Hi Fans:

And a great big THANK YOU from Richard for all the get well cards and good wishes. In response to your inquiries, I'll fill you in on the details of his accident.

On Sunday, January 21st, Richard, Karen, Dad and Bear toted their 175 and 250 cc Kawasaki cycles to Palmdale to ride on a dry lakebed The wind there was so strong, and bitterly cold, so they decided against it and headed for home.

On the way, they passed an enormous Motor Bike Park, and decided to ride their bikes there. After paying their entrance fee, signing in, and unloading the bikes from the van, they took off for what they thought was going to be a fun day. The park was a huge section of land with many trails which led them over, up, down and around numerous hills and curves, many of these were blind ones. None of the narrow trails were marked in any way to indicate which direction a rider should travel. It was very unlike our well marked California highways and freeways. Law enforcement in the park was nil. There were riders without helmets, others were criss-crossing, zig-zagging and riding both directions on both sides of the trails. Though they avoided the race track section of the park, two very young boys were racing there, and it was these boys, ages 13 and 15 who made a mistake that was to cause Richard untold miseries.

The sign posted outside the park stated no one under 18 would be admitted without their parents, but somehow the boys, not even old enough for a driver's license, were admitted. While they were racing, they drove off the race track onto the one-bike trail that Richard and his friend had taken, but were headed in opposite directions! Arriving at a blind curve, one boy hit Richard's friend, and the other hit Richard head-on!

Three of the people involved in this double accident were able to walk away on their own power. Richard sustained a broken right leg, left wrist and sprained right wrist. Mom & Dad came to the rescue and drove him back to Downey hospital. He was examined by an orthopedist, and after all X-Rays were taken, and all breaks set, it was an exhausted Richard who limped up the steps of his home. He refused to be hospitalized.

The next day was just another work day, so in spite of three casts, he managed to arrive a the recording studios to continue work on the next album. Three concerts had been scheduled for February. He flew to two of them in Sacramento and Santa Maria.

I caught the Anaheim show and was amazed to see the left hand (still in a cast) play right along with the right hand, even throughout the fast tunes. Performing Dead Man's Curve, Richard takes the lead and though his voice is usually soft, I noticed he really comes on strong now during that number! To quote Richard "Man, can I identify with that (song)". His doctor has warned him the left wrist may take from 4 months to 2 years to heal. In the meantime he intends to fulfill all concert engagements. If you are fortunate enough to see him perform, you'll never know he's doing so with a broken wrist, unless you happen to see the cast.

The new single Sing is now released. It is a catchy tune, and one that everyone should learn. The background vocalists are the young Jimmie Joyce Singers, whose ages range from 11 to 14. During the recording, Karen accompanied them with her 'little girl' voice. As you know, she can sing in many voices.

We still have no air date for Robert Young with the Young. Hope you all check your T.V. Guides and newspaper listings.

Richard and Karen's own T.V. special will have to wait until Richard is fully recovered. I'll keep you posted.

See ya then, EV.

Last changed: Sat Jun 4 00:12:33 EDT 2005