People of Rochester - Rich
When I approach a stranger on the street to photograph and/or write about, it’s because there’s something interesting or unusual about the way they look or how they carry themselves, or what they’re doing when I notice them. Sometimes it’s just the energy I'm picking up, or a feeling I'm getting.
Rich isn’t a stranger to me, but he’s an interesting person. I've known him for about 25 years. I had been working as a freelance writer and not getting much work. Rich hired me for my first job as a contract copywriter. He gave me a chance, and when I was done with the job, he wrote me a glowing recommendation. His support and faith in my ability went a long way toward building my self confidence in my writing and communication skills.
When I first met him, Rich didn't have a driver’s license and he walked everywhere. That hasn’t changed. “I’m a biped,” he says, laughing. “I always thought it’s more trouble than it’s worth to have a car.” Rich only goes where he can walk and doesn’t use public transportation, such as buses, taxis, or Uber, etc.
He says he walks about 30-40 miles a week in spring, summer, and fall, and about 20-30 miles per week in winter or times of bad weather. Rich says wind and rain are worse than pure cold.
He typically walks four to five miles a day.
Though we no longer work together, I occasionally see Rich at the Rochester Public Market. He’s both a volunteer and a part-time employee with the Rochester Public Market’s merchandising program. He’s been selling merchandise as a volunteer for 11 years, and three years as a part-time staff member.
He wrote a business plan for the Friends of the Public Market organization in 2010-2011. Rich proposed a series of different business ventures for them to explore, including selling merchandise. The Friends of the Public Market was already involved in selling merchandise to a small degree, but Rich saw a larger opportunity.
He said, “One of their goals was to promote the market, and selling merchandise would do that and also generate capital for the Friends of the Public Market to support the programs that they do for the Public Market, such as the tastings, the token program, the history tours, etc. I personally got involved because I thought it was kind of interesting. And it needed a person who could push it from the inside, and I'm not by any means the only person who’s doing this, but I'm one of the first.”
The other place I encounter Rich regularly is through social media, on Facebook. He’s a prolific poster, but he never posts about his personal life. “I understand why people do it (post updates about what they’re eating, doing, where they’re going, etc.), but it’s not me.”
Instead, he shares and comments on articles he’s found "on issues that I think need more attention that get marginal amount of attention in the news.” For example, articles on climate change, and its impact on society, and violence, especially gun violence.
His goal is to share items people may not have seen or may not be aware of. “They may not understand the depth of the information that is available on particular topics,” he said. “I like to put those (topics) out just to underscore how serious some of these issues are.”
Based on the amount of articles Rich shares I would have thought he spends many hours looking for content, but he says he finds the articles by visiting just a few sites that have long lists of links to a variety of articles. He spends an hour or two just reading and scanning online.
“So I'm spending like no time going out and researching for any of these things. I'm just finding them in the course of checking these few sites, because they have reliably good information on a wide variety of topics, and I'm a constant reader,” he said. “I'm just cherry-picking, and if I see something that I like, I just grab the link and put it on Facebook.”
When he’s not working, Rich helps people with a local community garden, reads a lot, and socializes with friends.
Thanks, Rich!