A Bio                                                   

It is not clear if I am finding ideas or if they are finding me. A bio can help.

 

Me (left) visiting my friend Vern in Beaufort, NC as we pose as thinkers (photo - Mary Scott; Feb 2001)

The social specs: 69, white, male, divorced U.S. American earning approximately $70k/yr.

The broad stroke: A Georgian (US, Albany) who came of age in the Sixties and has been a dreamer/seeker ever since.

Name:  Jake Patrick Keenan

Education includes stints at: U. of Notre Dame ('64-'69), MIT ('76-'77; physics), U Mass Boston ('76-'77; physics), Freie Universität in Berlin ('80-'82; abstract mathematics), California Institute of Integral Studies ('82-'89, intermittent; Asian studies & psychology). Degree only at the first (BA in liberal arts with hybrid major) while others were either as special student or auditor.

Varied career includes: construction, Peace Corps, farming, interpreting, substitute teaching, sailing (in illicit trade), video recording business, secretarial work, construction scheduling consulting, maintenance work, preschool teacher, and now construction project scheduler.

Range: mostly the continental US especially South Georgia/North Florida, New England/Boston, San Francisco/Northern California and South Florida but also extended travel in some 80 countries for work, study, sports, cultural growth, and language learning.  Learned French (France, West Africa and French Guiana), Spanish (Andalusia region of Spain, Mexico and other Latin countries), German (Berlin) as well as four other languages (Russian, Chinese, Kanembou, Japanese). The first three were learned well enough to have employment in them while the last four have now all but slipped away. But like the Russian proverb "Skolko yazik, tolko chelovek," (as many languages [one speaks], so many [times is one a] persons). I get the itch to go exercise each of those selves in the first five languages regularly.

Physically: 5'10" and a reformed 175 lbs with great, great joy in dancing, a love of most all water sports, indulgence in light team sports only now, mild myopia and lucky good health.

My relationships: 4 siblings who are still happily very close of which I am the oldest, amazingly wonderful and yet conservative parents, a cherished extended family, many good friends all unfortunately scattered, no kids (I wish!  But then this quest would never have happened), several ex-lovers who bring a combination of friendship, including my ex-wife, Pamela.

Wedding photo -- April 2005 in Big Sur, California with friends and families below:

My passion: is felt most intensely around social and communal energies that comes out especially as interests in cultural/political issues and in the desire for community.  Dance and play bring me to edge of ecstasy, but I can get too excitable at times such as when I tried twice to start 'revolutions' to the quick rebuff of the governments involved (Cameroun 1970 and Taiwan 1977).  Not only have the positive and negative intricacies of a number of therapies become important to me but so has a studied interest in slow and fast speeds of interaction with others.  I am fascinated of the point that Martin Buber described in I and Thou as "On the far side of the subjective, on this side of the objective, on the narrow ridge, where I and Thou meet, there is the realm of 'between.'" Permaculture farming also gets me excited especially when added to the community aspect.

Scoconut, Patricia and myself at Earthaven Ecovillage, N. Carolina 2015

Dependencies:  the advantages of a first world consumer, my friends, being used to be among those at the top of the food chain most of the time and many more.

Responsibilities:  Very few - myself to be all that I can be, paying taxes, reciprocal help among extended family and close friends which I usually manage to keep on a don't-count-on-me-but-let-me-surprise-you basis, a curious sense of patriotism as well as a debt to non US-Americans and their fair criticisms born of my years abroad resulting in my need to span real loyalties on both sides, and to a hopeful faith that life is good.

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