Many thanks to all of those who took the time to invest in the first book and read the detailed journey of a mad man looking for reconciliation. There are only a few copies left of the first print of Love and Water and a second print is never promised. I have officially begun living out the second book and I am writing it down as I go so expect the second book sometime in the near future… or late 2010, whichever comes first. Follow me and make sure u are always the fist to know… http://twitter.com/NikRichard

This morning I woke up and saw that I had a dolphin in my pool. I dont know who put it there or why they did it, but all I know is that now he wants to get out, and I’m mad that whoever put him there has made it my responsibility to set this dolphin free. It was one of those endangered ones, the kind that you dont see everyday, you know the ones that only exist in those art books, and my first thought was Damn!, I GOTTA GET THIS DOLPHIN TO THE OCEAN!! So I went inside and got him some food, splashed some water on him and told him Ima make sure he gets to the ocean. I started to feel like this dolphin in my pool was a blessing because now it gave meaning to my life, something for me to accomplish. Once I set this dolphin free I would have done something worth writing a book about, filming a movie for, or calling the news over, because I will be the one who saved it. So, I go to class, then go to work, and I forget all about that dolphin during the day, but when I come home I splash a lil water on it and feed it just enough to keep it alive until I can take the time to take him to the ocean. Now all my neighbors have heard this dolphin in my pool and their peeking over my fence to get a glimpse at it. Everyday on my way to work I have to listen to the people looking over my fence asking me what I’m going to do with this dolphin. “Are you gonna free it? When? All the way to the ocean? How much money you gonna get for that?” And as the days go by I start to realize the sacrifice I’m going to have to make if I want this dolphin to swim free because just splashing a lil water on it every other night isn’t doing it any good. Yeah, I have a dolphin in my backyard that the whole neighborhood comes to see, but this is becoming unwanted attention because they all want to know what I’m going to do with it now. Everybody has a suggestion and an opinion, but nobody wants to help. Night after night I’m listening to this dolphin splashing in the pool and I realize if I don’t dedicate my time to freeing him, he is going to die. Now I’m realizing that I might not be able to set this dolphin free. I’m starting to hope that the people on my block will just forget that he’s there, but every now and then he’ll splash a lil water and the neighborhood comes running, critics and all, to get a glimpse. I start to think that maybe I just don’t have the time or energy to get this dolphin to the ocean. Maybe I should just go to school, and go to work and just let him die in the pool. Once he’s dead he can no longer splash around and keep me up at night. But I know every now and then ill invite someone over and they’ll wander in my backyard and ask me questions about that dead dolphin in my pool. What will I tell them? What will they think of me? And eventually he’ll start to stink. And draw flies. And I’m gonna have to move it out of my pool and get it to the ocean to burry it. Then ill realize that in the end, it takes the same amount of time, money, and energy to move a dead dolphin as it does a live one, just now its in vain. If your blessed/cursed with a dolphin swimming in your backyard your gonna have to either free it or burry it….. ,but either way you are going to have to get him outta that pool.

New Orleans, LA, 2/5/09 — Nik Richard, an urban planning senior at the University of New Orleans and life long resident of Gentilly, has decided to actively participate in the political process by announcing his candidacy for State Representative, District 97.

Ever since evacuating for Hurricane Katrina, Richard has been highly motivated to return to his city and partake in the rebuilding process. He has worked tirelessly towards bringing national attention to the issues in New Orleans. In June of 2008, he was awarded an NAACP award for a short film that he created to bring the recovery of New Orleans to a global stage.

Richard has been a Traffic court clerk for 3 years, and has worked closely with the New Orleans City Planning Commission during his internship at City Hall. Richard says, “The experience I’ve gained in the public administration process has inspired me to step up to the challenge of public service.” Richard knows he can bring the full time commitment and desire to The House of Representatives that the residents of District 97 need in order to spark a new era of recovery in the city of New Orleans, as well as the State of Louisiana. “Community based development and the recovery process begins with the people. District 97 has some of the strongest most effective neighborhood organizations in this city; the recovery has started with them and will continue to be successful with their involvement and leadership”, says Richard.

“I believe that I represent a new generation of effectiveness in this state, a generation that is willing to become involved in the issues that we see and read about in the news, a generation that has decided to devote the majority of their lives in making our communities a better place for the generations that will follow.”

Richard is in the process of contacting citizens to familiarize them with his qualifications and his plans for action. The house seat became available with the recent election of J.P. Morrell to the Louisiana Senate. The special election will be held on April 4th, 2009.

They say nothing good ever happens after midnight. Well, its 2:oo in the morning and I’m reading over current qualifying sheets and legal documents as I plan to donate my good name to the tainted game of politics, and make my first run for office… something I have been considering for quite some time. I have heard this question many times before, but even now I have to ask myself…. why politics? Why risk the integrity of your artwork to become a politician? Why not put your degree to good use and get a nice well paying job? Why sacrifice whatever reputation you have built for yourself to open up your views and ideals to public scrutiny?

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