| Hi Friends!
Many of you know me well,and many of you have not met me yet. I do hope to meet you someday!
I think that we ought to get to know one another, especially if you are going to consider me as a friend who's experience you can trust. Here is a brief rundown of WHO I am and WHY I love to travel, particularly within Aruba the West Indies, and Queenstown, New Zealand, where I reside, as well as to, Hawaii and Las Vegas, and many other places.
WHY SHOULD YOU SAY HELLO?
Probably because you were directed to this website by friends or family members who are among the thousands of people that I have spoken to in Aruba or Hawaii where I lived and previously worked for my current employer and most of 2007 in the beautiful resort island of St Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean. St Kitts and Nevis, its sister island formed an independent federation which was part of the British West Indies until 1983.
I was born in New York City in the 1950s to hard working first generation Jewish-Americans. My Dad was the first person in our family's history to graduate College. He put himself through Columbia University and became a Pharmacist by the age of 21. He married his high school sweetheart, Peggy, and moved us to Albany, New York while I was still a young lad-his idea being to raise a family in a safer, more secure environment than in the biggest of cities.
Unfortunately,he didn't live long enough to see his three sons grow up and have happy, healthy families of their own. He was stricken with brain cancer and passed away while in the prime of his life.
The oldest of three brothers, I was probably both a good and bad influence on my siblings, in that I tried to guide them but didn't always set the best example. I always had a strong desire to get out and explore the world first hand, and was a restless and avid world traveler by my late teens.
By the time I reached 28 years of age, I had already been to over 35 of the world's countries, many of them wild exotic places within the USA like Hawaii, but also far, far away like Laos, India, Indonesia and Aruba.
The South Island of New Zealand, Hawaii and the Caribbean stood out as favorite spots.
I had earned my first Bachelor's degree (Psychology) at the University of Arizona, Tucson, by 1972, and have been drawn to desert landscapes ever since. Aruba, first visited in 1978, was magic to me because it had great beaches, a passion of mine, coupled with a stark, arid, desert landscape.
Hawaii stood out because it had great beaches coupled with the ALOHA SPIRIT. The Hawaiian people as well as the peoples of the Caribbean are some of the most gracious and compassionate on the planet.
Since 1974, after deciding to dedicate my life to natural healing methods, I was living in Los Angeles and San Diego California, and went on to Graduate school to obtain a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology (1978) and my Doctorate in Chiropractic(1979).
I still traveled for two beach vacations every year--- to Aruba and to the South Pacific, Hawaii.
In 1984, I brought my brother Jeff Lesker with me to Aruba, and he lived there for years and years--- first as General Manager of the Wyndham Resort, and then (through Jan, 2006) as the General Manager of the Radisson Aruba Resort and Casino, everybody's hands down favorite on the Hotel Scene in Aruba. Jeff is also Vice President of Carlson Resorts, The Americas, (the parent company of Radisson) and is currently opening a new hotel for Radisson in the French Caribbean in St. Martin, opening inSEPTEMBER 2008.
I lived on Aruba, O'ahu and St Kitts from 2003 until Dec 2007. St Kitts is a 20 minute small plane ride over to my brother's island St Martin, so we were quite fortunate to have each other close by! In the 90's I lived in Queenstown, New Zealand for the great skiing and still return there often!
My youngest brother Michael Lesker, a gifted and very talented Television and Entertainment Industry producer and writer with a long career at HBO as their Director of Performance and Learning and now with the British -based company Mind Gym has also chosen to regularly frequent the Caribbean and, as has my 79 year old Mom (she never remarried after Dad's passing).
Michael has several global entrepreneurial ventures which have attracted international acclaim Please check out his free subscription newsletter, which for serious cinema enthusiasts has proven to be a " can't-live-without" tool !! www.dvddossier.com
I was, and still am, a Doctor of Chiropractic, with 25 years experience and a very successful track record operating clinics in California,and working in New Zealand and Spain as well.
You can find my license history online by looking at the State Board of California's website at: www.chiro.ca.gov. and inputing my last name LESKER under "License Search"
I personally treated over 8000 individuals and had a great lifestyle because of my enthusiasm for helping people feel better and enjoy their lives more.
One of the things I noticed over the years was that people, Americans in particular, suffered with aches and pains, were tired, and cranky-- MAINLY because they allowed themselves to be stressed-out and didn't relax or vacation enough.
I filed away that very important tidbit, never dreaming it would be central to the theme of my current life's philosophy.
I went through a lot of soul-searching and philosophical personal changes (as many of us do) especially approaching age 50, and decided to try out an early retirement.
Because of my love of travel (106 countries now, and counting) and the fact that I was a (self proclaimed) expert in many aspects of modern travel, I decided to settle in Aruba (2003) for an early retirement, and use Aruba as a great jumping off point for my continuous world travels.
After getting bored out of my mind with my so-called retirement, I quickly went back to work doing what I best love, combining my travel experience and knowledge with my new work in the travel, real estate and vacation industries-
The last four years have taken me first to Aruba, then Hawaii, to St Kitts,and now back to Aruba to work and enjoy life both at work and at play.Aaron Harlan Lesker, son #2, was born on Feb 5th 2008. My wife Clevey and I are residing in Tucson until he is a few months old so I can get back to work- I am still working full time, but mostly on the phone and computer.
I can honestly say people who feel they deserve the best in life and can afford to vacation have better, more rewarding lives on many levels because they UPGRADE their lifestyles where it matters (in my humble opinion) the most:
not in fancy cars or jewelry, not in designer clothes or electronic gizmos, but in precious memories created with their loved ones.
I hope I can help you on your road to more peace of mind and happiness and FUN, by encouraging you to get happily involved with the exciting and relaxing world that making a commitment to traveling more with your loved ones can bring you. I can advise you about places all over the world as I've probably been there. Please contact me if you need any help or advice.
Love and Happy Traveling,
Dr. Gary Lesker
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