Around Christmas, 2011, I decided to write this letter. However, serious sickness – I nearly died on Christmas Day – and duties have prevented me from doing so. At this point in time, I am simply taking the time out of a busy schedule to finally get this letter written.
Perhaps you already know, but I suspect that most of your readers don’t know Bob Barton, particularly who he was in the 1960s. In those days, I knew him as an avid, energetic, articulate, and effective advocate for American civil rights. When the “San Marcos 6” (or 10 or ?? – age creeps in now and then) were arrested, Bob stood unwaveringly with them throughout their ordeal. In his publications – The Cedar Choppers Almanac and other media, he championed the rights of everyone, he bemoaned the abusiveness against the impoverished, and he championed the underdog. And he did this long before it became fashionable in the media to do so. In point of fact, he performed his genuine good citizenship in a time when it was dangerous to do so. In short, Bob Barton is one of the bravest and most articulate persons I have ever known.
In view of my views expressed above, I hope that you know a professional writer who could/would write a biography of Bob. And I hope that that good book could be completed soon. I would buy the first dozen copies.
Lem Londos-Railsback, Ph.D.
YNC – USMC & USNR-Ret., OSM
