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THE SCENE Richard Lotharius, CPQ? We asked Dick to explain. "The 'Q' is for quipucamayoc," he told us. "They were America's earliest accountants." Formerly with our Miami Office, Dick is now a senior accountant with DPH&S in Lima, Peru. Fascinated by the remains of the ancient Incas, he began studying their civilization. "A visit to Machu Picchu, the famous 'lost city' of the Incas in southern Peru, made me aware of the remarkable achievements of these people," Dick said. "So I delved into the past and came up with the quipu," he added proudly, perhaps a little like a second Columbus. Dick's researching led him to the library and to the Lima Museum of Anthropology, where he discovered the ingenious accounting device of the Incas and learned how it was used. The Inca civilization, though impressive, lacked two significant accomplishments— the wheel and a system of writing. Because they had no written language, the Incas developed a special tool for keeping accounts—the quipu. "The word means 'knots' in the Inca language," Dick told us. "The quipu consisted of a main horizontal cord with many vertical strings attached to it. The attached strings were of various colors and thicknesses, for example, red to symbolize soldiers, yellow for maize. The vertical strings contained a series of knots representing a decimal system, making possible counts from zero to hundreds of thousands through the placement of knots on the strings. "The keeper of the knotted strings was called a quipucamayoc, or accountant, who verbally communicated the meaning of the quipu to the layman. Each governor of a province had his own team of quipucamayoc... usually 2 to 4 at a time to keep a system of checks and balances. They performed a complete annual inventory of everything within the state—from ponchos and pottery and maize to llamas and guinea pigs and people." Dick was particularly interested in similarities between the accounting system of the Incas and accounting today, such as the need for a system of control effectuated through accounting; a highly trained and skilled professional group to perform and interpret the accounts; a system of checks and balances; and periodic inventories. "What would have been accomplished by these first accountants," Dick wondered, "if they had discovered the wheel?" Strong man. John Dzurenko, senior assistant accountant with our Philadelphia Office, does not chew nails. He prefers chocolate almond ice cream. Yet this did not prevent him from breaking three national records as he placed first in the Eastern Shores Open Weightlifting Meet, middle-heavyweight division, in competition with five other weight lifters. John's new records: 621 xk pounds from a squat; 688 % pounds deadlift (breaking his own record); and total of 1,665 pounds. The 5'g", 198 lb. accountant plans to enter the Senior National Championships this year in Los Angeles. John started lifting to keep in shape for football. Attending Villanova University on a football scholarship, he was the 1967 National Collegiate Champion in the middle-heavyweight class and was also voted the best collegiate lifter. In May of this year he was named "Power Lifter of the Month" by Muscular Development magazine. All this, and a size 18 collar, on chocolate almond ice cream! Have you ever. . . imagined yourself in a golf tournament... with Arnold Palmer as a partner? Dougal Crowe, Honolulu principal, did. And he was. It was the Pro-Am phase of the $110,000 Hawaiian Open golf tournament held at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu recently. With a 50-1 chance, Dougal was drawn as one of Palmer's three amateur partners. "I think playing in a tournament with any pro would be inspiring, but playing with 'the king' was inspiration at its highest," Dougal said. "Yet Palmer is an easy person to be with." Overall, Dougal's performance was better than usual—he hit more good, long wood shots. The reason, he believed, was a greater concentration and extra adrenalin production. His erratic putting he blamed on the excitement. Neither Dougal nor his amateur partners were able to help tournament-weary Palmer finish in the money. "Even though Palmer wasn't playing well (his score was 79) he still thrilled me and all the gallery with his power," recalled Dougal. "Yet one of the most memorable incidents was seeing him take two shots to get out of a sand trap, just like any duffer." In addition to "Arnie's Army" of about 1,000 which followed the foursome, there was "Dougal's Army" of personal supporters—his parents, a few H&S staff members who were also on vacation for that week, friends from client offices and fellow club members. "The instant notoriety I achieved hasn't yet completely died down," Dougal said. And he doesn't really mind being called "Arnie" around his club.