A Day In The Life Of Rocket

[gphagan1]

Nice!!! We have several supercharged ones in Speed Advocates, a driving group me and my son go out on drives with. They can get pretty fast. Nice grouping of muscle cars. I have had several myself from the 60's thought the 90s. No 2000's hot rods but my 2019 Flex should be around 440-450WHP to all 4 wheels when I get it back, which will be fun. Major sleeper even with my loudish exhaust. A few guys online with the same set up are running 12.2.-12.3 like 116mph trap. Not bad for brick on wheels.


Thanks!

Yeah, I knew your Flex was a beast….running in the 12s is very good.

You're not calling me out or putting me in a spot - Richard (Rocket) was a very good friend of mine outside of the forums. On the forums, we discussed supplements, but 99% of our conversations outside the forums were about family and faith.

There will hopefully be an option around the beginning of next week for people to donate and I will share more information when I have it.

Rocket was very personable but also very humble, and things like this are something that he would always want to run by his family and out of respect for him, I'm not wanting to do anything without discussing it with them and I felt it best to give them a few days before mentioning any of it.

The shirts with the sayings are a good idea - there are two things that he said a lot that always stood out; and I had been trying to figure out a way to express those as parts of his legacy and who he is and the effect that he has had on so many people.

Before things took a turn for the worse, I had discussed an idea that I had wanted to do with Rocket because its a subject matter that is very special and important to him and I both, and he wanted to be a part of it. Our plan had been to do this in the Spring of next year. If the family approves, the idea will be in memory of and honor of him.

He was a very humble man, a very good man - he was never one to ask for anything but would have appreciated any donations and memorials, but I feel like he would have also said if you really want to honor his memory - love your family, be accepting, understanding of, and helpful to those that have special needs, and make it a point to help someone every day, even if its a simple compliment or a smile; try to live your life in a way that encourages others and lifts them up.

That would be really cool….he did have some very positive really good sayings. And I agree with your final statement…. I could very much see him saying just that.

 

[SHORSE]

I think sending flowers is a great idea…..and I for one am going to be giving blood in his honor.
It’s really great seeing all of the personal experiences from all of us that he touched. Him and I shared a huge interest not only in working out but in cars and music as well. I’ve owned several muscle cars over the years and have a Camaro right now, and have always loved drag racing. And he has had and driven some true horsepower beasts in his day. I definitely will think of him when watching drag races now. I actually feel like going out and doing a huge burnout now. Miss you my friend.

Sweet Idea! Boil Those tires in honor of Rocket!

 

[SHORSE]

Yeah, I probably freaked some of my neighbors out with a 3:30 AM burnout. But he use to start posting here on the forum usually between 3:00 to 3:30 AM, so I thought it was fitting. My wife was freaked out when I walked back in to get ready for work, but when I told her why she actually thought it was a unique cool gesture.
Hey, not only give blood to honor Rocket……
Burnouts for Rocket.

That is Awesome!

 

[SHORSE]

2010 SS Camaro….actually at the first of the year my son and I are going to put a supercharger on it and another camshaft to push the horsepower over 600. You turn off the traction control and it will do some killer burnouts, it will bark the tires past 80 mph shifting gears. Now it is more than factory, headers , Magnaflow exhaust and tune, but you know how it is you always want to push the horsepower, so supercharger and cam next. When I retire in a few years, my son and I are going to get a 1959 GMC Apache Pickup to build together.
I’ve had a lot of old muscle cars, 62 Chevy 2, a 66 Impala SS, 67 Firebird, 55 Chevy Pickup,
and we built him a 69 Chevy Stepside Pickup when he still lived at home, so the 59 Apache will be my retirement gift to myself.

59 Apache, nice gift!

 

[SHORSE]

You're not calling me out or putting me in a spot - Richard (Rocket) was a very good friend of mine outside of the forums. On the forums, we discussed supplements, but 99% of our conversations outside the forums were about family and faith.

There will hopefully be an option around the beginning of next week for people to donate and I will share more information when I have it.

Rocket was very personable but also very humble, and things like this are something that he would always want to run by his family and out of respect for him, I'm not wanting to do anything without discussing it with them and I felt it best to give them a few days before mentioning any of it.

The shirts with the sayings are a good idea - there are two things that he said a lot that always stood out; and I had been trying to figure out a way to express those as parts of his legacy and who he is and the effect that he has had on so many people.

