Welcome to this special ‘Meet Me’ segment with a twist – it’s written by your friendly European therapist! My name is Agnieszka Rdesinska, and I’m an RTT hypnotherapist and an NLP coach. But most importantly, I’m Rick’s friend, and we’ve collaborated on numerous articles about mental health and healing.

For the last year, I have been eagerly reading the ‘Meet Me’ articles, always fascinated by the diverse stories and experiences shared by each interviewee. Today, I am thrilled to have the incredible opportunity to turn the tables and interview the very person who has been the guiding force behind them.

It is with great excitement and a deep sense of honor that I introduce our guest for this special edition of ‘Meet Me.’ Welcome, Rick! It’s a pleasure to have you here.

As the host of this beloved series, you have brought to light the journeys of so many, yet your own story remains largely untold. While your readers are familiar with your incredible journey of recovery from cancer and your healing process through your heartfelt articles, today we’re taking a different approach. Your writing has given us a glimpse into your life, and we’re grateful for that. Now, let’s dive into some new territory and explore the story behind the storyteller.

I’d love to hear about the origins of your blog and the ‘Meet Me’ articles. Was the idea something that came to you spontaneously, or was it a long-term plan?

You often read me crediting Casey for my return to writing and rightfully so. Internally I began my website as a way to apologize for our broken friendship although her article wasn’t written right off the bat. I knew there had to be some sort of lead in beforehand thus the first article of ‘Why I’m Here’ started it.

The timing of Shanna Forrestall’s release, ‘A Message of Love’, set the tone. The one where she speaks of love. Love in a world where no one seems happy with who they are or where they’re at in their lives. The video of Her’s was what I needed in my time of despair. It was uplifting and led me to the courage to write what was to come next, ‘The Queen’s Gambit,’ the apology to Casey.

That’s so interesting! At first, I assumed your blog was dedicated to healing from cancer. Turns out it was your heart that needed healing.

Yes, it did and in more ways than one.

How did you come up with the idea of ‘Meet Me’s’?

The ‘Meet Me’s’ I attribute to Raina Weilenman. I crossed her path during a give-away she was holding. She’s an artist and I absolutely love her work and thought it would make a cool article. That’s how it started, and I actually won the contest and the prize painting. I now have two of hers on my living room wall with a birthday mural painted and gifted by my friend Noi. The only other items are ball caps. My ‘Wall of Hats’ as I like to call it.

I hadn’t planned on going any further, but I needed something to occupy my time with. I was being treated for continued heart failure during the early to mid-months of last year and a longtime friend and Hollywood Reporter, Kristyn Burtt, came to mind. Instead of staying idle while everything was seemingly spiraling out of control in my life, I asked her for an interview, which she granted, and I felt good about myself afterwards.

However, a week later, I nearly walked away from it all. That’s when Natalia Kessler popped up in my feed. Although I left out a huge portion of her story for obvious reasons relating to war and its effects on civilians, I found in her strength to push on. My life and problems seemed trivial in comparison to what she had been through as a war crimes prosecutor after the Bosnian War and has been the biggest inspiration that has entered my life on social media.

Since then, there’s always been someone to add excitement and drama to keep me going. I’ve just accepted it and let the stories fall where they may as so many have agreed to be interviewed and later become no shows for one reason or another. I, also, need to thank my friend Loren for all the support she’s offered. Through the worst of it, she’s been there with love and support while pushing me to continue what once paid the bills.

I love how you’ve just gone with the flow! Did you have any doubts along the way?

I wouldn’t say doubts because I’m cocky enough to know I’m good yet don’t boast about it. Concerns about readers later on hit; especially after switching site hosts from GoDaddy to WordPress. I lost a lot in the transfer but they’re picking up now.

I’m glad you’re getting your readers back. I’ve read almost all of your articles and I’ve noticed you’ve often mentioned your tendency to overthink. In your recent posts, you mention it less. Has the nature of your overthinking changed?

You, Agnes, made that change in me. Before I would analyze everything. Still do in a sense, especially when it comes to ‘numbers, dates and coincidences.’ We spoke of that yesterday. I’ve since learned that you therapists call it ‘synchronicity’.

And although it may not be the perfect analogy for it, it fits. But as far as overthinking you’ve shown me it didn’t have to be in the negative sense rather to use it in retrospect to my advantage.

