Sad news yesterday, as I learned of the passing of my good friend Craig Anderson, seen here racing his Austin-Healey (which he'd owned since he was a very young chap):
Craig was a racer friend, but so much more than that. We shared a love of books, history, language, and more. We could sit at a race and talk for hours about authors and writing styles.
Craig was a racing mentor for me. He taught me SO MUCH about driving, throttle control, steering ... and he was an incredible guy. When I was unemployed, and therefore not racing as I didn't have the money for fees or the right to risk my car, he let me race the Healey - FOR FREE. That kind of guy just doesn't come around often! He helped me understand how to use the power in that car, how to 'dance' on the course.
He reached out to everyone around him. He was always helping other people, giving his time and knowledge freely, and always a gentleman.
He was quirky funny, too - I never knew what silly little thing he'd have done to the car when I showed up at the race. A mannequin head to hold your helmet between runs, mis-labeled dials, a completely different clutch, etc. Once, as I was heading to the starting line, Craig said "Oh - and something may fly off, just ignore it! Now GO!" EEEK! HA. SO Craig. :) (Nothing flew off, by the way. I still don't know what it was he was thinking might come loose, and if I could ignore it, why even bother having it on there in the first place?!?!)
And Craig loved wearing kilts and playing his bagpipes - and he wasn't half bad at them either! And he had quite handsome knees.
I will miss you so much, dear friend. May all your Lucas electronics hum along forever up there in heaven, and I know you won't have a single oil drip on your heavenly garage floor!
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