Before things took a turn for the worse, I had discussed an idea that I had wanted to do with Rocket because its a subject matter that is very special and important to him and I both, and he wanted to be a part of it. Our plan had been to do this in the Spring of next year. If the family approves, the idea will be in memory of and honor of him.

He was a very humble man, a very good man - he was never one to ask for anything but would have appreciated any donations and memorials, but I feel like he would have also said if you really want to honor his memory - love your family, be accepting, understanding of, and helpful to those that have special needs, and make it a point to help someone every day, even if its a simple compliment or a smile; try to live your life in a way that encourages others and lifts them up.

100% Rick

 

[rascal14]

Nice!!! We have several supercharged ones in Speed Advocates, a driving group me and my son go out on drives with. They can get pretty fast. Nice grouping of muscle cars. I have had several myself from the 60's thought the 90s. No 2000's hot rods but my 2019 Flex should be around 440-450WHP to all 4 wheels when I get it back, which will be fun. Major sleeper even with my loudish exhaust. A few guys online with the same set up are running 12.2.-12.3 like 116mph trap. Not bad for brick on wheels.


Thanks!

Not as cool as you but I’ve always wanted to supercharge my f150s with the 5.0.

maybe not my daily driver, but I’d love a FI 5.0 at some point in my life.

 

[MrKleen73]

Not as cool as you but I’ve always wanted to supercharge my f150s with the 5.0.

maybe not my daily driver, but I’d love a FI 5.0 at some point in my life.

You could supercharge it without tuning it so aggressively that it wouldn't be okay for daily driving. Then do a 2nd more aggressive tune if you are going to the track or out to play. I will probably end up using the 2nd or 3rd revision of the tune for the meth for daily driving then the final tune for when I need to get funky.

 

[rascal14]

You could supercharge it without tuning it so aggressively that it wouldn't be okay for daily driving. Then do a 2nd more aggressive tune if you are going to the track or out to play. I will probably end up using the 2nd or 3rd revision of the tune for the meth for daily driving then the final tune for when I need to get funky.

Totally agree with that! I don’t necessarily want two vehicles, but know if you’re hard on one you also better have a backup lol

something about a crew cab truck leaving a coupe in the dust is just exhilarating to me. Main problem is I do use my truck for towing some. Maybe that just means I need to put twin turbos on the 5.0 instead of a blower lol

 

[MrKleen73]

Totally agree with that! I don’t necessarily want two vehicles, but know if you’re hard on one you also better have a backup lol

something about a crew cab truck leaving a coupe in the dust is just exhilarating to me. Main problem is I do use my truck for towing some. Maybe that just means I need to put twin turbos on the 5.0 instead of a blower lol

And a towing tune. Depending on the programmer you can change the tune on the fly.

 

[rugger48]

Sorry to hear this. Just jumped on and seen this. My condolences.

 

[Afi140]

That is extremely sad to hear

dude i’m so bummed. dang. loved him so much and never even met him in person

 

[Stachio]

I just saw this on FB.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cumberlink/name/richard-merrick-obituary?id=53568514

 

[Smont]

I just saw this on FB.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cumberlink/name/richard-merrick-obituary?id=53568514

i was hoping to see good news when i came in here today. Very depressing to see this.

 

[Beau]

I have some very sad and unfortunate news. I just reached out to Rocket’s daughter and he passed away this afternoon. I have asked if there is anything they need and will let you guys know what she says. This makes me so sad! I know he’s in a better place an no longer suffering! He was such a wonderful man and a huge part of this forum! He will always be remembered!

Thank you for passing this information to us. Its such a strange feeling to know that we will not see his posts again. I did not know him personally, but I considered him as a great forum contributor as a friend (who I've never actually met). I hope and pray that his family has others supporting them and caring for them. This type of tragic event makes me (and probably all of us) reexamine my priorities.

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

Thank you for passing this information to us. Its such a strange feeling to know that we will not see his posts again. I did not know him personally, but I considered him as a great forum contributor as a friend (who I've never actually met). I hope and pray that his family has others supporting them and caring for them. This type of tragic event makes me (and probably all of us) reexamine my priorities.

As always, very well said Sir!

 

[LeanEngineer]

Thank you for passing this information to us. Its such a strange feeling to know that we will not see his posts again. I did not know him personally, but I considered him as a great forum contributor as a friend (who I've never actually met). I hope and pray that his family has others supporting them and caring for them. This type of tragic event makes me (and probably all of us) reexamine my priorities.

