P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } ”Climb the ladder of your lifes experiences and look back and try to remember all the things that you saw. It's impossible to remember every single detail. So it is with my recall of how I first came to know Ray Therat. I know how his name evolved. Perfectionist and realist Bret Kepner was the feature speaker at the Bonneville NW Reunion. As he was speaking he said, “Ray Therat.” The document did not have Ray the Rat, the writing ran together and Kepner read what was written. At that moment Ray's name evolved from the image of a rodent to that of a tongue rolling impression of a highly educated scholar. No doubt “the Rat' came from Ray's respect for Big Daddy Ed Roth and his counterculture Rat Fink who would bully Mickey Mouse, steal his lunch money, snatch his homework and hold his head under water in a rancid mud puddle. Yielding to his own mistake and acknowledging the interpretation of an accomplished master of ceremony he willingly accepted his new identity of Ray Therat. (pronounced “there at.) He changed and used his new moniker in unusual places but it was of his own choosing. I still don't recall how we met but I do remember some things that drew us close together. The cover of the Speed Week program with the blurry roadster picture was one of Ray's contributions. It had to be sold to the person that was responsible for the appearance of the program. It seemed to me that the mountains were the subject of the cover. They had been there longer than the roadster, they were in focus and colorful, not colorful as was the roadster, but as in life with a presence more related to eternity. That's the story and we were prepared to defend the cover but the program was already printed. During a following event Ray was posting pictures on Landracing.com as the event was happening. Repeat performance: background in focus and the car not in focus. Can't let this go on. An easy instant fix is available but it must be brought to Ray's attention. I called him on his cell phone. Had him study the posted image. Yep, he saw it. The mountain was in focus and not the car. These cameras have selective areas of focus on the viewing screen. His selected area was above the top of the car. Drop the focusing area down to the car level and everything was fixed. That was the event that bonded Ray and I. From then on Ray and I talked frequently. When I told him of my inability to post pictures on the Target550 website he offered to “have a look at it.” Not only did he look at it, He fixed my problem. He altered the site to use only the portions that we needed and junked the rest. Then when needed he was available to do the photography wherever an event was happening. Ray the Rat, prior to his rebirth, put Target550 in the internet with authority, His last posts were as Ray Therat. He worked tirelessly not only on the website but also on other individual personal computers. He set up a small net work in Marlo Treit's hanger. He educated all of us relative to our computer needs and he did it on very limited sleep. The man was an underpowered giant. His physical system was junk. His heart was handicapped by bad vessels and his lungs were like a wheeze box. That handicap caused him to work when he had enough energy to do it and when he started to sputter he went to bed. When he awaken he was right back at it. That's part of what took his life. He floated the valves and redlined too many times. He just didn't know quit. Of my friends he was one of a uniquely talented group that achieved beyond our usual standards. Along with that drive he also loved with the same intensity. I feel that love and loss every day. It's difficult to explain but if you are fortunate enough to have experienced the same fellowship and had it yanked from under you you have a chance of knowing how much I miss Ray Therat. His sabbatical started February 27, 2014.
Very nicely stated. I miss seeing Ray and his camera at the local car shows and runs. Always interesting to talk to, and a as knowledgeable on land speed racing as anyone I ever met. Great guy. Mick
The Jalopy Journal
