Rhymes of a Raver: Tribute to a Castle of Salvaged Souls

Rancher, cowboy, gold and diamond miner, forest fire fighter, horticulturist, friend to Western novelist Zane Grey and famed botanist Luther Burbank, but in his own words, dreamer. In this little book, written while recovering from the ravages of alcohol abuse, Richard David Comstock uses rhymes to give the reader a brief look at his life of many adventures and escapades, with an unexpected poignancy. In Rhymes of A Raver, we discover not A Raver, but rather a brave and sensitive soul who survived numerous challenges and adversities, both in America and abroad, including a potentially deadly forest fire in Oregon, while serving alongside revered US Forest Service Ranger, Douglas C. Ingram. In a rhyme about an experience in his youth, Mr. Comstock relates a story of how his cherished Osage companion, Sleeping Fawn, saved his life during a longhorn cattle stampede on his Montana family ranch, but by 1929, the “useless, squandered years of poison booze” landed him, in his own words, “in the gutter.” He was lifted out of that gutter, about a year later, thanks to the professional and compassionate treatment, provided by the staff of the New Jersey State Hospital at Greystone Park. By July 1930, Mr. Comstock once again, took his place in the world and created the horticulture services business, United Landscape Engineers and Foresters, in Flushing, New York. The catalyst to his recovery was a newly discovered passion for writing, when appointed, “Patient Editor” of The Psychogram, in the Print Shop of Greystone’s old Industrial Building. He decided to publish his Rhymes because he believed, “The world should know of the indescribable good wrought here at Greystone.” Sherri and Stephen Phillips, editors of King Alfred’s Middle Earth- Books Most Necessary to Know, present this reprint, after confirming the book is currently in the public domain. The magnificent 19th century Kirkbride buildings of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital may have been demolished in 2015, and the names of those who served in the old hospital long forgotten, but thanks to A Raver, this literary gem still stands to honor, “this refuge mercy-marked that’s known to you as Greystone Park,” the Castle of Salvaged Souls.