Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 16:26:32 -0700
Reply-To: Gnarlodious <gnarlodious@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Gnarlodious <gnarlodious@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Friday musings
In-Reply-To: <1d6c1a1db676.1db6761d6c1a@ou.edu>
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Great story! Thanks for taking the time to type it out.
Having just spent $1300 on my diesel Vanagon I understand the pride at
owning a well maintained old schooner!
-- Gnarlie
http://www.Gnarlodious.com/Vanagon/Vanagon.html
Entity Warren.K.Lail-1 spoke thus:
> Hi all,
>
> It was 14 degrees here this morning when I walked past ole "Billy Bones," my
> 88 Westy, on my way to the office. Billy is named after "Billy Bones," the
> old sea dog of a sailor who took up residence at the Admiral Benbow Inn in
> Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Billy, the character, was rough - sort of like
> my bus when I found it. He was the man who sang the song everyone is familiar
> with: "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, drink and the devil had done for the
> rest - yo ho ho and a bottle of rum."
>
> So, I stopped and paused for a moment to think about the transformation
> Billy's going through. When I came across him, he was on his last leg. His
> owner had thrown in the towel and was going to pull anchor and heave to (Billy
> does not know this but he was about to be put out to pasture - for good). He
> came to me with some dents and dings, a broken windshield, a torn and tattered
> topsail (pop-top canvas), broken skylight, grimy interior, bad tires, broken
> shifter, and an engine that leaked everything everywhere. When I saw him I
> knew that with a little TLC he could offer many more years of service. After
> all, he was a one-owner and had no rust. So, I took the old boy on and sealed
> his leaks, scraped off the barnacles and gave him a decent paint job, replaced
> the topsail, gave him a new windshield, and now I've pulled his old heart out
> to give him a new AVP transplant. Ole Billy looks pretty good these days even
> though he's still in dry dock. I'm looking forward to getting my eng
> ine from Leonard - and Billy looks forward to the day when he leaves dry dock
> and repays me with many voyages across this great land of ours. I've spent
> many years behind the wheel of VW buses and some of my very best memories come
> from my bus trips and the other neat bus people I meet while traveling around.
> Yup, these things are way more than just sheet metal and hoses and moving
> parts. These vehicles have been transformed into cultural icons that bring
> together a diverse group of people under a single umbrella that we call the VW
> Vanagon. I'm happy to know that there are lots of fellow drivers out there
> indulging themselves in this simple but expressive lifestyle.
>
> Warren
> 88 Westy "Billy Bones" (in dry dock)
> 87 GL
> "He drank rum very strong all day, looking up somethin' fierce when spoken
> to."
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