Why a Naked SunFish?

Back Issues

 

Remembering Rick

Dan Eley

Twenty years ago Naked Sunfish was launched. It was my gift to Rick for his 50th birthday, and we certainly didn’t think that it would continue for 20 years. In Issue #1 Rick wrote as part of the introduction to Naked Sunfish:

"There will be music. There will be politics. There will be art. There will be food and drink. There will be nonsense. There will be most definitely sarcasm. There will be NO rules. NO deadlines. NO consistency. NO traditions. ("…the illusion of permanence," as Woody Allen so aptly put it) Enjoy the ride whilst you can. Because some day … sooner or later … I'll be sure to hear some one screaming at the top of their lungs, "LET GO FOOL! LET GO”, and probably will."

Over the past 20 years there has been 118 individuals who shared stories, art, poems, photography, reviews and more (click here for the list). Without their willingness to contribute, there would not be a Naked Sunfish.

Rick passed away peacefully with his wife Yvonne at his side on October 26th, 2021 after a battle with cancer.

Rick was many things … a loving husband ... son ... brother, a caring and loyal friend, a musician, a photographer, a chef, a gardener, a lover of the arts …. and most certainly a writer.

But the past several years has shown that he was also a fighter, an optimist and brave beyond words.

During our friendship Rick helped me to embrace life and all it has to offer... but has also shown me how to face your mortality with dignity and acceptance … to keep your sense of humor … to hold on to your passions and lust for life … to be courageous ... to love.

For twenty years Rick had tried to convince me to write an article for Naked Sunfish, but I preferred to be (as Rick referred to me) “The Man Behind the Curtain”.

So with this last issue, I have stepped from behind the curtain and attempt to pay tribute to the man who was my dear friend …. and so much more .... in the best way I know how. I hope you will watch this video (turn up the volume a bit) and remember Rick…

 


 

A VISIT WITH THE BROWNS

(WHAT A LONG STRANGE & FUN TRIP IT’S BEEN)



Karl Gruber

1974 was the height of the hippie era, at least in central Ohio, and that is when I met Rick Brown and his then, brand new wife, Yvonne. Actually, I met Yvonne first as I was in the raw beginnings of my 20 year-long radio career as a DJ. To get some experience under my belt, I had volunteered to produce their radio shows for the Metropolitan Area Church Board in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and it was there I met Yvonne who was their receptionist at the time. Yvonne and I hit it off immediately, which then led to an invite to come visit her and Rick at their very first apartment together as newlyweds, near the Capital University campus in Bexley. It was an appropriate place for them to live as it was where they both had recently graduated from Capital.

Upon my first time visit to their very humble apartment, Yvonne introduced me to Rick, and it did not take long to realize that he was a real character, in a very good, very interesting manner! At the time they were early 20’s newlyweds with not much income coming in. Yvonne was a receptionist, and I think at that time, Rick was delivering pizzas. It soon became clear to me that this guy, Rick Brown, was not cut from the cloth of your usual college graduate with a degree in Religion, but was instead, a brilliant, vivacious, somewhat outrageous dude with curly long hair, one eye that only functioned semi-well, and a real penchant for rock ‘n roll, pinball, and beer! As a matter of fact, just outside their apartment door was a perpetually filled plastic garbage bag of crushed beer cans (for recycling, of course!) I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a mild-mannered, conservative individual either, as I also had a real penchant for rock ‘n roll, so Rick and I hit it off right away. My many subsequent visits with Rick and Yvonne were always filled with plenty of beer drinking, lots of music, and laughing, usually followed by a visit to the Capital University student union to play game after game after game of pinball, and accompanied by Rick’s college buddy, Steve Rowe.

One of the highlights of each and every one of my visits to the Brown apartment was getting to see and play with their dog, Daisy. While Rick and Yvonne have owned a long line of dogs as pets, Daisy was the queen of that long line of canines! And what a heritage she had! She came into their possession as their prized pet when Rick was delivering a pizza, and the customer asked him if he wanted a puppy instead of a tip? I wish I could have been there to see the look on Yvonne’s face when Rick got home from his pizza shift and announced that they now owned a puppy! Of course, they both immediately fell in love with this little ball of fur who ended up being more like a family member than a pet. Not only was Daisy amazingly smart, but she was also loved by almost everyone who met her. As a matter of fact, she and Rick made an appearance in a newspaper story together. At the time, Rick was driving a small school bus that picked up and dropped off kids with disabilities for a local charity organization. Daisy would always accompany Rick on his daily rounds, and the kids absolutely loved and adored her! Well, the local newspaper reporter soon picked up on their story, and soon enough there was a picture of Daisy riding at the front of the bus with Rick! Like Rick, Daisy too seemed to have a natural gravitation to the spotlight. Thus, my almost 50-year friendship with the Browns began, and year after year we continued to enjoy some seriously wild and crazy times together almost always filled with much laughing, lots and lots of beer drinking and enjoying the hippie-oriented lifestyles filled with plenty of weed and mass quantities of rock ‘n roll.

