Name: Benk Location: Oak Ridge, Tennessee Sex: Male Birthday: 1965-07-17 Height: 6' Weight: 210 Types of boats you paddle (eg. kayak, raft, C-1, squirt, etc.): Over thirty different boats in the past six years! Current favorites: GTX, GUS, Super EZ. Also paddle touring kayaks and a Topo Duo which works really well for making the wife cry ;) First Season (year): 1996 Favorite Class: IV Favorite Runs: Watauga, Gauley, Creekin' in the Smokies, and touring the barriers islands of the Atlantic Coast

Personal info: Started life in Northern California, in what was a once the fruit and vegetable breadbasket of the West Coast, Santa Clara Valley. Lived in Tahoe (Donner Summit) for six years, lived in Reno for a couple years, went overseas to the Basque Country (Spain), then on to West Africa (Guine' Bissau). Returned to the USA when I finally understood that people suck no matter where you go!

Spent a few years at U of O in Eugene, Oregon, then meandered out to Virginia Tech for a bunch of years. Couldn't stomach academia, so I got a real job (which really sucked). Met a great gal two years ago, we got married after five months. Picked up two kids, a house, and second income in the transaction! What a life!!

I'm a vegetarian (since 1988), a health nut, drive a Volvo 240 wagon with almost 200k (wife got a Wrangler for her 40th, go figure!), studying to be a Nurse Practicioner. In my previous life I was an underpaid, overeducated 'urbane' planner.

Past sporting interests include skiing, snowboarding, climbing, bike touring, distance hiking.

Current sporting interest: Kayaking! Can there be room for anything else?

What do I aspire to? The ability to to take all things said, heard, or understood in such away that my ego is not threatened. To see the world as it is, to know no want, to feel no need, to be enlightened.

How I plan to achieve a state of enlightenment:
1) Reduce my reliance on tools of convenience, such as cell phone, dishwashers, automobiles, cell phones, televisions, and the internet (no more access as of August 16, 2002).
2) Reuse, recycle, and adapt, all ways to minimize consumption and increase effciency.
3) Increase self-reliance by maintaining my own house, cars, yards, toys. I developed the skills to do this, which saves me loads of money and frustration.
4) Avoid commercialization and activities that are innane and not mind expanding. Life is too short to drink bad wine :)
5) Finally, to achive true enlightenment, I have learned to reflect on my true nature and inner self. By understanding who I am, I have been able to put a finger on those things that lead me astray from "the path of enlightenment". One of those things has been money, the second has been leading a selfish lifestyle, the third is my choice of careers. I have stepped away from money as an object of affection, I have married into a family to refocus my energies on children, and I have changed my career to better utilize my abilities to improve the wellness of older adults with health care problems.

As of August 16, 2002, I will no longer be a part of the on-line community that is BT. Though my posts may occassionally appear, they will be limited to the purchase and sale of kayaking gear. It has been an interesting way to fill my time as a public servant, but it is time to put away such childlike fascinations and embrace the physical world in which I live. Good luck to everyone, may we someday meet in a real place and have a real conversation :)