Six months later ZOOM has replaced the classroom and conference room. Things have relaxed a bit with limited retail and restaurant openings, but all of the musical ensembles I play in have cancelled their fall seasons. Also cancelled is the Fall car show season that I look forward to every year. Not this year. With no place to go, my EVs are languishing in the garage with trickle chargers on their 12 volt batteries so they don't brick on me. National Drive Electric Week is supposed to be virtualized - don't see how that's gonna work.
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| Jack Rickard at the EVCCon 2012 awards banquet with his trademark yellow Crocs and shop towel |
Amid all this, we marked the passing of a guy who has been most influential in my EV journey. Jack Rickard passed away this week from lung cancer.
I wanted to make the trip to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to pay my respects at his funeral Mass yesterday, but couldn't work it out. Happily, video of Jack's Mass and graveside service were posted for those of us who could not attend.
I discovered Jack's web site, EVTV.me, after I started my eBugeye conversion, and continued my build in parallel with his Porsche Speedster project, gathering a huge trove of insight and information through Jack's weekly videos. The eBugeye was finished just in time to take it on what became an annual pilgrimage to Jack's shop in Cape Girardeau. From 2011 to 2015 Jack sponsored and largely funded the EV Conversion Conference (EVCCON), a gathering of EV conversion guys who responded to Jack's challenge to sweep out a corner of the garage, build something, and change the world one car at a time. We all became fast friends in the process.
This gathering of father-son teams at the 2012 EVCCON was a special moment. Jack said he had pictured 37 year old fathers bonding with their 17 year old sons through projects like this, but he never imagined it would be the 60 year old guys bringing their 80 year old Dads. We have lost several of the Dads from this group including my own, now Jack as well.
After recognizing the success of Tesla, Jack declared victory in the sphere of electric vehicles and moved on to battery backed up solar power. His skills as a visionary, coder, and entrepreneur applied to everything he touched.
My sincere condolences to Jill Rickard and the rest of the clan. Jack, thanks for the inspiration and practical insight. You have left behind an unforgettable body of work. Godspeed until we meet again on the other side.
