( last login Apr 8, 2024 ad #8149 )
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Location: |
Tucson, Arizona |
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Age: |
73 years old | |
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Gender: |
male | |
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Ethnicity: |
Caucasian / White | |
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Diet: |
Vegan | |
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Religion: |
Jewish | |
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Alcohol: |
Never | |
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Smokes: |
Never | |
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Body type: |
Athletic/Fit | |
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Height: |
5' 9" (175cm) | |
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Sign: |
Not important | |
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Marital status: |
Single (divorced) | |
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Have Kids: |
None | |
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Want Kids: |
Yours are fine | |
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Education: |
PhD/Post Doc | |
| Income: | undisclosed | |
| Relocation: | Yes | |
| Relationship: | Serious relationship/marriage OR activity partner | |
My description:
Living a principled life of meaning, purpose, simplicity, and growth is my goal. Originally from New Jersey, I went to college (Pomona) and beyond in southern California but have spent most of my adult life in southern Arizona. I find the Sonoran Desert to be magical, and I hike a lot, but you can see beauty in most places if your mind is open to it. The beauty of any place, though, derives mainly from the people who populate it. Character traits I value include "compassion and altruism, placidness, patience, and slowness to anger, and abundant loving-kindness and truthfulness" (Exodus 34:6), as well as reverence for all life. The latter includes wearing a mask, to protect both others and myself, during the pandemic! Practical examples of these traits include: being mindful of the needs of the disabled and the vulnerable (e.g., using larger font sizes!); avoiding ableist language; uplifting others; and giving people the benefit of the doubt. I look for ways to help others, although, whatever I do, I try to avoid self-serving feelings like self-validation and pride.
With my scientific background, I'm mostly a left-brained person, but I try to exercise the right half as well, although I fall a little short of being a polymath. I appreciate the contribution of art to life and especially the creativity behind it, although I like to view it not just for its aesthetic beauty but also as an extension of the person behind it. Jewish ethical values (which are mostly universal in nature) and teachings inform and guide me in all aspects of living -- including diet! I've been vegan for 35 years. I don't engage in social media, which I feel is harmful to society and unbecoming, and try hard not to let technology control my life. I've striven to bring Jewish medicine and the values it represents to the world via the eponymous website. In essence, it's a philosophy that regards medicine as a sacred vocation whose practitioners view their work as a calling, shunning any motivation that smacks of "what's in it for me?" The goal is to make the world safe not for democracy but for medical ethical meritocracy and, thereby, for patients. In that capacity, I also fill the urgent need for a source of evenhanded, authoritative information on vegetarian nutrition.
Finally, two parallel philosophical observations from two great traditions on how to gain the most satisfaction from your food:
"When the food inside ourselves is blessed by our having led an upright life, we feel satiated even after eating just a small amount" (Rashi, rabbinic scholar).
"When you have love, even water alone will be satiating, but, when you're lacking love, there is no food that will satiate you" (Chinese proverb [Youqíng yinshuibao, wúqíng shífànji]).
Headshot is from July, 2023.
Seeking:
I have no shopping list, because I tend to ask not what I want from life but rather what life wants from me, as Viktor Frankl suggested. An ideal relationship is one in which you are thinking about what you can do for the other person (I-Thou), not about what that person can do for you (I-It). Moshe Leib of Sassov related the conversation he overheard between two tipsy villagers: "Do you love me?" "Of course, I do." "No, you don't. If you truly loved me, you would know what I need and why I'm hurting." We must listen attentively not only to what is being said but also to what is not being said. Love means we often know what the other is thinking even when there is silence.
Shared values, good character traits, and a compatible way of life are what matter. As the French say, "Nos différences font notre richesse."
Shifting gears, here are a few bons mots of mine for some comic relief (my humor tends to be dry and ironic, appealing most to Easterners, sometimes misunderstood by others)!
Did you hear about the vegetarian man who told his wife he was thinking of going on a raw food diet? She screamed, "You do that and I'll never cook for you again!" True story.
She: "I follow a plant-based vegan diet." He: "Oh, I thought you were an animal-based vegan."
Do you have to eat tofu if you're a vegetarian? Certainly not. You can also use it if you get into a food fight with meat-eaters. Stinky tofu (chòu dòufu) works best.
How do you complement proteins? Say something like, "Oh, those amino acid chains in your beta-pleated sheet are just too much!"
If you're a new vegetarian, you're probably eager to learn which foods have hidden animal ingredients. Here are some you might not have thought about: eggplant, black-eyed peas, dino kale, dragonfruit, Buddha's hand, blood orange, beefsteak tomato, artichoke hearts, kidney beans, chestnuts, chickpeas, crab apples, catsup, elephant garlic, horseradish, canary melon.