There are still times when I think about everything through every angle possible and try to understand why things happen. Like are some things just meant to be and how many occurrences does it take for all to see that maybe you were meant to stick together.

Reminds me of the video I shared with you where the narrator said, ‘some people are meant to stay in your life.’ Is everything I pointed out yesterday proof of that? If not, what’s the universe really want? I don’t know, do I still overthink too much and just not write about it?

Unsolved mystery possibly, but I will say that the refocus has helped me to reunite with Shanna after a five-month ephemeral where I weighed value and meaning over our own mistakes. And thanks to your guidance I was able to recall moments like the time her and fellow ‘actor person’ Liz Fenning greeted me from the 2017 Emmys via text message. I still smile watching it.

Knowing everything you know now; imagine you could go back in time and give your younger self some life advice. What would it be? You only have a few minutes!

How ‘younger self’? Life’s predestination self where God determines your fate before birth? I’d ask to have been born in a wealthy family but all kidding aside, I don’t know.

Haha, asking to be predestined to be born into a wealthy family is much more creative than screaming, ‘Buy Bitcoin!’.

Buy Bitcoin, I like that! Seriously though, I’ve done so many things in life to give my younger self advice that could possibly change any of them means a change to things like our friendship and even your life’s direction. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that. And as much pain I feel over my loss of her friendship, I’d never know the real feeling of love if it hadn’t occurred. It may never happen again but the good outweighs the bad so I could never risk changing that.

Yet my response would have to be, to myself in early 2019, “Your heart will be broken. You will cry. But you’ll find the true meaning of love, don’t let it die there” I don’t believe, in those words, I’d be changing the future nor the past. More likely it’s happened already and is what drove me to overthinking. See how that works?

Powerful words. That may be why you’ve handled your pain so gracefully. There’s nothing like a little self-encouragement.

In one of your daily prompts, you said you don’t have any regrets. Now I understand why. The good outweighs the bad – that’s a wonderful way to look back at your life.

I’m glad you don’t have any regrets. The psychologist Erik Erikson talked about how people either reflect on their life with satisfaction in late adulthood or plunge into despair. I would never want that for you. My question about what advice you would give your younger self was a subtle way of probing for regrets, but all you have is encouragement to deal with the pain to come. I love that.

Speaking of your life… I always enjoy your stories. Could you share the time when you received a tweet from space? 

It’s not quite as glamorous as it sounds but I do love it! 

In the early 80’s, I was printed in a newspaper for the first time. My aunt was bragging to another aunt (sisters) about me, and the other one said, “well my husband wrote an article once.” Trying to add clouds to my day. Ever since then I wanted to be first to do everything in my family. 

The story unfolds as such, NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg was aboard the ISS on expedition 36/37 so I tweeted her ‘It would be so cool if I were the first family member of my family to receive a #SpaceTweet ‘hint’ Have a safe mission. love the pics.’ She replied and I’ll send you a photo of the picture I framed of it.

Seven years later in ‘20, Karen’s husband, Doug Hurley was part of the two-man crew along with Bob Behnken aboard Space X Crew Dragon II’s first launch with humans and first off of US soil, with humans, since ‘11 and I tried to get him to tweet me as well. But he didn’t. I was thinking how awesome it would be to have the real ‘Robinson Family’ of space both tweet me. Ala…’Lost in Space’

I’ve loved space since I was a child and have seen several launches from the beaches in Florida. They simply amaze me.

I love the story! It also makes me wonder – were there other things you were first to do in your family after that?

My grandparents raised me and had twelve children already. I have some cousins old enough to be my parents, yet I was the first grandchild to graduate high school. First to attend college.

Others, I suppose, can’t really be projected towards the family yet are quite measurable…Was asked by a bowling alley owner, in Rochester, Michigan that was aligned with the Professional Bowlers Association, to turn pro and said he’d help sponsor me on the tour. Then there’s meeting / interviewing former president Clinton. Those things kind of came with the job or talent. I’d have to ask my cousin Lisa, for a while we had a running tab of events.

I tease the family about hanging with so and so after a sporting event or sitting court side or in the team’s suite at a basketball game with Detroit Pistons Front Office Staff in the early 80’s or the time I attended a walk-on tryout for the Cincinnati Reds, just so I could say I did that… things of that nature. You can be the first at many things, like first to be used as a character in a book.

