Jim Haynes was both an icon and a relic of the Swinging Sixties, an American in Paris who was famous for inviting hundreds of thousands of strangers to dinner at his home. He died this month.
There would be a buzz in the air, as people of various nationalities - locals, immigrants, travellers - milled around the small, open-plan space. A pot of hearty food bubbled on the hob and servings would be dished out on to a trestle table, so you could help yourself and continue to mingle. It was for good reason that Jim was nicknamed the "godfather of social networking". He led the way in connecting strangers, long before we outsourced it all to Silicon Valley.
I had written a newspaper article from Barcelona - not the one in Spain but the one on the coast of Venezuela - and it had brought back memories for him. His father worked in the oil business and had moved the family there when Jim was in his early teens., where locals opened their homes to strangers for free around the world. This was before AirBnB worked out how to monetise the idea, and the concept of non-commercial cultural exchange was right up Jim's street.
Each person was filed under the town where they lived, followed by two or three lines, including their address, date of birth, phone number and hobbies. Through a combination of Google and snail-mail, I managed to get hold of several of them. Most had all known Jim either personally or through friends of friends. All had fond memories of the project and all were still willing to act as local guides to show me around.
Over the years, the authorities often wondered what was going on at Jim's place. Not least during the period when he started issuing fake passports. It was back in the 1970s, after he had caught wind of an American traveller, who, 20 years before, had renounced his American citizenship and created his own "world passport".
"I often had to stop him signing things. Sometimes he didn't even read them," says Jesper, his son, who was born during Jim's marriage to Viveka Reuterskiold in the 1960s.Jesper grew up Stockholm after they separated, but visited Paris every summer from the age of 10.
Wow! Louisiana to Paris, France.
I hope the world brought a bottle of wine.
I thought only a few paragraphs. Read it twice to make sure I got all the facts. An adventurer, a nomad and the best guest/host all rolled up into one. Definitely lived life to the fullest. Could be 1st to host dinner from the other side.
What an absolute legend. If only more people were like him. Rip Jim.
WorldwideSundayExpo 주님의 도움 없이 그리스도를 따를 수 없습니다.
WorldwideSundayExpo 전도서 12:13 일의 결국을 다 들었으니 하나님을 경외하고 그 명령을 지킬지어다 이것이 사람의 본분이니라
If you don't pay attention to The LORD and to righteousness and Holiness, you will have to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. 당신이 주님, 의로움과 거룩함에 주목하지 않으면 백보좌 심판대 앞에 서게 될 것입니다. WorldwideSundayExpo
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