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meet "smorgas_of_borg" | the golo profile

 abuse

In this week’s GOLO profile, we meet Mr. Smorgas_of_borg. He’s been a GOLO member for exactly 9 months today, so I guess you could say today is an anniversary of sorts. Smorgas opened up in this interview and shared details about his life that I’m sure will touch us all. Meet, Smorgas:

Angela: What do you do for a living?

Smorgas: I work for the CIA.

Angela: Is it legal to tell me that?

Smorgas: In this case yes. It’s the Culinary Institute of America.

Angela: Oh yeah, you’re a chef aren’t you?

Smorgas: Some people call me that. I planned to be a chef with a private catering business but during my last year at Wake Tech I started volunteering with the Kairos Prison Ministry and realized that I wanted to cook with a purpose other than money.

Angela: How were you able to listen to that calling? Money is enticing.

Smorgas: I was not prepared for it but it felt right. The Potato Salad story (see his previous blog post) did it for me and I knew that it was no longer about me. It’s about what I can do for others.

Angela: How many people do you cook for at a time?

Smorgas: At least 100 people, 3 times per day.

Angela: Good grief! What’s the most fabulous meal you’ve ever made?

Smorgas: A Spinach Strawberry Mandarin Orange Salad. An Ethiopian vegetable dish with eggplant, okra, summer squash, tomatoes and some seasonings. And something called Kota Kapama which is a Greek braised chicken in a tomato cinnamon sauce.

Angela: Oh, this is torture. I didn’t have lunch today.

Smorgas: (Laughs) Oh, and dessert was poached apples in a sugar base with cloves and a sweet white filling, which was to die for.

Angela: I bet. Thanks….for adding that. (Dripping with sarcasm) 

Smorgas: (Laughs more.)  

Angela: Where do you get the ideas for meals?  

Smorgas: My mentor once told me that no recipe is perfect so I take recipes and play with them. And I encourage others to do that.

Angela: Is there anything else you enjoy as much as cooking

Smorgas: Reading. I tend to read a lot.

Angela: What are you reading now?

Smorgas; I just scanned Misquoting Jesus, and Jesus Asked What He Wanted to Know, and Finding God in the Questions.

Angela: Are you inspired by GOLO?

Smorgas: I am, by the people who make me think.

Angela: What will you be doing 10 years from now?

Smorgas: I hope I’m still helping others with whatever skills I have left. Ten years ago I was printing newspapers. I’d climbed up the corporate ladder and was a print manager at a newspaper in South Carolina.

Angela: So you never know what the decade will bring, huh?

Smorgas: No, I never know what the year will bring. This time last year I was a few baby steps out of rehab.

Angela: What did you learn in rehab?

Smorgas: I learned what it means to surrender. It was my third stint in three years. But this time I went in with no attitude, determined to listen instead of run my mouth and I paid attention. I realized that I had routines that needed to be broken in addition to my addiction.

Angela: It sounds like most people could benefit from learning some of that.

Smorgas: It worked because I was open to seriously paying attention.

Angela: You’ve blogged about your son, Blixx (who is a dwarf ) and now you’re telling me about an addiction. It seems as though you like to share your personal life.  

Smorgas: If it can help someone else and they can see that I pulled through it, I did something good. I want people to know I’m there for them. It’s not about me. I’ll be an alcoholic until the day I die but not a practicing one.

Angela: Were you ever selfish?

Smorgas: I was very selfish for a long time. I was career and ego-driven for a long time and it was all about me.

Angela: Tell us something else about you.

Smorgas: I met my wife online in a chat room. I call her Sheba, and she often calls me Inky. We actually met on the CompuServe chat rooms back in 1994. My online name was Inkslinger and I quickly became Inky.

Angela: I didn’t know people were making online love connections back then.

Smorgas: We shared addiction and recovery chat. We later decided to meet in Charlotte for lunch and we both looked at each other and it was love at first sight.

Angela: What a love story!

Smorgas: We got married in December of 1997.

Angela: Do you think you’ll live to be 100? 

Smorgas: If I don’t drink, and I don’t die, I’m sure I’ll make it.

Angela: You’re an interesting fellow.

Smorgas: Oh well, there’s a heck of a lot to me but I’m just a simple guy looking for the light in the darkest situations. If you can’t laugh about life it will drag you down and take everything away from you.

Angela: What’s the one thing you’d like to say to your GOLO pals?

Smorgas: This: Y’all behave now, y’hear!

Angela: Classic! …Thanks, Smorgas.

Smorgas: Have a good weekend.