Rocket has probably been one of the top active users on the forums for the past 10 years. Definitely going to miss him on here for sure.

 

[Dustin07]

I just saw this on FB.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cumberlink/name/richard-merrick-obituary?id=53568514

I loved the part about food. That's definitely him

Still feels like a sucker punch to the gut. I'm glad to see his AM friends gathered on his thread like a virtual memorial service that keeps going.

 

[Smont]

I loved the part about food. That's definitely him

Still feels like a sucker punch to the gut. I'm glad to see his AM friends gathered on his thread like a virtual memorial service that keeps going.

Its weird how mentally you/me or anyone can form a bond or friendship with someone you likely will never meet. When thebigt passed away i felt terrible. I bet most ppl here would see me and him bumping heads a lot but we also talked through dm several times. Lots twords the tail end. We would have a little argument in a thread and then continue our normal conversation in our dm's lol. Its almost like loosing a close family friend

 

[Segansational]

I just saw this on FB.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cumberlink/name/richard-merrick-obituary?id=53568514

Thanks for sharing. Anyone know the daughter or a family member's contact info? Can take to DMs so we don't post publicly. I know a lot of times if you do donate in honor of someone, you can have the org send them an email to let them know it was donated in their memory. Might be nice for them to see the flood of AM folks who's lives he touched.

 

[sns8778]

Thanks for sharing. Anyone know the daughter or a family member's contact info? Can take to DMs so we don't post publicly. I know a lot of times if you do donate in honor of someone, you can have the org send them an email to let them know it was donated in their memory. Might be nice for them to see the flood of AM folks who's lives he touched.

I do have her contact information and have spoken with her - they are very appreciative but also pretty private. We've discussed doing something in his honor, and when/if the family agrees to it, I will post all of the information in this thread for everyone.

I think they are very much overwhelmed at this time and really just need space and time to grieve and be there for one another.

If you want anymore details, you're welcome to pm me.

 

[akboom87]

I do have her contact information and have spoken with her - they are very appreciative but also pretty private. We've discussed doing something in his honor, and when/if the family agrees to it, I will post all of the information in this thread for everyone.

I think they are very much overwhelmed at this time and really just need space and time to grieve and be there for one another.

If you want anymore details, you're welcome to pm me.

I respect that, if it was my family member in the situation I would want to be left alone until I can grasp the situation and grieved.

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

I do have her contact information and have spoken with her - they are very appreciative but also pretty private. We've discussed doing something in his honor, and when/if the family agrees to it, I will post all of the information in this thread for everyone.

I think they are very much overwhelmed at this time and really just need space and time to grieve and be there for one another.

If you want anymore details, you're welcome to pm me.

When my father passed it was so overwhelming and I was completely numb. He owned a small business and we were from a small town. I swear for the first 2 months after his passing I couldn’t go 2 days w out bumping into someone who knew him. The worst was bumping into someone who knew him but didn’t know he had passed. “How’s your Dad doing? Tell him I said hello.” It kept the wound fresh but looking back it was great to know that people loved him just as much as we did. I truly feel for his family. From what I knew of Rocket on this forum he reminded me a lot of my father. Level headed, passive, well read, well spoken, fitness oriented, a man of Faith, made his point without rubbing it in your face, and an amazing Husband/ Dad/ and “Pop”.

 

[sns8778]

When my father passed it was so overwhelming and I was completely numb. He owned a small business and we were from a small town. I swear for the first 2 months after his passing I couldn’t go 2 days w out bumping into someone who knew him. The worst was bumping into someone who knew him but didn’t know he had passed. “How’s your Dad doing? Tell him I said hello.” It kept the wound fresh but looking back it was great to know that people loved him just as much as we did. I truly feel for his family. From what I knew of Rocket on this forum he reminded me a lot of my father. Level headed, passive, well read, well spoken, fitness oriented, a man of Faith, made his point without rubbing it in your face, and an amazing Husband/ Dad/ and “Pop”.

Very well said and a great description.

 

[MrKleen73]

I just donated blood to honor Rick, I think one cool way we could let the family know how much we cared is maybe make a thread titled something like Donating in Honor of Rocket, and we can all go donate and put our names in the thread when done. Then after about a month someone who is in touch with the family send them the link so they can see how many people donated in honor of Rick, AKA Rocket. What do you all think about that idea?

