The Uniqueness of a Paladin (as a BF)

	Personally, I know many people who are ashamed or embarrassed
by their ideas once their thoughts are materialized onto paper, or in
Richard's case, into a computer. Having the confidence to share his
ideas was one of the first characteristics that I noticed in Richard.
This may be due to an intense and exclusive naivete that removes
those inhibitions most people may have. Richard has shown me a world
that he has created from experience, research, other science fiction
works, and God knows what other resources he draws on. When we puts
his mind to accomplishing something, he will explore all facets of a
single subject just to be informed and prepared or to have "all bases
covered." But of course, there arises the single most important
question all creators are asked, "Where do you get your ideas from?"
For this, I had to go straight to the source. Richard attributes his
creations to a personal vision of a better world. I think it's just a
way to let out his creative energy. Who knows what really motivates
people to write and create?
	He is also one of only a few people I know who seemed to have
skipped completely penmanship in first grade and gone right ahead to
using the keyboard, at least, that is my impression. Typing or writing
is perhaps Richard's favorite mode of communication. Computers allow
people to carry on several conversations and topics all at once if
the operator is fast enough, and believe me, he is. Which leads me to
a second observation. If there is a shortcut, Richard can be counted
on to be using it. His bottomless pit of a memory holds the acronyms
to more than 5,000 terms, phrases and various other paraphernalia.
Alright, I admit not having an accurate count for that statistic, but
I make my point. Simple phrases like "no problem" and "nevermind" end
up as "NP" and "NM" when chatting online. This makes for some
confusing conversation, but also demonstrates Richard's drive for
efficiency and directness. He analyzes his actions and thoughts to
more thoroughly understand himself because to be ignorant of his own
thoughts and feelings is to be dishonest to himself and to others.
I remember a few times when Richard has refused to discuss a subject
until he has analyzed and straightened out his own thoughts. He tells
me on these occasions, "I don't want to give you the wrong impression."
After taking a psychological profile test, I found Richard to be of a
personality that prefers to sit back and observe rather than give
premature judgement. In a way, he tends not to take chances by being
impulsive and possibly wrong, but there are times when he can be too
careful.
	Now onto a subject I find very confusing about Richard, his 
favorite reading and writing material. He euphemistically calls it
"Military History/Military Sci-fi." For more information, you should
read the "Brigade" series of works that he has written. From the
collection of books on his book shelf, I would have to conclude that
Richard reads A) what his teachers force him to read, and B) anything
related to science fiction, war, action, and historical rewrites. When
I first talked to Richard, I naturally asked him about his strange
conception of "Paladinhood." I thought I was talking to a hopelessly
out-of-date romantic born into the wrong era, but the longer I hung
around, the more I realized that he read these kinds of books and wrote
these kinds of stories not to create a world where everything is ideal
and perfect (which it is not), but to demonstrate how the age old
traditions of knighthood can thrive in a future which needs people of
that caliber. Look beneath the controlled, practical, responsible
exterior and you might see Richard revealed [ooh... alliteration] as
the vastly imaginative and complex personality he is.

					Bonnie Chan
					9-8-98