Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:29:00 -0700
Reply-To: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Fw: 30 years of buying parts and why these vans matter
In-Reply-To: <27479008.518786.1394570337999.JavaMail.root@vznit170146>
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I am a poor mechanic. I am unsure of my skills, not confident that I can
start a repair or upgrade without feeling that I will, surely, break
something. I don't work on the van because I have a hankering to get
grease on my fingers: no, I do it because the project I choose to work
on appears to be something that I could do myself, and it would feel --
wimpy? -- to pay Some Other Guy (or as OlRiverRat would have it,
"SomeOtherGuy") to do it.
The missus does not find the van comfortable for travel. The seat does
not suit, it's noisy, there is no A/C. I don't mind. But the missus does
indeed love camping in the van. The windows: there is so much glass.
She'd like to find something newer and cushier to take camping -- but
nothing has the glass: the light and the openness that the Westy
provides. And she does like her light and openness.
For me, the van is for camping. I am profoundly content when I find a
nice spot and park. After that, it's pure pleasure: raise the top, set
out the solar panels, and pitch the awning. The routine of setting up camp.
--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.
On 03/11/2014 01:38 PM, David Bjorkman wrote:
> We do the mechanics so the vehicle will take us places to have fun,
> relax and discover. Although I do get a sense of accomplishment when
> I do the work, and sometimes it is fun and always enlightening, it is
> a means to an end. There is just no other vehicle that will take me
> the places I want to go in safety, comfort, and style like the Westy,
> or any variation of the vehicle. Like the bumper sticker says
> "Volkswagen, turning owners into mechanics for 50 years", and yes, I
> had a bus more than 40 years ago that was already 20 years old and I
> did most of the work on it. At the time due to expenses. Now I have
> a hard time finding someone I can trust to do the work correctly.
>
> Dave B.
>
>
> ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: WILLIAM WITZ
> <pbwitz@sbcglobal.net> To: "vanagon@gerry.com" <vanagon@gerry.com>
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 7:00 PM Subject: 30 years of buying
> parts and why these vans matter
>
> .
>
> I think these vans matter because of what we bring to them and what
> they bring to us. I would say that the synthesis between the two
> creates something new for us to always rediscover and renew. An I
> don't mean it is all just mechanics. Bill Witz 84 Westy Tiico
>
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