The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton
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Richard Walton The Selected E-Mail Correspondences of Richard Walton Table of Contents Part I Table of Contents i Introduction/Acknowledgements ii Biography of Co-Editors iv Biography of Richard Walton v Illustrations viii Part II Baseball 1 Boxing 6 Catching up 8 Compassion 11 Education 13 Favorite Hang Outs 21 Homelessness 31 Humor 34 Illness 36 Politics 47 Printed Books 64 Religion-on Gods 65 Travel 66 Travel photos 69 Weather 74 Women’s Rights 75 Part III Appendix A: Letter of Solicitation 76 Appendix B: Instructions on How to Construct a Simple E-Book 77 Appendix C: Commendation from Senator Whitehouse 78 Appendix D: Articles by Columnist Herb Weiss 79 Appendix F: Articles by Columnist Bob Kerr 88 Appendix G: Afterword by Herb Weiss 89 i Part I: Introduction and Acknowledgements January 24, 2013 Herb Weiss and I are pleased to present you with this volume of some of the best of Richard Walton's unpublished writings. This collection does not claim to include all of his best, but simply some of the best emailed correspondence submitted by his friends and family for consideration. Richard understood early on the power of social media. He began emailing and connecting friends electronically in the early 1990s and wrote thousands of correspondences on topics ranging from serious social causes to entertaining observations about people and events. Over centuries the correspondence of great men has been published and studied after their deaths. As a college student, I remember reading the letters of Boswell and poring over the footnotes, so I could understand the context of England in his day. This volume of the unpublished best of Richard Walton's writing is a modern version: Richard tapped out his correspondence electronically to a friend, or maybe a whole network of friends, depending on the topic. Richard traveled worldwide, interviewed great political figures and social advocates, and in his own modest (sometimes self-deprecating) way made the groups and individuals he touched stronger and better. Just like Boswell, Richard's writings reflect not only his thoughts but also the political and social context in which he wrote. In a letter to entering Brown students, Richard, who was an alumnus of Brown University, claimed not to be a successful man. He may not have been a successful man when judged in economic terms, but he was certainly successful in moving the needle on current social topics and in influencing literally generations of people, including students and colleagues at Rhode Island College. He even used to send me articles and ask my opinion as president of the college. He influenced others by example and by gentle questioning nudged us to consider other views. (See Richard's Wikipedia biography on pages v-vii for a sense of the range of his influence.) His causes and views, as well as his humor are captured in the email correspondence in this volume. Richard continues to be admired and respected; he received the Special Award for Distinguished Service to Alumni, presented posthumously by the Rhode Island College Alumni Association in spring 2013. Social media prompted this e- book. (Richard would be so pleased that the networks he set up continued after his passing.) I received Facebook notification of a memorial event to be held at Roots Cafe in Richard's honor. Herb Weiss, whom I had never met, wrote to me via Facebook. I sent him an e-essay that Richard had sent me about the Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print and wondering what would happen to his Encyclopedia Britannica when he passed. (See essay on page 64). I asked Herb if he had the email addresses of Richard's children, so I could share Richard's concern that the encyclopedia be saved. Herb wrote back to me, and we chatted about the fact that I had saved all Richard's emails. Who can delete a correspondence with the subject line: "Do I Really Have to Wear Long Pants?" which was written in response to my invitation to recognize Richard as founding adjunct union president at my opening annual meeting of faculty, administrators, and staff. I just could not bear to delete any of his emails. Herb shot back an email saying that he bet others had saved Richard's emails, too. He asked me the big question: maybe we should do an e-book? I had organized an e-book two years ago, so I felt confident that with Herb's help and with submissions from all of you - Richard's legion of friends - we could hear Richard's kindly, thoughtful, articulate, moving and humorous voice once again. Richard wrote many thousands of emails. We selected just ii the ones that we thought represented his thinking and interests (such as baseball, homelessness, favorite hang outs, politics, travel, humor, women’s