Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 18:45:04 -0700
Reply-To: Jon B <jbaker@APBOARD.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Jon B <jbaker@APBOARD.COM>
Subject: Locations and Little Off List Response
Content-Type: text/plain
I am trying to think of how the Off List thread relates to my real
world?
The Off List thread is bitter/sweet ordeal for me. Bitter because I
usually read my Email at work and sweet because reading all the postings
is like driving down the highway and waving to another vanagon owner.
It is a brief encounter but something intangible and lasting is shared
between two strangers. And with every such encounter my thoughts have
been entertained by wondering who that was and where they were going and
why they were going there. I feel that people who do not wave back own
vanagons for the wrong reasons. Perhaps the list is the highway and
each posting is a wave. Sometimes you choose to wave back sometimes you
don't. But there is always the wonder.
As for myself, I introduced myself a few weeks back. Maybe a little
more would be in order. I bought my first vanagon while attending
Brigham Young University in 1991. Yep, I am a Mormon and I owned a
Westy for most of my career at BYU, a certain contradiction in terms.
While at BYU I built and operated a full service indoor climbing gym
called The Rock Garden. My climbing interest introduced me to the
wonderful world of Westys. I had wanted a Westy for ever but could not
afford to buy one until I saw an add in the Salt Lake paper for an 84'
that had been hit by a deer. I bought it for $1800 without driving
it(missing radiator). With no real prior mechanical experience I pulled
out the front enough to replace the radiator, installed a used one from
a local yard and drove it home.
The next few years were amazing. To me it was the most valuable
education. What I learned by far outweighed the degree in Planning and
Resource Management I finished at BYU. Through the medium of the Westy
I was able to meet the most incredible people who lived the most
incredible experiences. People who were so alive. This was what owning
a Westy/vanagon was all about.
Currently, I live in Scottsdale Arizona, with my beautiful wife Allison
and our link to the Heavens our 10 month old daughter
Gretchen. I have since traded my ;'84 Westy, for a '72 Westy and most
recently a '90GL; my climbing shoes for a '94 Mountain Cycles San
Andreas 8.0 mountain bike and various kayaks; and my degree in Planning
and Resource Management for a career in software development.
I work for a small brokerage firm in Scottsdale, for which I have
designed and programmed a custom trading and clearing system.
I recently sold two of my three kayaks for lack of water but ultimately
I am happy here. My life is facing changing priorities as time spent
with my family is quickly replacing the satisfaction I once received
from climbing, biking and kayaking. I have introduced my wife to the
life of a vanagon owner and she loves the carefree feeling of
spontaneous trips, a major departure from her upbringing. As for
Gretchen, she is a great traveler. With this however the mantra changes
and preventative maintenance becomes more important a concept I hate but
accept.
To me it is a symbol of freedom.
Jon L. Baker