But here is a highly esoteric detail of our relationship that remains unique amongst all my friendships throughout my life, we loved The Three Stooges! Perhaps this stems from the fact that both Rick and I are native Clevelanders where The Stooges were featured daily on the Capt. Penny TV kid’s show, Woodrow the Woodsman, and even on the Barnaby Show! Well, I’m pretty sure that neither Rick nor I outgrew our childhood love of the insanity that prevailed in every Three Stooges episode! Almost every time I visited Rick and Yvonne (now comfortably living in their long-time Clintonville home), after a few beers and a couple doobies, eventually a video tape of The Stooges would end up on the TV. Without exaggeration, the three of us would end up laughing uproariously every time Moe would smash Curly over the head with a hammer or pull out a huge tuft of Larry’s curly hair. Many, many, many “Woob, woob, woobs” were heard from Rick’s mouth as The Three Stooges brought us to tears of laughter. Yes, it’s true, some “boys” never grow up, and Rick Brown and I shared this eternal love of Stooges insanity. And here’s the most awesome thing of all about our “Stooge-athons”, Yvonne was right there laughing at it all just as hard as we were no matter how many thousands of times we had seen the same skit! It is my experience that women almost universally dislike The Three Stooges, except Yvonne Brown. For this, Yvonne will always have this native Clevelander’s respect and admiration.

Years and decades passed by with many birthdays and holidays shared together in which I had the privilege and honor of watching and listening to Rick sing and play his guitar with Miss Yvonne (thank you Pee Wee Herman!) on acoustic bass guitar during private concerts held right in the living room of their spacious house. They say memories just kind of fade away, but the vivaciousness, fun times, lots and lots of laughter, and love and friendship I shared with Rick and a very special lady named Yvonne, live on in my heart.

The Hawaiian language has a special short phrase, “A hui hou”, which means “until we meet again”. And so, I say to my friend Rick Brown, “A hui hou”. In the meantime, I could swear I can hear the distant strains of a Neil Young song lofting in the air.

 

 





Rick Brown
November 2, 1951 - October 26, 2021

 


Richard (Rick) Brown, 69 passed away peacefully at Sarasota Memorial Hospital 10/26/2021 after a battle with cancer. Rick was raised in Olmsted Falls, OH, graduated from OFHS and Capital University. He retired from The Ohio State University Library with 31 years of service.

He is preceded in death by his parents Richard and
Anne Brown. He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years Yvonne, brother Don (Sheila) Brown, sister Kathy Smith, sister-in law Brenda (Steven) Parker, brother-in-law Rod Cline, mother-in law Hazel Cline, nephews Brian, Jason, Joel and Aaron and his beloved dog Freddie.

Rick was a talented musician and extraordinary writer. Rick authored two books and much of his writing can be found on the e-magazine Naked Sunfish.com which he published with a community of friends and fellow artist.

Rick enjoyed running and proudly completed 9
marathons including Boston. He enjoyed traveling in the U.S. and Europe often to visit friends. Besides his family he will be missed by many life-long friends who enjoyed his intellect, wit and unwavering
friendship.









 



Fish Fin
- for Rick Brown


by
John M. Bennett & C. Mehrl Bennett


 

Rick's Books:

Naked Sunfish Caviar
&
Best Bites,


are available at:



Lulu.com


Rick's book, Best Bites is available at:
Lulu.com
&
Amazon.com



by
Sue Olcott


Click Here


Summer Cottage

by
aNna rybaT


Blog: http://www.annarybat.blogspot.com

 


Veteran
by

Amy McCrory

Blog:
http://amymccrory.wordpress.com/

 


THE ONE I WISH RICK HAD SEEN
by
Amy McMrory

I started contributing pictures to Naked Sunfish after Rick, who I was acquainted with but didn't know really well at the time, said abruptly, during a conversation about something else entirely: "I know you can draw. You should send something for my online zine." I said I'd think about it. A couple months later, he said, impatiently, "So when are you going to send a drawing??" I remember thinking, wow, that's pretty demanding for a guy who's asking for free content. But I eventually sent him one. After which he made a point of asking when I'd be sending the next one. Pretty soon, every month or so I would think "I need to get a drawing or photo done for Naked Sunfish." It not only felt good to be contributing to the zine, it was great being a part of something that featured the work of so many people, each of them connected to Rick in some way. I looked forward to seeing every issue.

