One of a kind?

Toward the end Dave was in a lot of pain and confined to a wheelchair. But he never lost his sense of humor. He closed his email account. But even then, he and I would correspond. I'd respond to his latest tongue-in-cheek threat by starting, "Good to hear you're still alive and kicking! ...well, sort of... If you show up here with such-and-such [a pain-in-the-butt author you probably know], it WILL be the last thing you ever do! ..."

And despite how ill he was, Dave's last letter topped anything I threw at him. He had just been out for the first time in many weeks, and played banjo with other musicians despite having to take many nitroglycerin tablets (dynamite, as he called them) and morphine. But the next morning, Thursday, he felt better. He even thought he might do it again Monday night. He never made it. He died peacefully early Monday morning.

(left) Dave drew all of the illustrations for his books by hand. No computers. No fancy drafting equipment. No art education. He just did it. For photographs he bought a second hand Polaroid camera of very early vintage. I still have those photos from twenty years ago, yellowed and fading. (left) This is the lead screw/change gear assembly on Dave's prototype lathe.(right) Dave's first milling machine under construction.

(left) For many years Dave lived in an old farmhouse around which the city of Springfield, MO had grown. (below) The small shed behind the garage to the left at the rear of his lot was Dave's machine shop --- the place where it all started. To the right is Dave's homemade tower supporting his ham radio antenna.

The success of Gingery and Lindsay were closely intertwined. Both of us would have done well individually, but things happened so much faster because having met up with one another at just the right time. And it was fortunate that he and I got along so well. I miss him. We all miss him.

Mike O'Brien suggested he was one of a kind. But I told him I didn't think so. He was part of a small but significant group of eccentrics who have dared to be different and have set the world on a new course, albeit merely a slight deviation, but a new course nonetheless.

A number of dreamers have approached me about "doing a set of books like Dave Gingery" and they may have known what they were talking about. But no such series of books has appeared yet to replace Dave's. And I don't expect a set any time soon. Some people talk a good game, while others are too busy building to waste time with writing. Dave was different: he built AND wrote.

Maybe Mike was right. Maybe Dave was a one-of-a-kind, but I know having worked with his son, Vince, for a number of years, that much of the ol' man's genius lives on.

Long live the memory of Dave Gingery.

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