That’s an impressive list of achievements. I think it’s funny how your aunt’s salty comment has lit a fire in you that drove you to so many successes. You’ve shown her!

Was it stressful meeting so many notable people during your career?

I’ve ‘stuttered’ once, that I recall, when talking to someone the very first time. No, it wasn’t the former president nor any well-known celebrity or sports star, it was Shanna Forrestall…the very friend I’ve recently made amends with. I was starstruck, not because of her IMDb credits but merely the fact that she called me after asking for my number via social message. I was in shock. but later discovered she’s like anyone else. I’m so glad we could clear things up.

You’ve gathered many great experiences and achievements over the years. With all that you’ve accomplished, I’m curious to know – what’s your biggest dream? Give me two—one that’s unachievable and one that’s realistic.

To be remembered has been my biggest and greatest dream. And thanks to author / friend Tammy Kaehler, and her book ‘Kiss the Bricks’, I will be frozen in time in ISBN form. Her using my name and characterizing me as a reporter, which I once was, even as a ‘bit character’ was awesome. It’s already been met.

There’s nothing really unachievable…but I suppose in my case, flying in space would be one but due to health issues and obvious costs. I really don’t see it happening yet it sure would be nice.

I hope someday it’ll become safer to travel to space. Space tourism is slowly becoming a thing – who knows what’ll happen in 10 years? It would be amazing!

Yes, I’m sure it will someday and will be a grand experience indeed. We’ve already seen Captain James T. Kirk go up. How thrilling of a ride, it must have been!

Seeing all the cute photos from your past made me want to ask you one more thing. Would you tell us about your youth and your life so far? You’ve shared bits and pieces with me before, but I don’t recall reading a lot about it in your blogs.

I grew up in a rural area on a dirt road where everyone knew one another. When not in school I’d stay out from sunrise to sunset and even later sometimes. There were enough neighborhood kids to get any sporting event started and we lived close to several lakes. Guess that’s why they call Michigan the Great Lake State. I would fish a lot, play every sport imaginable and do the things kids do. I was even a Cub Scout.

After my grandfather’s passing during grade school, my grandmother began spoiling me more than he did. We had a horse for a while, but I was never really interested in riding. She passed away when I was 15 and I graduated high school at 17, having stayed in the family home, with an uncle, for my last two years of formal schooling.

I wanted to become a lawyer but found writing came much easier. I started covering sports for the student newspaper at a community college after being asked by a college friend as well as a faculty advisor.

When I turned 21, I moved to Arizona to get closer to my mother, but the closer part never materialized as she moved back East, unannounced, leaving me behind once more. I kept pushing ahead and continued my studies at a local university and eventually decided to take a position with a newspaper down south, after returning to Michigan a couple years later, and began covering politics.

I later went on to do some public relations work but there were several other jobs along the way before I got there.

I was diagnosed with congenital heart disease nearly 30 years ago and the father to five children, four from my ex-wife while my oldest is from a prior relationship.

I was divorced in ‘04 and have been single ever since. Because of my illnesses I’ve shied away from relationships, until that love bug bit that later crushed me.

And then your blogs started, allowing us to follow your life from that point onward!

Now, Rick, you know I like to play around with difficult questions to get to know someone better. Questions that help reveal a person’s values and perspectives… like the Threads post you answered:

So, I wanted to ask you another one of those… Achieving a form of immortality, which being embedded in a book forever is, was your dream. Would you give it up if it was the price of finding love?

I’m looking at life in totality now. After coming through cancer treatment, my radiation oncologist says barring any other health setbacks, I’m looking at maybe 20 years left. That’s only 2 ICD’s (Implantable Cardiac Devices) and currently I have approximately 6 years battery life left with my present defibrillator Implant. (I’ve already had four, plus a major surgery due to a faulty lead wire) one lasts approximately 7 years, two 14 meaning it would run the 20 before another would be expected. Remember, that’s if my heart holds up that long thus it’s become a numbers game to me now. 

So, if I had an opportunity for 20 years, or even a year for that matter, of ‘love’ like I felt for Casey over being remembered like that, YES, I would. Even if it were just for friendship. Selfish? Probably yes, but that feeling I can’t forget. 

However, it took so long after my divorce, in ‘04, to find someone to bring that love out, I doubt I’ll find it again in my lifetime. Keeping it real, it took 17 years to discover it this time and I know I’ve become even more critical of people than ever before; I don’t see it happening.

