[Durham INC] remembrance of Randy Pickle

[M. W. Shiflett - Hotmail]

All,

Randy was a very good friend of mine and he not only was at our home last week but we also went on a motorcycle ride the week before with Cheryl and my daughter Megan (on the back of his bike).

We rode out to Harris Lake by the nuclear power plant and then had dinner at the Bavarian House in Cary.

He was a guest at our dinner table just about on a weekly basis for several years now.

I've cut and pasted some of what I gave to Jackie on Saturday when I heard this and the family was kind enough to put some of it in the obituary.

But there just isn't enough space to put everything he did and the things he did for others into just a few paragraphs.

I'm just now getting ready to leave for his service and I hope that if you knew him, read any of his email posts or just happen to be a member of this listserve that you will take a second to honor a unique individual who happened to also be a supporter of the InterNeighborhood Council way of discussion and debate before answering a question.

Mike Shiflett

Trenta,
 
Randy was the epitome of Durham's mantra  "Where Good People make Great Things Happen" .
 
While this isn't the exact wording of Durham brand,  Randy would have like being described 'differently' than what people expected.
 
He didn't like labels or being pigeon-holed into a stereotype. 
 
Randy was a unique and very complex individual.   As a active citizen,  Randy excelled in having an educated and informed opinion about a number of issues and challenges facing Durham.
 
As a double winner of the Durham InterNeighborhood Councils Neighborhood Hero Award (the only one to do so) he worked hard to understand not only how Solid Waste and Storm Water are dealt with by the City/County but also spend many years on the Citizens Capital Improvement Panel to address other needs and demands Durham has been facing over the past 15 years of growth.
 
He was constant contributor to TROSA,  an active supporter of the Bike Co-op and a frequent poster to several neighborhood and community listserves when a issue came up that he felt the knowledge and experience he had might benefit that particular debate.
 
Randy was a controversial and rabid advocate for the Forest Hills neighborhood.  He help promote not only the listserve and website for that neighborhood BEFORE it was popular for neighborhoods to do so,  but he also cared more about how the community he lived in and the way it dealt with it's challenges than what people felt about him as a person.  During the November elections each year,  he could be found in the neighborhood clubhouse manning the Kids Voting booth for his district polling site.
 
Randy didn't let what others thought of him affect the way he approached life.  Randy was a full throttle guy.   He was secure in his own skin and the way he debated for a particular position rather than worry about how he might be perceived or taken by people who would judge first before listening to a point that might counter what they might initially believe to be true.
 
During the summer he would work with City Forestry to collect the tree trunks and limbs that were being cut down for overhead electrical lines or were diseased and load them onto his truck.  He then would take them back to his home to be split and put into piles for delivery to the poor and heatless over the winter months at his own expense.  He liked to call it "The Wood for the Hood" which grew out of an initiative that he started in Forest Hills park several years earlier.   Randy had a huge heart and demonstrated that even a little hard work paid dividends if it was in the right place as you go through life.
 
Randy had, what he called 'motor and wheel disease'.  He loved to collect cars, motorcycles, campers, scooters and even boat houses!
 
God bless his wife,  most of which ended up somewhere to be worked on later or stored for future enjoyment.   He had a lot of fun with his 'toys'.
 
Personally,  I will miss Randy because he was a friend that will never be replaced.  He is someone that I hope someday to see again and share stories (and a beer or two) wherever it happens.
 
Mike Shiflett
 
 
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