rights, and education). We all received frequent emails from Richard in which he made only a brief comment and attached an article he found interesting. We did not include these group emails because the ideas were ones with which Richard agreed, but the words mostly belonged to another writer. We did, however, include his own essays that he sometimes typed into an email to a friend. I write this foreword as an introduction to the e-book. Herb, my new social- media friend and collaborator, will write a postscript when the book is completed. I thank Herb Weiss, all Richard's email friends, and his family - especially Rich and Cathy - for making this volume possible. I also thank Gina Dibona, a RIC student, for her expert help in formatting the book. Most of all, I thank Richard Walton for being such a positive part of our lives. -Nancy Carriuolo, president of RIC, Richard Walton's friend and colleague, and co-editor iii Biographies of Co-editors Nancy Carriuolo Dr. Nancy Carriuolo (Carry-O-Low) was named the ninth president of Rhode Island College on May 12, 2008 by the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education. She has been an English professor and an editor for business and industry. Carriuolo is the author of more than 30 publications with regional, national or international audiences. She has served on the board of New England Dollars for Scholars and on the executive committee of the statewide Campus Compact. She is currently a member of the board of the Tech Collective. She serves on the Vets (Veterans Memorial Auditorium) board and the Board of Directors of Crossroads Rhode Island. In addition, Carriuolo is vice-chair elect of the Council of Presidents of the Little East, on the review boards for the Journal of College Reading and Learning (JCRL) and the Journal of Developmental Education. She has been elected to the Board of Trustees for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Carriuolo earned her undergraduate degree from the State College of New York at Brockport and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Herb Weiss Herb Weiss, Pawtucket’s Economic and Cultural Affairs Officer, has worked for over 14 years to transform and revitalize Pawtucket through the arts. Articles about the efforts have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and local newspapers. Mr. Weiss has been instrumental in development of the City’s Arts and Entertainment District. He served as President of the Pawtucket Rotary Club (2005-2007). He now serves on Rhode Island’s Small Business Advocacy Council and sits on the Board of Directors and the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, Advisory Board of the Rhode Island Independent Film Collaborative, and Old Slater Mill Association. Mr. Weiss is a member of Theta II Leadership Rhode Island Class (2012). He has secured funding for the city’s most visible arts initiatives, the annual Pawtucket Arts Festival, and he has received multiple awards related to the arts. Mr. Weiss has a distinguished 33-year career in journalism and a national reputation on issues facing the aging, health care and medical fields. He has written or co-written over 494 articles in national, state, and local publications and has received multiple awards. He served as founding editor of Senior Living (later renamed Prime Time), a publication distributed to over 30,000 readers throughout Rhode Island. His weekly commentary on aging, medical, and baby boomer issues is published in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call. Mr. Weiss received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Texas in 1977; a Master of Arts in Gerontology in 1979 and a Certificate – Specialist in Aging in 1979 from North Texas State University in 1970. iv Biography of Richard Walton Source: “Richard Walton.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 6 Aug. 2013. Web 7 Aug. 2013. Richard J. Walton May 24, 1928[1] Born Saratoga Springs, NY[1] December 27, 2012[2] Died Providence, RI[2] Nationality United States Classical High School, Providence, RI (1945)[1] Brown University, Providence, RI Education (B.A. 1951)[1] Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY (M.A. 1954)[1] Occupation Journalist, College Professor Progressive activism against poverty, Known for homelessness, and hunger Margaret Hilton (divorced)[1] Spouse(s) Mary Una Jones (divorced)[1] Richard (1958)[1] Children Catherine (1960)[1] Richard Walton (May 24, 1928 - December 27, 2012) was an American writer, teacher, and politician.[1] He was the vice-presidential nominee in 1984 of the short-lived Citizens Party; Sonia Johnson was the party's presidential nominee that year. v Personal life and education Richard John Walton was born on May 24, 1928 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to Gertrude and Richard James Walton.