That headline may seem a bit tongue-in-cheek. And certainly, while typing the words "Richard LaValliere, role model," I couldn't help but smile and shake my head; this is, after all, the man who wrote and performed both "City of Cleavage" and "Naked-on-the-Internet Polka." Yet for those of us who were privileged to know both Richard and his work, and who found in him a shining example of how to follow one's own path, the "role model" designation is accurate.