21Jun2006 version 1.0.0
First I need to say something about the way that Jimmy left us. When I heard what happened to Jimmy I could not believe my ears. You see Jimmy was one of the smartest operators I have ever known, and very safety conscious. To me it was like Thomas Edison getting electrocuted. It just did not compute! But Jimmy left us with an important lesson, DON'T WORK ALONE. OK, now on to the good stuff.
When Jimmy came to AAR it was the end of the GTU Celica program and the beginning of the GTO program, with a side order of champ cars. At first everyone thought he was a bit "off." "A strange duck." But no one doubted his skills for very long. This guy was no Wantabe. He became a main player in the fab shop and the race team real quick. He also became one of the best friends I will ever have.
In those days a lot of the guys were single, from somewhere else and living where ever they could. I on the other hand had a live-in girl friend "Frede," a four bedroom house, a fridge full of food and cold drinks, a washer and dryer, a barbeque and an open door. So a lot of the guys would hang out at my place on the weekends. Jimmy was one of those guys. Jimmy fell in love with my girl friend Frede and her mom, Lucky. We spent many a night eating & drinking, talking and laughing.
Those were the days! Jimmy used to tell me he was waiting for me to drop dead so he could have Frede! I think he was only half joking! One night Jimmy and Frede stayed up after everyone had gone to bed or home and drank a whole liter of Martell cognac. That put the cure to Jimmy's drinking days. He never had another drop of alcohol and gave Frede the credit for "his cure."
Now for some Jimmy T stories.
THE BIG KABOOM
Some guys in the rag shop across the courtyard where shooting bottle rockets thru the door into the fab shop just for fun! I had about a half dozen ¼ sticks in my tool box (really BIG kaboom). I said to Jimmy, "Sure would like to get those guys shooting the bottle rockets." Jimmy's eyes lit up and he grabbed Ron Perry and took off for the race shop.
About 10 mins later they show up with a huge 3-man slingshot they made out of surgical tubing and an inner tube. Jimmy took one end and Ron the other. I put a ¼ stick in the middle, pulled it back, lit the fuse, aimed it in the general direction of the rag shop, and let fly.
Well, let me tell you the war gods were with us that day. The dang thing went right in the open door of one of the shops. About 2 seconds later 3 guys came out the door heads down running as hard as they could to get anywhere but where they were! The ¼ stick had come thru the door and bounced off a wall right where the guys were working and into a trashcan full of paper and tape. When it went off a cloud of paper scraps came out the door. They never found the trashcan. Jimmy, Ron, and I were rolling around on the floor laughing. Then about 1 min later all the other rag shop doors opened and out came little white flags. That was Jimmy's style ... no half way ... get it done ... right over the top!
THE BOAT
A new motor.
A rebuilt outdrive.
All new wires and gages.
All new control cables.
All new seats and upholstery.
Extensive fiberglass work.
A new sound system.
A new VHF radio.
A new fish finder.
A new bait tank and pumps.
Well, you get the idea. We spent so much time working on that boat that Frede started to complain she was being neglected. That's how the boat got its name (The Other Woman). Oh, did I mention the outriggers? Doesn't every 19 foot boat have them? We did. When we took the boat for its Coast Guard inspection and sticker, the guy inspected the whole boat inside and out. Signed the inspection forms and gave us our sticker. Then he looked at Jimmy and me and said, "You guys build race cars, don't you?" Right over the top one more time.
SHARK FISHING
I had lots of big rods and reels for my tuna fishing days so all we needed was some terminal tackle for sharks. So off we got to the "fishin' stuff" store. We buy some 12 foot 120 lb test steel wire leaders and some real pricey shark lures.
We launched out of Newport harbor and motored out about 7 miles till I found a kelp paddy and some clear blue water. We put our baited lures out and started to slow troll the area. About one and a half hours later I said we should check the baits. So we wind up the lines, they had both been bit clean off right thru the 120 lb steel leaders. Not one rod tip had moved, not one reel had clicked. We were SKUNKED big time. Jimmy says, "Some times you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug." Back to the dock we go.
About two days later, Jimmy shows up at my house with a whole bunch of new "fishin stuff." He had a whole big roll of 600 lb test braided steel leader that would have made a righteous barbwire fence, a big assortment of steel crimps, and a crimping tool that looked more like a pair of bolt cutters than anything else. And a bunch of forged hooks about the size of my hand.
You see, Jimmy had been reading up on shark fishing. He wanted a BIG TOOTHY CRITTER real bad, and he was going to have one! I'm thinking if we hook a shark that goes with this tackle it will eat our boat.
Off we go to catch our shark. We are sitting out there with 4 baits in the water about 100 feet down when one of the rods goes off. Jimmy grabs the rod and I reeled in the others. I could tell from the rod action that it was not a big fish. Surenuff he reels up a Mako about 60-70 pounds, about 3 feet long, a pup. I say, "Let's let it go." Jimmy says, "It's my first shark and I'm gonna eat it!"
Well, it only took about 2 mins to bring the shark to the boat and it's still real frisky (green). When we loaded up the boat, Jimmy put a six inch stainless Ruger .357 in the front locker. He had said something about "loads" but I didn't pay attention.
I say, "We can't bring it in the boat like that!" (Even small sharks have big teeth). Jimmy says, "Get the gun and shoot it!" So I run up front and get the gun and come back. Jimmy says, "SHOOT IT!" I thumb back the hammer and aim for the base of its spine right behind its head. BOOM! The loads in the gun were so hot it cut the shark in half. The body (dinner) sank out of sight, the head (more shark bait) stayed on the hook. There isn't much room on a 19 foot boat to roll around on the floor laughing, but we did! Just like Jimmy, "over the top."
THE OTHER JIMMY
He was quick to tell you that he thought holidays and birthdays were a bunch of bull, that people should treat each other like that all the time. He never came around on Christmas, but he always was around a few days before. Lo and behold when he left, there would be a couple of cute reindeer broaches for the girls, or snowmen or Santas lying on the kitchen counter. Not a word said. Frede loves Halloween, so a new bat or witch showed up every year just before. Frede still has a section in her jewelry box just for Jimmy's little goodies.
If you look up Gentleman in the dictionary, you see a picture of Jimmy. I also know the he cared deeply for his folks back home and did anything in his power to make their lives better. I know he made my life better and I suspect almost everyone that knew him would say the same thing.
I'll miss him.
Thanks,
John O'Malley
