December 4, 2002
Manhattan, New York, USA

4:04pm.

This is a letter I just sent to The Leonard Lopate Show on New York Public Radio:

Leonard... My name is Cory Richardson. I'm from Saint John, New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada... passing through NYC doing a few slide shows at high schools in the Bronx on my way to central Mexico... where I will resume a journey by kayak that I started at age 19 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. My intent is to paddle from Vancouver to Saint John-- via Lake Nicaragua.

This is more than just a trip to get away from Canada's cold winter months. It is an educational quest... a self-directed course... a project I call "MAX @ School - Living an adventure Novel" ...shared online(solomax.com) with over a million people thus far(over 2000 different people weekly) and through hundreds of slide shows at places ranging from preschools to prisons, as well as many interviews on CBC radio and in print.

I hated school. It was like prison. It kept me from exploring wild places where I learned so much about myself and the world. I have ADD... Adventure Deficiency Disorder. It drives me nuts to be inside on a beautiful day. I know I am not alone with these feelings.

This morning, heading into JFK high School to meet with the principal, I had to pass through a metal detector and was searched... and there were at least two dozen cops patroling the halls. Just standard procedure I was told. Even though it wasn't dangerous... it suggested that there was a great danger to be feared... creating an uncomfortable environment.

School should be more like summer camp... that creates opportunities for students to do new things that they can't do at home... and be a way to organize community building activities. Teachers should not be concerned with testing... but focus on inspiring the student to want to learn. Knowledge must be sucked into the brain... it can't be forced in. These are the things I talk to students and teachers about so that changes will be made.

My focus is promoting personal goal setting and environmental awareness by encouraging art and adventure. My philosopy, "SoloMAX" ... is that we all have huge potential... an "action hero-self"... that can do great things... if only we have the faith and courage to believe it is so. My action hero self, MAX, is an acronym for Motivational Academic Xperience, a symbolic reminder of my mission and the person I want to be. Once it was only a dream, but now it is reality.

My mission is to empower others to get out of their comfort zone... to explore new lands and cultures... and work on developing skills and relationships... instead of focusing on gaining status through clothes and cars, etc... that are superficial and can be taken away.

This past weekend, in Astoria, my car was broken into and my slide projector with a tray of my best images from the journey were stolen along with my speakers and a couple hundred dollars. Those images were great peices of art work, orginals that can't be replaced. It is a huge loss for my career as a photographer. I came to NYC to show these images off to magazines and to make posters. They are what I have to show for what I'd done and I am very sad to know they are gone.

Also... two nights ago I lost my wallet in Brooklyn. So now I have no money... just one projector,and half my show(although I have other slides to make a new show)... but what is important is the person I am... the person I have become through my experiences. The person that stole from my car... all they care about is turning a few bucks. This is why I do my shows... to help change people's mind... to make them care about themself, others and the world around them. That's why I do the shows at schools, prisons and outside on the street... to expose these ideas to people who wouldn't go to such a show.  I just hope the person who stole my slides looks at them and sees something that influences them positively.

I want your help. I want to do a public show in NYC. I want it to be free... I'll just ask for donations. What I need is a projector to replace the one I lost, help getting a space... and to let people know about it... I'd like to do an interview on your show(that I've enjoyed daily since arriving here over a week ago, because I can't stand commercial radio). I have lots of good stories.... about everything from whales the size of transport trucks jumping out of the water 30 ft from me off the coast of Oregon... to meeting a vampire at Cresent City, California and doing kart wheels in my kayak in surf landing at the mouth of the Kalamath River. I am on an amazing journey, and my web site is proof of it. The site alone is a huge body of work with thousands of imges and
hundreds of journals that your listening audience would be pleased to know about.

At the moment I'm using a computer at Columbia University, having just finished a psychology questionare that I was given $10 to do. Life is good... now I can afford lunch and supper!

Your help will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Keep putting out what people need to know!
-Cory
www.solomax.com

+++++

I also just got this from John at National Geographic:

Max-

Thanks for your email followup to our conversation. I think the best natural fit here would be with our sister publication, NG Kids. While their audience might seem a bit young (approx 7-14), I think they'd love to know more about your project, and it could generate great publicity for your efforts.
I'm forwarding your email to Melina Bellows, the editor of NG Kids, as well as Nicole Davis, who handles online and news content for NG Adventure. Nicole may have further ideas, and she can put you in touch with the people at NG Online, our web site. You can contact Melina at the email address above. Hope this helps, and best of luck.

John