 

[sns8778]

I just donated blood to honor Rick, I think one cool way we could let the family know how much we cared is maybe make a thread titled something like Donating in Honor of Rocket, and we can all go donate and put our names in the thread when done. Then after about a month someone who is in touch with the family send them the link so they can see how many people donated in honor of Rick, AKA Rocket. What do you all think about that idea?

I think it would be great to use this thread for that for now.

The plan is to do a memorial type thread on here and it would be cool to incorporate things like that into that thread, when the time comes. The thing that we are waiting on before doing a thread like that is the family's approval for what would be an acceptable memorial/tribute and what, if anything they would be comfortable with being done in his name.

I've discussed with them doing something like a GoFundMe, fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, or anything like that - and they may be open to that in the future, but right now they have asked for some time before doing anything like that.

They are very appreciative of everyone's thoughts and prayers, but they want some time to focus on grieving and on one another before doing something like that. They know that they wouldn't have to handle any of it, but its that they are so overwhelmed at the moment that they just need time to breathe and grieve without having anything else to think about.

Blood donations are a great way to pay tribute to him and is one of the things that his family has asked for.

I'll definitely keep everyone updated as to anything they okay us doing as soon as they okay it; I've discussed it with them and am myself just trying to be respectful and give them space and time and let them heal and grieve at the moment.

 

[MrKleen73]

I think it would be great to use this thread for that for now.

The plan is to do a memorial type thread on here and it would be cool to incorporate things like that into that thread, when the time comes. The thing that we are waiting on before doing a thread like that is the family's approval for what would be an acceptable memorial/tribute and what, if anything they would be comfortable with being done in his name.

I've discussed with them doing something like a GoFundMe, fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, or anything like that - and they may be open to that in the future, but right now they have asked for some time before doing anything like that.

They are very appreciative of everyone's thoughts and prayers, but they want some time to focus on grieving and on one another before doing something like that. They know that they wouldn't have to handle any of it, but its that they are so overwhelmed at the moment that they just need time to breathe and grieve without having anything else to think about.

Blood donations are a great way to pay tribute to him and is one of the things that his family has asked for.

I'll definitely keep everyone updated as to anything they okay us doing as soon as they okay it; I've discussed it with them and am myself just trying to be respectful and give them space and time and let them heal and grieve at the moment.

I got you, I wasn't talking about asking them now. Just sending them the collection of people who donated once people have actually had time to go out to donate. That would not burden them or give them anything to think about. I can see why you would want their buy in on something big like it sounds like you are trying to do. Just collecting the group of us doing what was asked of us doesn't seem like an overstep. It's more like an obvious thing to do.

 

[sns8778]

I got you, I wasn't talking about asking them now. Just sending them the collection of people who donated once people have actually had time to go out to donate. That would not burden them or give them anything to think about. I can see why you would want their buy in on something big like it sounds like you are trying to do. Just collecting the group of us doing what was asked of us doesn't seem like an overstep. It's more like an obvious thing to do.

Oh I understood. You just asked for opinions on making a separate thread for it.

I was just saying that it may be better to use this thread for talking about the blood donations for now and then when the memorial thread does get made, after the family gives their approval, then someone could tally a total list of people that have donated in his honor over to that thread - that way everything could be in the one memorial thread when the time comes.

 

[MrKleen73]

Oh I understood. You just asked for opinions on making a separate thread for it.

I was just saying that it may be better to use this thread for talking about the blood donations for now and then when the memorial thread does get made, after the family gives their approval, then someone could tally a total list of people that have donated in his honor over to that thread - that way everything could be in the one memorial thread when the time comes.

I got you, I was more thinking about efficiency, and not having to go back and count posts in an already busy thread. Any way we do it honors him, so if someone wants to come back here later and look through posts that works too.

 

[gphagan1]

It’s very understandable where the family is coming from.
I was able to go give blood in honor of Rocket (Rick) today. The whole process really took on a special meaning and importance.

 

[Beau]

I routinely do scheduled double red donations (once every 112 days, as permitted) as part of a general commitment to try to help others, so I can't say that Rocket caused my my next donation, but I will make a point of thinking about him and the others who benefit from blood donations during my December donation.

 

[MrKleen73]

It’s very understandable where the family is coming from.
I was able to go give blood in honor of Rocket (Rick) today. The whole process really took on a special meaning and importance.

Yeah, it did feel more meaningful.

I routinely do scheduled double red donations (once every 112 days, as permitted) as part of a general commitment to try to help others, so I can't say that Rocket caused my my next donation, but I will make a point of thinking about him and the others who benefit from blood donations during my December donation.

