Words matter . . . they live in our hearts and in our minds until we give them the strength to speak for us. Give them the power they were created to have. They deserve to be heard, and so do you. - Ted A Richard
The 16th Second is the autobiography of a small-town gay boy from Deep South Louisiana who survived homophobia, alcohol and drug addiction, sexual abuse, rape, and HIV/AIDS to become somebody that no one, not even he, expected. The story winds through his childhood, where Ted had become accustomed to coming in second. Weaving a tale of drama, heartache, and failure to the path leading him to figure out what it takes to come in first, and why it mattered. His childhood recollection of "never being good enough" morphs into a world of delusions of grandeur as his search for fame seems to never materialize which causes him to create his own definition of fame. It is a story of redemption and success after years of searching helped him realize that he had to let go of the fame of the past (which never existed), and begin living in the present in order to secure his future.
Richard, Ted A.: - Ted A Richard was born and raised in Ossun, Louisiana, and graduated from Carencro High School in 1980. Shortly after graduation, he traveled all over the country working in retail management, later creating an alter-ego dance phenom named Colt Michael. He has lived in Austin, Boston, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Spokane, and San Francisco. He retired in 2007 after working more than thirty years in retail business management and currently resides near Carencro, Louisiana.He has been HIV + since 1987 and formerly served as president of Acadiana CARES, the Lafayette area HIV/AIDS service organization, as a consumer advocate, and he has spoken on hundreds of occasions to schools and community organizations to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in the Acadiana area, and advocate for HIV prevention.He has also been a rarely outspoken advocate on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ and HIV+ communities for several years, having given speeches in the Louisiana Congress on pertinent issues regarding our rights as equal citizens.He was instrumental in organizing Lafayette's first-ever Acadiana PRIDE Festival as its vice-president in 2014 and president in 2015. We want to be the beacon to the rest of the state and our country, to shine the light on what true family, togetherness, and diversity means in Cajun Country! Ted is also an avid singer and was voted the 2016 Acadiana PRIDE Idol.Ted continuously strives to bring LGBT-relevant theatre to the Acadiana area. He has produced two plays for Acadiana PRIDE; Chez Gisele written by Dennis Ward, and UpStairs: The Musical written by Wayne Self. Both plays were performed at Cite des Arts (in 2014 and 2015, respectively), and both received high accolades from the theater and performing arts community. In 2016, Ted made his acting debut as the star of Dennis Ward's original comedy, Big Daddy's Last Dance (at the Stiff and Moody Funeral Home). He was nominated for a Rosie Award for his performance.
