Take Me To The River!

When speaking with you about his fleeting local celebrity status during his long, solo kayak treks, Richard is quick to point out that he saw himself as a regular Joe, out for a paddle with a twist.

Of course, there is very little that is regular, or normal about the man behind the paddle and it is these differences that act as the catalyst behind his drive and passion for his later-in-life love affair with paddling.

It takes a certain stubborness strength of determination to see a plan through to the bitter end, especially if the rewards are more personal than public. Monday-morning quarterbacks continue to dissect his motives and process; weighing and judging whatever they find against their own values, or imaginings of what they would have done…

People may talk, but Richard sets out to do it.  Win or lose, he is determined to make it happen, not just try.

Richard’s first experience kayaking was a 512 mile solo trek in cold weather.  He started that trek when he was 57 years old.  Since then, he’s done another long trek down the Etowah River and paddled down thousands of miles in regional rivers.

Townspeople, following the path of his journey through their area, would wait for him along the route (some with hand-held signs), just to wave at him as he passed by.  Some of them would remark, in their conversations with him, that they had lived along the river all of their lives and wished that they had the courage to do what Richard was doing; that Richard must be above average in a way that somehow raised the bar beyond their reach.

Richard disagrees. He was just a guy out paddling.  A ‘man on a boyscout trip’ he has said. With the right plan and the capacity to execute it, almost all of us could retrace his journeys -but aye, there’s the rub!

If Richard inspires someone to take the plunge start on a journey of their own, in their own way, then I think that this is a good thing.  Personal responsibility.  Ownership. People are too easily talked out of their trees from where they map out their life’s boundaries.  “Come down from there!” the officious chide.  “There is risk!” etc.  Yes there is risk.  Risk if you do, risk if you don’t.  Richard takes that little light o’ his and starts signal fires.

Years later, a kayak instructor certification held some merit (Richard has also been a PADI Scuba Diver Instructor), but his real world paddling experience was a poor fit against theory.  Some people weren’t made from a mold so it can be difficult for those seeking shelter in theory and regulations to permit exceptions to the rule! Their cries of ‘Heresy!’ fill classrooms and committee meetings as they wish to reinvent this man in their image.

While the physical challenges of these early solo treks do give cause for pause (hypothermia!); it was the community connections that he sparked along the way that struck me as his most significant accomplishment.  My scales aren’t calibrated for athletic achievement (a completely self-serving ego-stroke IMHO), but they do light up for community empowerment.  People you know doing things in places you remember.  No titles; steering committees; six-figure salaries at Not For Profit organizations; ponzi-like relationships between organizations etc.  Just real people being

“the change [they] wish to see in the world” -Mahatma Ghandi.

One person can do much.  The depth of Richard’s local connection and my own continuing drive to encourage similar stewardship in those around us, resulted in my commitment to developing this website, amongst others,  as a paddling community resource.  I hope to highlight Richard’s quiet work to allow others to leverage this timely resource.

They say that you should never buy wine whilst on vacation in wine country as your perceptions may be romanticized by the environment -but that’s where the soul of the wine is.  Similarly, the church-folk will tell you that sometimes, you’ve just got to go down to the river…so I did.

Richard and I were chatting about the importance of community outreach and stewardship.  We were having this chat in our kayaks on the Alabama River, 2 days downstream from the Georgia border. Richard was pointing out parcels of land and farms where he had met the owners.  He knew all of their names and the particulars of the area.  This guy, whose farm we were passing, for example, would not only host +50 paddlers, he’d probably feed them too.  This guy on the other side would permit overnight camping (but only for Richard!) etc.  Every now and then, Richard would deposit a calling card in a water pump switch housing, or other spot, so that the owner would know that his kayaking buddy had been through the area.  Quaint, I thought -but I the internet’s a better bullhorn!  This one guy can do much for paddlers in the SE USA.  He already does more for regional paddlers than anyone else I’ve met…

Community building and outreach is not only good for paddling, it’s good for Richard.  He does get grumpy if he’s not paddling so let’s at least keep him typing about paddling! If you have a project or trip in mind, shoot Richard an email.  He’d love to hear from you.