Date: Thu, 7 May 2015 18:22:25 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Awesome Vanagon Close Encounter
In-Reply-To: <0C557F6B-5425-4F2D-9006-5302A1544540@yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Or trade the rights to VW for one of the new vans--NOT!
Jim
On Thu, May 7, 2015 at 6:12 PM, Mudd 'Not Jack' Sparrow <rummaging@yahoo.com
> wrote:
> Maybe you should turn that into a Walt Disney Movie.
>
>
> > On May 7, 2015, at 1:42 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > Today I had a lunch meeting so before that I stopped off at Home Depot
> for
> > a few things I would need this weekend. I was leaving the parking lot
> when
> > I saw the chocolate brown 86 Westy of Nick, a former Vanagon mechanic at
> my
> > local VW shop so I turned around and parked to talk with him for a
> minute.
> > When I returned to my car, there was a guy about my age standing behind
> it
> > and asked if I had time for a few questions. I told him I was waiting on
> a
> > phone call about the exact time of a meeting, so until that happened,
> yes,
> > I did.
> >
> > He told me that he was in the Air Force in Germany in 1892 When his dad,
> > back in the states, became obsessed with owning a Westy. The son
> explained
> > that they worked out a deal: The exchange rate was good, so the son put a
> > westy just like mine on layaway at a dealership near Rammstein. Dad sent
> > the money for some time, then the son drove it during the rest of his
> hitch
> > in Germany with the agreement that dad would pick it up and own it after
> it
> > got shipped back to the states.
> >
> > Dad's ownership of the Ivory diesel was legendary in the family. It was
> the
> > only car he owned or drove regularly for the next 20 years, and in fact
> > soon after the keys were taken away from him by the family, he passed
> away.
> >
> > The fellow telling me all this introduced himself as Travis Reeves.
> >
> > I asked him if his father was also Travis Reeves.
> >
> > He said that he was.
> >
> > "Then this is the car you bought in Germany in 1983" I told him. "This is
> > your dad's car."
> >
> > An outing is planned for the few surviving family members to go somewhere
> > in it.
> >
> > As we were leaving, here comes Nick in his brown Westy leaving the
> parking
> > lot. I introduced Nick to young Travis as the guy who worked on the car
> > throughout his dad's ownership. The old mechanic remembered the car, the
> > dad, and Travis when he was a young man.
> >
> > It was quite a reunion.
> >
> > Jim
>
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