Rick is passionate about making sure we and our children, and their children’s children, will have a country Of, By and For We-the-People with a government that is functional, compassionate and responsive to the needs of the 99% too. He loves America and is standing up for it and to make planet Earth be a healthy and nurturing home for generations of humans and fellow creatures to come. He also believes all children should have PlayFun, peace/education and caring adults of integrity.
He grew up in Richfield, a Minneapolis, MN suburb with dozens of kids in the neighborhood – his first taste of community – where children played together without the need for constant supervision. He now provides giant bubble-making fun & games for kids and adults too e.g. at public events and parks, during rally speeches where children may otherwise be bored. The games are fun and create connections and trust.
In addition to big bubble fun here’s a “soft-war” game called Knock Your Socks Off.
Rick was a preschool teacher for seven years where he brought in a Peace Curriculum – hey, if 5 year olds can do Conflict Resolution, so can adults!
He is a champion for children, PlayFun, Mother Earth and healthy community. The children are some of his preschool group in a puppy pile. He was a leader in a mentoring program for teen boys and is a founding member of a cohousing community where fifteen families built a neighborhood together.
He is inspired by his experience of 500,000 marchers (in the NYC 2014 People’s Climate March) where everyone all-at-once stopped marching at 12:58 PM for a couple minutes of silence. We were empowered, we were united, we were silent and we were completely Peaceful. It was sweet and spine-tingling too.
Rick is committed to the nonviolent ways of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Jesus, and to learning from today’s leaders including: the Parkland students (sensible gun laws); Rev. Wm. Barber II (Moral Mondays and today’s re-booted Poor People’s Campaign); West Point graduate and Iraq veteran Paul K. Chappelle (Peace Literacy & The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation); Black Lives Matter; and Indians he has met through his involvement in the ManKind Project together with the Woman Within sister community.
Rick also does photography and is considered to be a communitarian by some and a challenge to others, especially those who lack integrity when their words do not match their actions. His mission statement is: “To create joyful community for myself and others through PlayFun, peace/education and integrity”.
He also shares jokes wherever he goes often giving out a sheet of G-rated humor that he has collected. Get a copy from the Free Resources sidebar.