Date:         Wed, 5 Sep 2007 09:13:09 -0600
Reply-To:     Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@GWTC.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@GWTC.NET>
Subject:      Remembering the First Bus
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My green 1966, 6 volt camper remains a strong memory.  Purchased in 1973
for $600, driven through three rebuilds, and finally sold for $75 in
1986, I spent all of my 20s and almost half my 30s with it.  It
languished the last couple years as I moved to a 66 Volvo 122s.  Someone
before me had stenciled the logo from Zig-zag rolling papers on the
drivers door. Its name was "Rollin."

I lived in it numerous times and drove it coast to coast and into
deepest Mexico.

When I sold it it was languishing in the storage yard of the
construction company I worked for.  Its drivers seat was reduced to
springs with an old faded, green sleeping bag for a seat cover.  The bed
hardware was so used I had a stick to prop up one side of it when
deployed.  The 2"x6" rear bumper's varathane finish had decayed and the
wood underneath was discolored and swollen.

The bus appears in family photos, as part of memorable experiences, and
generally forms an important thread in the background of my 55 year old
life.

I have an 85 vanagon in the garage, engine stripped, ready to drop, and
an 03 subaru engine ready to go in.  The interior is bare, the two rust
spots treated, ready to be insulated and a camper interior built to my
memories.  No westy for me - I don't like its configuation.  Give me the
SO-42 setup where inside and outside living blend into each other.

Ah yes, some of the experiences I had in that VW camperbus - fade to
black.

Jeffrey Olson
Martin, SD