Every morning I rise at 5am. I head down the stairs, through the dining room and into the kitchen. I put on a pot of coffee and then I step out on my back porch and look up at the stars. These days Orion is back. Straight overhead. Lower and to the left is Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. A couple of years ago I didn't appreciate any of this. I didn't appreciate a clear sky at 5:15 in the morning. Then my wife and I started going to the Ward Beecher Planetarium almost every Saturday night. It was a cheap date. And we were hooked.
The major reason we kept going was a man named Rick Pirko. Rick presented most of the planetariums programs. He made everything that he was interested in very easy to understand. Once my wife and I became "regulars", (as Rick referred to the small core group that showed up most of the time) he would often stay and talk to us after the show. He would ask our opinion about different programs and about the planetarium in general. It was easy to see that he loved what he was doing. And it seemed to the casual observer that he could do almost anything.
I remember last Halloween at the Oakland Performing Arts Center the Zhou was performing music from Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rick was in the audience with his camera. When the sound system went on the blink, Rick jumped on stage and fixed it.
But Rick's lasting impression on me will always be in the stars. I don't know much about astronomy but what I do know Rick and the crew at the Ward Beecher Planetarium taught me. I will be forever grateful. Rick Pirko passed from this life this morning. He is the same age as I am. His final lesson for me is to see my own mortality as clearly as Orion on a clear winter night.
In my Buddhist practice everyday I recite "The Foundation of all Perfections" by Je Tsongkapa. One of the verses says that "Spirit quivers in flesh like a bubble in water" I will miss you Rick.
Tomorrow morning when I rise at 5am and walk down the stairs and through the dining room into the kitchen, I will put on the coffee and step outside and look up at the sky. And it is then that I will remember Rick. And every morning thereafter. Thank you.
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4 comments:
Beautifully said, Bill.
I met Rick at the FPSPACE96 conference in Moscow. Rick's intelligence, helpfulness and clever dry wit made him a great travelling companion as we toured the Russian space program. He was equally able to talk about astrophysics with Russian astronomers or share Monty Python jokes on the bus.
It was 12 years ago, but I'll never forget him.
Brett Harrison
AUSTRALIA
I worked with Rick at the Planetarium from the late summer of 1995 until 1999 as a student worker. I learned so much from him, and enjoyed helping him put shows together and making people happy. He was always so excited about the Nightlights show, and indeed it was tremendous! Because of him, I can talk to others about the stars, and how exciting it is to know how the sun rises on a horizon because of Rick's dedication to photographing the movement of the morning sun. Peace be with him. ~ Holly
Thank you Bill for the beautiful memorial. It is beautiful to think that when we look at the stars we will think of Rick. He touched SO many people in SO many ways. Planetarium guru, teacher, photographer, pilot, farmer, activist, performer, tinker, etc., etc. He is loved and his physical presence will be missed.
Peace.
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