We’ve covered a lot about your life, achievements, and dreams. Now, let’s get to know a different side of you. What’s your most unusual or funny quirk?

You won’t believe this one. I hate reading. I mean that! I get bored reading, especially anything lengthy. That’s partly why your Threads have become so important, you’re like me in your social posts. You KISS it…keep it simple stupid. That’s the best way, people have short attention spans, the quicker to the point the better.

Plus reading a lot makes me critical of not only my own writings but those of others. Overthinking it, trying to change it in my own mind. But in reality, there’s only one truth. Sides don’t matter, they’re only an extension of others and if it were others I’m interested in reading, why should I read it when I know I’m right? Quirky enough?

That took me by surprise! I suppose many people assume writers like to read. I’m glad you find my Threads posts easy to digest.

They’re definitely an added learning addition for the times when we’re not actually connecting in person. Always filled with food for thought.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Is there anything you like to indulge in, even though others might find it strange?

Chocolate. Chocolate shakes, Chocolate candy bars. Chocolate ice cream. Chocolate cake. Chocolate frosting. Chocolate everything…

I enjoy shark. First time I tried it; I was living and working in Florida. The host sauteed it in brown rice and I had no idea what seasonings he and his wife used but I found it delicious! 

Shark and chocolate! I see you’re a man of fine taste. I think Grogu wants some chocolate too!

And of course, I couldn’t let this one slide… why didn’t you want to do a ‘Meet Me’ segment on yourself?

At least fifty people have messaged me about doing one on myself, but I felt if I did it would sound as if I were boasting. I’ve been around a former president, other politicians, writers, sports stars and have friends that are actors and actresses. What could I possibly say about them as friends, or people I’ve met, that wouldn’t sound as such? 

It’s alright to share the things you’re proud of with others. If they perceive it as ‘boasting’, it only reflects their own insecurity.

You’ve let us glimpse a bit of who you are every time you share a new blog post, your soul shining through your words. Despite that, you’ve made us wait so long for an official ‘Meet Me’… so why did you agree to do it now?

I intentionally do that because if people enjoy reading me and find the time to spend with my words, they deserve something. So, yes, I do try to include a little about me but not all for that very reason. Some have hidden meanings and messages only particular individuals can catch. 

Why did I agree to let you do it? Because I trust you. As a friend and my therapist (hope that’s a fair way of phrasing it) you know more about me than anyone and I feel comfortable with you. To me you’re that safe place I lost along with that friendship. A sanctuary of sorts with a mission of healing not destroying. And I honestly believe you’ll tell a great story.

Thank you, Rick. That means a lot to me. 

Now, you’ve told me you’ll try not to answer my questions with a question… but that’s exactly what this question is about! If you were interviewing yourself, what would you ask? And then answer that question!

First of all that was in jest…😂

But here goes…

In a generation where the main focus of relationships seems to be centered around sex, why are you looking for love?

Sex is fine. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it as much as anyone. However, since feeling what ‘real love’ is and how short lived an orgasm is, I’ll take that kind of love anyday. I had never felt love like that in any of my previous relationships or friendships to the extent sex wasn’t even a thought.

It’s hard to explain but I described it before as having perpetual butterflies that don’t stop. Imagine being so giddy about someone all the time without expecting a thing and just their presence causing it. That’s far more special than a romp in the bedroom, in my opinion, and was the underlying thought when I asked you about unconditional love.

What an interesting question! Indeed – you’d think most people on dating apps nowadays are just looking for ‘friends with benefits’, treating love as a nuisance… I’m glad you’re not like that. I believe sex shouldn’t be the main focus of a relationship, it should complement it.

Writer’s note:

I’ve known Rick for a little over half a year now, but despite the short time, we’ve had so many deep conversations that it feels like I’ve known him forever.

It’s difficult to capture everything about a person in one interview and having experienced it myself, I’m even more impressed with all the work Rick has done so far. Being a host is not easy at all!

It’s apparent that love and friendship are the highest values Rick holds. He has been so real and vulnerable with us, sharing his healing journey and allowing us to get to know amazing people through the ‘Meet Me’ series. It has been an honor to follow his story. I am grateful he has beaten cancer and I hope to see many more articles to come—another form of immortality.

You will be remembered, Rick. Of that, I am sure. Thank you for letting me have this interview with you, I enjoyed it immensely.

guest writer, meet me