Date: Tue, 28 May 96 11:10 AST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: A_OLIVARES@upr1.upr.clu.edu
Subject: A tale of love and friendship
Hi folks:
January 1991, enjoying the aquamarine blue waters of the Caribbean Sea I
spotted a VW Westy in the parking lot of our resort. Parked there quiet
and peaceful, it was claiming for some attention. Saw the owner approaching
her, then opening it, lifting the pop top and the party begun inside. His
wife careless cooking, spreading food all around and a little girl jumping
fron the top bed to the middle floor, the poor Westy was very sad.
Next day, same situation and I decided that I should offer some cash for it.
The guy looked at me with his big reddish eyes ( what he was doing?) and
sent me to hell but few hours later he invited us to share a cold bottle
of white wine. At the end of the conversation he promised me that if he
ever would sale the van I was the first option.
After six long months, just by chance, I came back to the same beach and
surprise! the 78 Westy was there, glamorous, fresh painted (nice looking
paint job) with a "FOR SALE" sign on it. The owner forgot his promises
and had six candidates competing fot the price. He wanted to buy a camping
trailer and didn't have the cash.
Between the first day I saw the van and that day, I was working for the
World Bank in Nigeria so I came back home with enough money to purchase it.
My wifw didn't like the idea to put the greens in another VW ( by that
time I had a 69 bus), but my mother in law (you see ah!!!) convinced her about
the Westy.
In 24 hours I was in fornt of the clerk at the bank pulling out the nece-
ssary cash a went to negotiate with the Westy's wretched owner. He couldn't
resist the temptation of the $$$$ in his hands and one hour later we
changing names in the title of the vehicle.
I coudn't believe that I was the owner of a cherry 78 Westy. The hardware
inside had several missing parts (I'm still looking for some of them) but
the engine and the body were (and are) solid like steel. The odometer had
78,000 original miles on it and after five years I put only 11,000 additional
miles on the van.
My new project was playing on my nerves, I went back to Africa in 1992 and
there I got a pair of italian mud-flaps for her. I got the rear lenses in
Venezuela ant the front VW emblem in the Dominican Republic and many other
parts in the continental US.
Let me tell you my friends since I purchased our lovely Westy me and my
family had many moments of joy and happiness. I saw my little Ernesto
growing and camping inthe van ( now he is eleven), today my other son Jose
(15) help me to keep her in shape, even my wifw takes care of the interiors.
Diuring these years I met a lot of wonderful people, the share same love
and dedication for our Westies. Ours has 13 trophies awarded in VW Shows
in Puerto Rico and is very well known in the island.
Finally what I can say after 18 VW vehicles (and now an 85 Vanagon GL) is,
that our relatioship as a family became stronger. We enjoyed every VW we
owned and I think we can call them the car of the friendship, love and
peace. LETS KEEP THIS SPIRIT ALIVE FOR A BETTER WORLD !!!
Peace to all of you,
Angel
a Dominican that is a "volky lover"
78 Caribbean Westy
85 EcoVanagon GL
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