Just say "This is for my boy Blue!" when you do it.

 

[SkRaw85]

RIP brother, you are missed greatly.

 

[rodefeeh]

Damn. Just saw this. He joined the board shortly after I did. What a great man!

 

[BennyMagoo79]

RIP Rocket

 

[Anabolic66]

I didnt realize Rocket had passed or was even sick as I was away from this forum for a couple years.
(Read it for years).
Great guy, may he RIP...

 

[LeanEngineer]

I didnt realize Rocket had passed or was even sick as I was away from this forum for a couple years.
(Read it for years).
Great guy, may he RIP...

I know! It's very sad. Still miss him on here reading his daily updates.

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

His posts in this thread were like the morning paper…you wake up and it’s there waiting for you
RIP Brother! Godspeed to your family. The “first holiday” without someone is definitely the hardest. A time for reflection, smiles, laughter and tears

 

[sns8778]

A lot of people had asked if there was a GoFundMe or way to donate or help the family when Rocket passed away.

At that time, I had posted that the family requested that people donate blood or donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and that the plan was to do something later after they had had some time to grieve and focus on one another.

Rocket helped a lot of people and touched a lot of lives - including my own. He was someone that I was blessed to know and get to talk to a lot outside of the forums, and he is someone I looked up to tremendously. He was both a role model and a friend.

Anyone that knew Rocket knew that he lived a life of positivity and of helping others.

Please help me honor his memory by helping make this fundraiser set up by his daughter last night a success.

In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research organisée par Angela Zook

In Honor of Richard G. join me in making a difference? I'm raising money … Angela Zook a besoin de votre soutien pour In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research

www.gofundme.com

Please donate what you can and help spread the word to others so that they may can donate as well.

 

[gphagan1]

A lot of people had asked if there was a GoFundMe or way to donate or help the family when Rocket passed away.

At that time, I had posted that the family requested that people donate blood or donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and that the plan was to do something later after they had had some time to grieve and focus on one another.

Rocket helped a lot of people and touched a lot of lives - including my own. He was someone that I was blessed to know and get to talk to a lot outside of the forums, and he is someone I looked up to tremendously. He was both a role model and a friend.

Anyone that knew Rocket knew that he lived a life of positivity and of helping others.

Please help me honor his memory by helping make this fundraiser set up by his daughter last night a success.

In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research organisée par Angela Zook

In Honor of Richard G. join me in making a difference? I'm raising money … Angela Zook a besoin de votre soutien pour In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research

www.gofundme.com

Please donate what you can and help spread the word to others so that they may can donate as well.

That’s awesome, we miss you Rocket….

 

[akboom87]

A lot of people had asked if there was a GoFundMe or way to donate or help the family when Rocket passed away.

At that time, I had posted that the family requested that people donate blood or donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and that the plan was to do something later after they had had some time to grieve and focus on one another.

Rocket helped a lot of people and touched a lot of lives - including my own. He was someone that I was blessed to know and get to talk to a lot outside of the forums, and he is someone I looked up to tremendously. He was both a role model and a friend.

Anyone that knew Rocket knew that he lived a life of positivity and of helping others.

Please help me honor his memory by helping make this fundraiser set up by his daughter last night a success.

In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research organisée par Angela Zook

In Honor of Richard G. join me in making a difference? I'm raising money … Angela Zook a besoin de votre soutien pour In Honor of Richard G Leukemia Research

www.gofundme.com

Please donate what you can and help spread the word to others so that they may can donate as well.

Thank you for posting this, he will be missed.

 

[sns8778]

Thank you for posting this, he will be missed.

You're very welcome. A lot of people had asked about something soon after he passed, but I had talked to his daughter and the family needed time to grieve and process things and focus on one another without thinking about anything like this.

I talked with her last night and now that the holidays have passed, she agreed that it would be a good time to.

I hope that as a community we can come together to help reach the goal - I know it would make him smile.

 

[sns8778]

I definitely want to always keep this thread alive, as it was so important to him, but also wanted to share the link here for the memorial thread for him, the contents of which were discussed with his family.

In Loving Memory of Rocket3015 - AnabolicMinds.com

Rocket3015, real name Richard Merrick, passed away on November 6th, 2023. Richard went to be with the lord while surrounded by his much loved family after a long and hard battle with cancer, a battle in which he fought with strength, character, and positivity. I say that he went to be with the...

anabolicminds.com