Dick Pick -- My Thoughts

[si...@cyber.net]

Bytz (tm)
By Simon Meth
Copyright Simon F Meth 1994, All Rights Reserved

Dick Pick
Born: -10,768
Died: 9787

Dick Pick died October 17, 1994. Most readers probably already
know that. How many readers knew the man Dick Pick? I can’t say
that I knew him well, but I did spend quite a lot of time with
him over the last ten years. Following are some thoughts I have
of Dick.

I moved to the States from my native Australia because of
associations I made in the Pick industry. I met my wife at a
Pick user group meeting. I have two wonderful children. Because
of Dick.

In March of 1987 I attended the Pick President’s Club meeting in
Maui, Hawaii. One of the events was a bicycle ride down the
Haleakala volcano. As we selected our helmets a great deal of
fuss was made over selecting one large enough for Dick.
Eventually a gleaming silver one was found. And so down the
volcano we road with the international group of Pick
distributors wearing blue helmets led by Dick in his silver one.
Later on we had cocktails and I remember how proud Dick was of
the diverse group. He was well aware that we were there because
of him. It gave him great pleasure to know it. I met many
friends on that trip. Because of Dick.

I remember talking with Dick in his Irvine, Calif. office. He
told me that he liked the way I told it the way I thought it was
and didn’t pussy-foot around. That is quite a compliment from
someone whom I had criticized a few times in the press. Dick
clearly had an open mind.

I remember a photo Dick showed me from a Russian newspaper.
Apparently he had really enjoyed a party and someone had asked
him to pose for a photo. Not realizing that the photographer was
from a newspaper, Dick pulled a face which appeared next day in
the paper. I think that picture should be on the cover of an
upcoming Pickworld Magazine.

In April of 1994 I attended the Pick President’s Club meeting in
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I remember Dick and his wife Zion
standing by a waterfall. They sure looked happy. I remember Dick
playing water volley ball. Everyone played an enthusiastic game.
I remember Dick’s frustration that the jet skis were broken. He
had lots of energy and always wanted to be active. I remember
how Dick listened intently to the comments at our meetings. If
he agreed it made sense he put it into action immediately.

I remember a man who always had an original spin or idea on
every subject. To Dick, double entry bookkeeping didn’t make
sense. To Dick, every person in an organization should have
direct access to the company database. To Dick, centralized
computing was the only way to go. I don’t know how the GraPICK
client/server project ever was slipped passed him. To Dick,
scrolling screens for data entry were the fastest and easiest
way to go. Of course for every idea there were hundreds of
people who disagreed. To Dick, that didn’t matter.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and to all those
who worked with him. There never was and never will be another
like him.

Please send your contributions for Bytz (tm) to:

Simon Meth
si...@cyber.net