It’s been a whirlwind the past week. I made a trip out to Utah and back. I was able to get a website set up for Jack so that people could leave remembrances and condolences.
It’s here: http://drjackcrandall.com. The comments that people have posted are quite touching, everybody from old friends, former patients, to a person that works at the senior center where Jack visited.
Play this while you read.
My friend Jack passed today.
I can’t remember when I first met Jack, but it was probably 15 years ago. He quickly became part of my extended family.
Jack loved music, and big band, jazz and blues were probably his favorites. He made me dozen mix tapes over the years. The song posted above was on one of those tapes. I have pages of his hand-written notes wherein he shares his knowledge and history of the various artists on these tapes. I think one of his favorites was Count Basie. One Christmas I gave him a book on the early blues and the following year I received a blues mix tape.
Jack spent most of his life in Aspen, Colorado. He was the town doctor back before Aspen became the glitzy community for the super rich. He made housecalls in his jeep and delivered babies, including his daughter. He built his house and the commercial building that housed his practice, both of which were designed by Tom Benton.
After he retired from medical practice, he continued to manage the commercial building (now re-named The Crandall Building). His office located in the basement boiler room was his man-cave and it was a treat to see Jack’s other side.
Jack was the epitome of “easy going.” He never let stuff bother him very deeply. If it was something out of his immediate control, he didn’t spend much time dwelling on it. He was extremely easy to talk to.
Several times a week, he would go to the Weinerstube for coffee and breakfast and join the Stammtisch. I joined him on a dozen occasions and met some of the old-time colorful characters behind Aspen.
Jack had been living with cancer for years now and he’s been a real trouper — another thing he didn’t let bother him deeply.
He passed very peacefully with his immediate family at his bedside.
Goodbye, Jack. My life is better for knowing you.
Gesine and Jack Crandall on Jack's birthday Sept 22, 2002.
On summer weekends, many car clubs will tour along the peak-to-peak highway. This morning I saw about 60 cars mostly made up of Porsches. But mixed in were a few others such as a Lotus and a DeLorean.
I became familiar with most of these high-end cars when I was a kid and seeing them at car shows. For whatever reason Porsches never grabbed my fancy. Cars such as the Lamborghinni Countach, the Lotus Espirit, and the DeLorean were my favorites. And even today, 30-40 years later, these cars still look beautifully futuristic.
.jpg "Countach LP400 1974")
Countach LP400 1974
Lotus Esprit S2 1980
DeLoreans were a favorite of mine even before a modified version appeared in Back to the Future. Not only was I intrigued with the engineering and design, I like the idea of brushed stainless steel instead of paint for the body finish. The chassis of the DeLorean was designed by Lotus. The style was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also did designs for Lamborghinni and Maserati among many others.
I can’t help but wonder how much the US Federal government was responsible for the demise of the DeLorean. The original high performance design of the DeLorean was sacrificed in order for the car to be sold in the US. The car had to be raised to meet federal bumper guidelines, thus ruining the handling of the car. To meet EPA rules, a catalytic converter had to added to the exhaust system which caused a decrease of 40-50 horsepower in the engine. And finally, the FBI entrapped founder John Deloreanin a drug smuggling case as he was trying to raise money for the company, which was the final nail in the coffin.
Before starting the De Lorean Motor Company, John Delorean worked for Packard Motors and then various divisions in General Motors. In addition to developing many engineering patents, he might be most noted for the Pontiac GTO.
I am somewhat heartened to learn that a Texas company has purchased all of the remaining parts and assets of the old De Lorean Motor Company, formed a company using the old name, and that a new updated DeLorean can be purchased.