Although there's some variety in what I sent over the years, the drawings I liked sharing the most were of people around Columbus just doing everyday things. Rick once told me I should publish a book of them. That's when I realized he enjoyed them.

Like most bright people who don't want to wake up to doing the same thing everyday, Rick's interests were wide-ranging and his opinions weren't always easy to predict. Not because he kept them to himself, but because he didn't form his opinions without first putting a lot of thought into them, meaning he didn't always arrive at the conclusion you might expect. In general, though, one of two Ricks would reliably emerge during most conversations. There was the Rick who was angry whenever he saw instances of injustice. He became especially outraged when he encountered insensitivity toward, or downright dishonesty about, injustice. Some people will expressly tell you they detest privilege. Rick didn't have to; it was manifest in his attitudes and his actions.

There was also the Rick who loved absurdity, would laugh his ass off at the ridiculous things people did. Sometimes you got both Ricks in the same conversation. One day during a gloomy stretch of 2019, when the political situation in the US was as bad as it got prior to the pandemic, we were talking over lunch. We were both furious and somewhat despairing about the state of things in the US. He also happened to be fighting off the remnants of a head cold. I wanted to cheer him up and thought he would enjoy hearing the early rumors about Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becky getting caught out in (kind of) a threesome, some photos having gotten out. Rick's response was exasperation. "Why do people take pictures and video of themselves when they're having sex?" he ranted. "Don't they KNOW that stuff is going to wind up out in front of the public?" He shook his head in irritation, cast his eyes upward, looked physically pained by this latest stupidity. I started laughing. He was on a roll. "You want people to see you having sex, do it in the park! Set up some folding chairs! Sell tickets. Why not make some money off it?!" His irritation gave way to a rasping laugh, this time shaking his head with more of an "ah, I give up" demeanor.

There's nothing contradictory about the two Ricks. They're quite consistent with each other. Life is hard, and he wanted people to at least be free to enjoy themselves from time to time. He was angry when people's chances at happiness were stripped away by poverty, exploitation, and violence. Given that we never seem to reach a state where people with less power aren't threatened by people with more power, laughing at the excesses of the powerful is one means of self-preservation--not in the sense of base survival, but as a way of not losing one's unique and integral self. Rick had a sense of protectiveness toward the existence of ordinary, anonymous people who don't have enough money or status to keep away the predators. The stories he wrote in Naked Sunfish were nearly always about such people. There was usually humor involved, and the humor expressed something about each person that set them apart--only this person with these particular qualities or this specific history could have landed the joke (intentional or unintentional) in that moment.

When I draw people I see in public, it's usually just a quick sketch with a ballpoint pen on whatever paper's available. Later I go home and redraw it on a sketchpad. i usually have a backlog of sketches waiting to be developed further. The other day I found one from the summer of 2020 that I'd meant to finish for Naked Sunfish, but lost track of. It was of a guy I met briefly while registering people to vote at a folding table near a community grocery stand where people could buy fresh fruits and vegetables with their EBT cards. The guy in question bought a couple bags of produce and stayed around a while to chat with the folks working at the stand. Then he ambled over to my table, walking a small and energetic dog. The dog had been ready to leave 10 minutes ago, but the guy liked talking, so the dog was left to dance around frantically at the end of the leash. Guy said he was already registered. I congratulated him. He launched into an impassioned monologue about how people needed to vote Trump out. I just listened; I don't express or respond to any political opinions when registering voters. He got pretty worked up and began talking louder. "Trump said people in the military are suckers and losers! Well, I'm a veteran, and Trump can go FUCK HIMSELF!" (At that point I had to struggle to maintain my practiced air of "Oh that's interesting, I don't have any opinion though.")

No regrets about having contributed to this zine over the years, other than wishing I had remembered to finish up that drawing and send it in. I think Rick would have enjoyed it.



copyright notice
Issue 1 - January 2002