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 Rick is one of those real quiet guys that everyone sees but no one
really knows. We see him at the kite club meetings and he usually
doesn't say or comment much during the announcements but none the less has
a pretty good knowledge about several aspects of kiting.
"It is the dad's responsibility to take his kids out to fly kites- at
least once" says Rick. "When the kids were small we lived next to a
big park and so I did take them out." Rick says they started with a
Barney the Dinosaur plastic diamond kite, and naturally he was left
"holding the kite" so to speak. Rick then bought a couple of kites
at a garage sale since he knew an upgrade was necessary. One of the
kites he bought was a stunt kite and after several attempts in flying it
looked for some help.
Rick's previous job gave him the opportunity to make it out on the field
periodically. There he met Virgil, Slim, Norm, and Charlie- he refers to
them as "the Old Farts". Though he admits he is usually not a social
person, Rick found a connection with the gang at the park. He
says he and them just used to shoot the breeze, watch the ponytails push
the girls on their runs, borrow a kite, and check out the latest completed
projects. Rick says relatives has told him he was born an "old fart"
which explains his natural connection with the guys at the park.
Rick doesn't have any single interest, but rather the diverse aspects of
kiting. You will see Rick flying a single line, dual line, and quadline kites. Rick will be happy to show his sewing projects and
even more recently his KAP (Kite Aerial Photography) photos. His
doctor has felt the kite flying is good for his blood pressure. If
you stay later in the afternoon on Kite Club Meeting day, you'll probably
see Rick take the field and fly a stunt kite or two. Rick says its
his "favorite part of the day" since alot of the members have left and the
sun and wind are asking to be enjoyed.
Rick's family isn't too excited about his kiting, though they have shown
up at an event or two. They do know that meeting day is HIS day and
it would take something very big for him to miss it. His daughter
though has used kites in a couple of school projects. Once they
built and decorated a rokkaku for a report on Japanese culture. She
also did a science report on how a tail affects the stability of a kite.
Her project did well enough to make it to the Greater San Diego Science
and Engineering Fair.
One of Rick's other interests is Geocaching. Its sort of a high tech
treasure hunt. In this hobby people hide tupperware or other types
of treasure chests with toys and other items. However, instead of a
rolled-up map, searchers use GPS coordinates to locate the booty.
The satisfaction is of course finding the items after following the
coordinates. Rick says "Mostly it is another reason to get off the
couch and get a little exercise."
Rick has been with the club for 8 or 9 years and says he is glad to have
run across it early in his kite career. Though he may not talk or
say alot during the meetings he does enjoy watching the good fliers do
their stuff, and seeing the good builders showing off their latest
projects. Of course Rick will sometimes show off a little too.
He likes helping out the newbies when he can, just as he got help when he
needed it. "I fly kites and go to meetings to have fun and relax,
you won't find me involved in the controversies that inevitably arise in
any organization, few that are in this club."
Very well said Rick.
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