Date:         Thu, 6 May 2004 10:20:36 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Roadhaus - Need an Engine
In-Reply-To:  <018a01c4335a$981a4c30$6501a8c0@Scott>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

> > Geez, what are you guys all sniping at Larry for?
> > He's having problems, asks for help,

> How many of you contributing to this great cause have gone
> out of their way to help a newbie on the list keep there $500
> car running with a $2000 motor or a $20 donation?  Vans
> that were rusting into the ground, had head leaks, etc?
> Wouldn't they be worth or our financial support?  They do
> not have the money for GPS or internet links in their vans,
> or fancy wheels or High powered  engines.............just people
> trying to get by and keep their car on the road.........
> NOT joyride around the US.


Frankly I can see both sides to this. Larry is not the first to ditch
everything and travel around in his Westy, and he won't be the last.
(Some of the "old timers" here may recall Charlie Ford, some years back,
for example.) In fact he is not even the only list member doing it
presently. I often get visitors at my shop who stop by the Depot on
their way around the country on such a journey. Some embark on their
journey quietly and privately, without a lot of fanfare. Others are more
public about it. The motive for publicizing their travels can be a
genuine interest in sharing the experience and meeting others, without
expecting anything in return, or a desire for "fringe benefits" (such as
free or cheap repairs, use of a shower or a real bed, a meal, or
whatever). Often the motives are some combination of the two, I suspect.

I don't think that anyone could reasonably claim that Larry is the most
needy of any Vanagon owner ever to grace this list. I could think of a
hundred Bus or Vanagon owners whose engine blew up and they simply could
not afford a new one. As Adam has pointed out, many are probably far
more needy than Larry ever will be. They do not have internet, GPS, and
laptops in their van (and in fact some could never have afforded such
toys to begin with). Many of them desperately needed their van to get to
work each day to put food on the table, not just for a road trip. Many
of them paid less for their whole van than Larry probably paid just for
his laptop, and emptied their savings accounts doing it.

But why stop there? There are people starving in Africa who are also far
more needy than Larry. It seems pointless to argue whether Larry's van
is the most needy "charity" that list members could send their money
toward. Of course it isn't.

So why is everyone so generous to Larry in particular, and not to
everyone whose engine blows up at a financially inopportune time?
Perhaps because so many have lived vicariously through his exploits, and
thus feel a personal connection with him. This is the "charity begins at
home" philosophy in action; many people tend to help those with whom
they feel a connection, even if on a larger scale there are others who
may be more needy of their help. So if people choose of their own accord
to share their own money with Larry, who is anybody to criticize them
for it?  It's very heartwarming to see that there are so many generous
people on the list. It's equally understandable that others may prefer
to donate their money to other causes instead, whatever they may be.
Sharing what you have with others is a wonderful thing, no matter how
you personally choose to go about it.

Perhaps it's also worth noting that if you read Larry's original post,
he didn't actually come to the list asking for a handout. He simply
reported his engine failure and asked if anyone knew of a cheap source
for a used engine. Many others have posted similarly in the past; that
is one of the things this list is for. The idea of sending Larry cash
via Paypal was initiated by others who felt a desire to help Larry out.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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