fact that neither Bill Gates, Donald Trump nor the King of Saudi Arabia with all of their wealth, power and influence can have a better Cheez-It cracker than you and I can purchase at our local 7-11 store. In fact, we are all blessed with a great number of assets and opportunities that do not hinge upon how much we have or who we know. There are sights, sounds and experiences all around us that are ours for the having and the quality of our friendships depends not on how much we pay, but rather, on how much we give of ourselves.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I value friendships above almost everything else in the world and I have come to realize that the best things in my life have always come through serendipity. When I learned of the CS Project it truly resonated with my own philosophies. One of the few ways we can truly make a significant difference in our world is to support the development of positive communities of good people and to foster the creation of friendships and understanding.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Way back in my college days my circle of friends made a vow that our couches (and floors) would always be open to each other without notice and without questions asked. We would often show up on each other's doorsteps at 3 a.m. deliberately not calling ahead simply to exercise the vow.

Interests

Food, Cooking, Writing, Painting, Composing, Performing

• writing
• film making
• waltz
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• painting
• piano
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Piano; Metropolis; Days of Heaven; The Tree of Life
Music: Aime Miriello; Satelite; Miggs; Parachute; Love Bugs
Recent Books: Inside Scientology; In the Heart of the Sea; Grand Obsession; Hitch-22;

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

On December 8, 1980 I came home to my little house in Kansas City early one evening and fixed myself a scotch and sat down at the piano to noodle on some songs I had been working on. At about 10 p.m. a strange unsettling feeling came over me and a small melody popped into my head. It was set to a waltz tempo and was fully formed -- unusual for me as my songwriting approach is tedious and difficult. I played that melody in countless variations all night long without any sleep. At 6:30 the morning paper hit my door (yeah, those were the days when you had newspapers delivered)and I was stunned to learn that John Lennon died at 10 p.m. my time the night before. The piece I named Lennon's Waltz has been special to me ever since.

Teach, Learn, Share

As part of a small independent film production company I've learned a great deal about "the biz." There is no other craft I know of that is comparable to the demands of filmmaking in terms of requiring prodigious talent, skill, organization and above all - cooperation. I can share my experiences and knowledge as part of the underbelly of Hollywood.

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