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Pocahontas said it
best, "We are all connected to each other - in
a hoop, in a circle that never ends." I first
discovered this when I lived in Mexico during my junior year in
college with the Gonzalez family, then reaffirmed it while
serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania, East
Africa. My travels since then have taken me around the world and I have always been blessed to meet kind, gracious people in every land. I
have lived in Texas, South Dakota, Philadelphia, Hawaii,
Tanzania and Mexico.
I speak pretty good Spanish and Swahili. If you corner me
to name my favorite country I will say Mexico. My favorite city would be
Oaxaca. I love all kinds of food, especially Mexican, Thai, Tex-Mex,
Italian and Chinese. I really feel that I am a Citizen of the World rather than
American. I am comfortable wherever I land.
In 2002 I retired to
Oaxaca, Mexico, which is about
300 miles SW of Mexico City. Don't miss my Oaxaca links above. I haven't had a
moustache all my life but when I shaved it off a couple of years ago after 21
years, I started growing it back immediately. You'll never see me without it.
I have many interests: world travel,
computers, good books,
photography, music (everything except rap), exercise,
working on my home, and spending time with my friends, family and
my pets (Luca and Sombra, my dogs, and Cinco and Blanquito, my cats). I have too much education, probably trying to compensate for
flunking out of the University of Texas my junior year. It was a real wakeup
call for me and I went on to attend six colleges (U. of Texas, U. of Hawaii, U. of
N. Colorado, Hawaii Pacific U., Syracuse U., & Monterrey Mexico Institute of
Technology) and earned three degrees. On a dare, I got into Mensa but decided
the people there were not my type. Living in Hawaii for 19 years, I had some incredible jobs. I
was Executive Director of the Hawaiian Fashion Guild and I taught at
Hawaii Pacific
University in Honolulu for 12 years
and served as Acting Dean of the Travel Industry Management Program. I
left Hawaii in 1990 after the cost of living became unbearable and most of my
friends and students had left. Finally in 1994, I landed a job with
Dell Computers in Austin, Texas, which forever changed my life. I rode the dot-com bust down
but my stocks returned strong enough for me to retire early.
I am a third generation Texan although I
have lived
away from the Lone Star State for many years. My grandparents' hotel where I
grew up is now a museum and I say you know you are old when your home is a museum
and you're not President.
I have
been fortunate to travel around the world. Australia is the only continent I
haven't visited yet.
The thing of which I am most proud in my life is my daughter, Alexis, whom I raised as a single parent. She works for CBS in Boston where she graduated from Boston University. We are best friends and I truly feel blessed to have shared the life of such a remarkable person. She has my love for travel and feels that a jet plane is public transportation.
I have been active in my church
but I enjoy attending Buddhist ceremonies, Catholic services, and other
religious gatherings. My faith has carried me through difficult times and
I know there is a power greater than I am. In Oaxaca, I often stop and meditate at the Church of Santo Domingo.
I have been in Saint Peter's Cathedral in
Rome but I prefer Santo Domingo.
In addition to nurturing my mind and spirit, I try to keep my body in good shape by working out. That requires more effort every year, if not everyday, especially with the excellent Oaxacan cooking.
I am very handy with tools and computers but I cannot cook. I think I have a fear that if I ever get hooked on cooking I will end up looking like James Beard or Dom De Luis. I do have an eating disorder though: if you put food in front of me I will eat it. I was Dining Editor for Hawaii Airlines in-flight magazine for a year and learned to appreciate good cuisine.
| Click on the links above to see photos of Mexico and My World |
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