RJ Fish

I saw the announcement by Brian Dalager stating that RJ Fish an icon in Arizona Land Surveying has gone to visit that big triangulation point in the sky.

RIP RJ.

I never personally met RJ, but what I understand from the people that knew him he was extremely passionate about surveying.

I can honestly say that I never missed an RJ monument more than a tenth or two and I enjoyed reviewing his thorough maps and most of all loved that he did them all in azimuths.

Anyone that ever looked at RJ's work should have automatically known what a fanatic he was. I am wondering if RJ was a dying breed or far ahead of his time. Guys like RJ both help a profession with their zeal and also hinder it by being a hammerhead. So I think it will be up to us as individuals to decide.

I also noticed the interaction between Jeff Andrews and Brian about RJ's records which brings me to a spot of thought.

Someday I will quit surveying and at that point what the hell am I going to do with all of these years of records? Essentially they are completely worthless and all they do is take up space.

I find it incredibly disheartening that all of these years of work mean nothing except for keeping a hard drive and a file cabinet occupied.

The only thing that is worth anything is a results of survey or plat or description or piece of info that has become public information, but at that point it becomes worthless to us and useful to the world which is something that I enjoy.

I love the idea that my name will be on those certain documents until the end of time and no one will ever have my number of 37937. I own that stuff in name and that will never change.

Because of this particular factor we as surveyors are far more part of history than any profession and we should be very proud of that. We get to literally have our name on maps and documents that will be here until that day when the earth either implodes or explodes from an alien blast and no one can change that once it is recorded.

So let's all take a moment and lift a drink to RJ Fish, an old school surveyor that loved what he did and believed in a better world for surveyors and a better world because of surveyors.

RJ is probably solving a boundary problem around the perimeter of the Pearly Gates as you read this.