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Date:         Fri, 2 Jan 2009 10:14:19 -0800
Reply-To:     Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Sad day for our family, LVC.
Comments: To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <BAY132-W281EDCBD32CFDF629B36E4A0E20@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Dear Dennis Thanks for sharing your sadness with me and us. I hope the prosperity you have been a part of in this life continues to bless you and your family. Indeed it is always wonderful to read of the occasions where a father has left his earmark on his family in such a positive way. I am sure if we all scrape a little below the surface we can find such values with in our selfs that were nurtured by our fathers. My own dad was the antithesis of most things that most ideal families strive for, yet his legacy of kindness and goodwill has reached far and deeply into the community i was raised in. there are no plaques up or anything like that, but i know what didn't exist before he created it and how it exists now. Those simple decisions he made then have gone along way to cover a multitude of sins and it is my hope that i should be looked upon with 1/2 the respect by my own offspring such as i look back on him.

i hope your own sadness runs like a river to the ocean, flooding at times to leave fertile banks for you to prosper upon. yours

On Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:

> My dad passed away this past Monday. As I reflect my thoughts I have > realized that he made the decisions that shaped much of my life. most > important is that he was the reason for my VW involvement, especially Busses > and Vans. > > During my younger years my family had limited means and at time both my > parents worked two jobs. I am the oldest of 5 children born in 1960. > September of 1970, My mom while pregnant with my brother Daniel, (child 4) > she got into an accident totaling the only family car, the Ford Torino > Station Wagon. As my dad had zero mechanical skills they believed new was > the only option. The new car was a powder Blue 1970 Standard Beetle. > > Now a Family of 6, we took a vacation to Lake George the following year. > Yes 6 of us in a Beetle. Shortly after that trip, my dad decided we needed a > Bus. Soon came the 1967 Splittie. > > Starting at 13 I began doing some repairs on those vehicles. I spent 3 > days doing a generator in the bus and then it wouldn't run. I swapped the > green wires for the ignition points and the field coil. At 15 I rebuilt the > engine in that Bus. Over the next two years I learned the hard way about > bolt torque and other mistakes I made. I learned much working on those two > cars. The Bus became mine in 1978 and I had it until 1981. It was replaced > with a '69. That was later replaced with a '72. The Beetle went to my sister > and she had until 1985 or so. > > Thanks to those 2 VWs I honed skills that got me started in Industrial > Maintenance. Been doing that since 1980. In 1983 I started working for Estee > lauder as a Production mechanic. Now I am the engineering manager for their > automated warehouse. All this because my dad decided to buy the 2 VW's. > > My brother Daniel, also decided to go the mechanical route. He stuck with > cars and is really a Ford fan. He has his own shop and towing company now. > By the way, Dan and I have the same birthday, 10 years apart. > > Kathy and married in 1983, our honeymoon bus was the 1972 converted camper. > My third Bus, the first FUN BUS. In 1985 we aquired a 1984 passenger > Vanagon. The Vanagon love began. It was replaced in 1988 with the '87 Syncro > westy, still the current FUN BUS. even though we joined the RV and Mercedes > world, there will probably always be a Vanagon in our driveway. > > My life shaped by my father's decision to buy a VW. > > While we didn't speak often since my parents moved to Florida, I knew he > was there. > > I'll miss him and I know he is ridding in my Bus, (Vanagon). > > Thanks for listening, > Dennis

-- roger w There are two kinds of jobs in the world: Picking up garbage and telling people things. Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw) ---------------------------------------------------------- Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/ View the growing list of video work at: http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners and ... older work at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364


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