"Damn the Rule of 3s. In Spain, it's 4."

Richard Ragsdale said that to me one time. It's appropriate that he becomes the fourth contributor to Like You Really Care.

In fact, much of the wisdom I spread as if it were my own I actually got from Ragsdale. Like the way to critique something -- "What did the artist set out to achieve? Did he achieve it? Was it worth achieving?" -- got that from Ragsdale (he attributed it to Goethe). Ragsdale taught me way back in 1997 that my biggest problem was lingering behaviors resulting from an upbringing in the South, and I've been making amends with my personality ever since. And Ragsdale taught me that anything is funnier if you inhale deeply through your nose and say, "And then I fucked it."

Seriously, Richard is one of the most fascinating people I've ever known, and he's moving away from Chicago to pursue fame and fortune in La-La-Land. I'm not sure how I would deal without frequent doses of Wisdom a la Ragsdale. No, readers, he's not here for you. He's here for me. I hope you get something out of it, too.

Big hand for Richard Ragsdale.