Tribute to Richard
By Angie Fenwick Gibb
So so sadly, Richard Vaughan’s body was found last Saturday, in the company of the mighty Saint John River. Thank you for sharing the news of his disappearance in hopes of another outcome. And thank you, especially, for holding Richard, his family, friends, and community in your heart minds the last two weeks.
These last few days, as I’ve worked to understand the disbelief, the grief, the concern for his beloveds’ well-being, I’ve been taking in all the amazing pieces of his work and stories of his life that have been shared online (thank you, especially Debbie and Kym and Geoff). I honestly must say I have never been more inspired by someone’s life than I am by Richard Vaughan’s.
I wish I had known him better, in life.
I knew Richard more as the legend, rather than being fortunate enough to have really known the man. We never had the chance to be in the same city for long. Understand, though, when I say “legend”, I’m not referring to his laudable career as national columnist/poet/novelist/playwright/performer/scholar/teacher/mentor/arts critic/champion of the LGBTQ and arts communities. The legend of Richard Vaughan of which I speak arguably outweighs his vocation.
Let me explain… In our shared circle of friends, among one’s most highly prized possessions are the GREAT stories we each carry around in our chest pocket (nearest to our hearts). The stories that spill out as gifts to one another across the warmest of tables, over a few (several) drinks, late into the night. This is where Richard Vaughan The Legend resides, as the protagonist hero of the best of the best. Richard had a special talent for coaxing the exceptional, the wackadoodle, the fantastical out of life and would expertly ferry his friends through the high seas of absurdity. As goes the age-old rhythm of the storytelling ritual, the night would begin with more modest, more recent fare. With the flow of drinks and the shedding of layers, the stories would get heftier, more outrageous, and uproariously funny! This is when a story featuring The Legend would be ceremoniously plucked from a friend’s chest pocket and laid on the table like an ace-high straight flush. The story that inevitably brought the house down would always begin the same way, “One time Richard Vaughan…”. Behold The Legend. (And of course, he’s one of those diamond-like humans who deserves - nay, requires! - to be referred to by both given and surname under such circumstances. One name just wouldn’t cut it!).
What has inspired me so deeply as I’ve gotten to better know Richard The Man through what I’ve read and watched this week was Richard’s ability to live a generous, fascinating, unique, contributive, varied, kind, and ferociously authentic life, all while living within the challenge.
While I can't seem to find the right words to adequately explain what I mean by “living within the challenge” (and I certainly wouldn’t dare put words to another’s so deeply personal experience of life), I suspect you already know. Life is beautiful. Life is challenging. With varying intensity for each of us. I will instead share a list of particular inspirations from my experience of Richard’s life and work.
Notes to Self (from a Master Liver of Life):
Gosh, I wish I had had the good fortune to have known Richard Vaughan better. Thank you, Richard, for your life and for the inspiration you’ve left in your wake. Thank you for remaining with us for as long as you could. You and your legend will not be forgotten.