Born June 4, 1949, Died March 13, 2006. Although from infancy to 20-something,
Richard grew up in Seattle, Wash., he was born in Los Angeles, Calif., and therefore
always considered himself a “California Native.” He went by “Rick” through his
20s and then by “Richard” the rest of his life. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in
History from the University of Washington in 1976 and went on to pursue a varied
career in newspaper writing, copyediting, photography, graphic design, typesetting,
movie critic, acting, teaching, writing, publishing, and website design. But mostly,
Richard was a philosopher and seeker of truth.
In 1990, at the age of 41, Richard embarked upon a 13-year bicycle trek around the
world. He traveled the back roads of Asia, India, Africa, Europe, New Zealand,
Central and South America. He worked at various jobs along the way, including:
teaching English in Taiwan, teaching “Acting for the Camera” in Malaysia,
farmhand in New Zealand, and janitor in Germany. Richard encountered many
cultures and people, and he maintained a detailed journal that he later fashioned into
the book, Dear Brunhilde.
Throughout his travels, Richard developed friendships with hundreds and hundreds
of people on every continent, from all cultures and from all levels of society: from
schoolteachers to doctors to prison inmates. He prided himself on being real and
straightforward to all whom he met and he expected the same in return. He regarded
people on their honesty and their willingness to think for themselves. And it was not
unusual for Richard to abruptly and summarily dismiss someone for being plastic or
dogmatic.
Richard believed that we choose our friends, but family is what it is. In his twenties,
Richard worked closely with his older sister, Judy, as followers of Ayn Rand’s
Objectivism. Judy passed away in 1998, and he dedicated Reciprocia to her as his
“tormented and tormenting mentor.” Richard always remained close to his family
in thought and spirit. He interrupted his travels for two years to help his parents
arrange for care, doctors, and medicines; and to help with their decision to maintain
independent living.
Richard’s greatest passion was for individual liberty as the basis for human
existence and interaction. In 2000, he published his first book, Reciprocia, in which
he put forth his comprehensive ideas regarding “political philosophy, sociology,
culture, ethics, human relations, epistemology, and liberty activism.” Over the
following two years, he published four more books, which expanded on various
ideas in Reciprocia. Richard continued to write articles, pamphlets and comments
on blogs until late 2005, when he returned to S.E. Asia to visit friends and rekindle
his enthusiasm for life.
Richard died of heart-related problems while visiting one of his most-loved places
on earth, Malaysia. One of Richard’s last journal entries is this: “No particular
legacy. It was a good life. Per usual, I didn’t find out what it was ‘all about’ until
way late in the game, but that’s not too rare.”
Richard will be greatly missed by all who knew him … even by those who disagreed
with what he said, wrote and believed.
The essence of Richard’s life is in the song “This is My Life,” performed by Shirley
Bassey. Instead of remembrances, Richard would want everyone to: Think for
Yourself (and trust what you think); Act with Integrity (especially when things are
not going well for you); Treat others with Respect (until they prove themselves
unrespectable); and always, always Question Authority (especially when it appears
benevolent).
Copyright © 2007 William Rieben