The Be Book

Dick Ford is an artist living in the small town of Mize, Mississippi. I met him online when he was one of a group of regulars in The Punnery which was part of TeleJoke on the GEnie service. That was back in late 1991 when everything was still text-based.

Dick was single when I first encountered him, but he soon married. Soon after, he and his wife had a son, Adam. A few years later, Dick's wife died - way too soon.

Adam was home-schooled and like his father was very interested in the arts. He was active and bright. Then at 15, a few years ago, he was killed in a tragic accident while visiting relatives.

In spite of these tragedies, Dick's answer to the question "To be or not to be?" is "Be."

The Punnery on GEnie ended, but Dick kept in touch with some of the active participants. I lost touch for a while, so in '98, the one time I was driving in Mississippi, I didn't get a chance to meet him. We reunited online. Dick's still into puns as always and hosts the group Punday on Facebook. There's a few of us old hands from The Punnery along with lots of new members from all over.

For more of his work, check out dick-ford.com.

In spite of our long online association, I've never met Dick in person. I'd lost touch with him for a few years, including the one time in '98 when I drove up the Natchez Trace.