Kim Rich, author of Johnny's Girl

Kim Rich was born in 1958 to John, (Johnny), Rich, a real Alaskan character that left his input of this great nation. He was married to Frances Ann Chiaravalle, a striking woman that sometimes worked as an exotic dancer, prostitute and B-Girl, (convincing gentlemen to purchase expensive drinks on commission). Johnny, may be best described as a gambler, but he tried a number of businesses and schemes including concert promoter for B.B. King. At the time of his death he owned two massage parlors and a firearms resale business.

While he certainly left his mark on Anchorage Alaska, his daughter, Kim, almost certainly left a larger mark and qualifies as a true American character. She graduated from Alaska University Anchorage with a degree in journalism and did the research to tell Johnny’s story. This became a book, a movie and a play, titled Johnny’s Girl, that gives insights into Johnny’s life, the seedy underworld he operated in and Anchorage Alaska in the rough and tumble 70s and 80s.

The book is of the genre memoir. According to the author,

"Memoir writing is a search for  'what happened' and more importantly, 'why' it happened.  Why did one's parents fall in love?  Why did they marry?  What was it like when they had me?

Memoir writing is also a search for justice.  This can mean justice on a personal level or a societal level or even justice in the arena of the courts.  But true justice can only be obtained through an accurate and fair -- as much as possible -- exploration of the 'what happened' and again, the 'why.'"

Kim Rich would really enjoy flying from her home in Texas to visit SANS Rocky Mountain2017; as a student of culture, I am sure she would enjoy getting to know the security researcher field.

Stephen Northcutt is director of Academic advising at SANS.EDU, an accredited cybersecurity graduate school.