Date:         Fri, 22 Oct 1999 19:53:19 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker@URONRAMP.NET>
Subject:      FFFFrydaye's Phannytastic Phoolery ... last one, folks!
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remember to take notes! there'll be a quiz on Monday!

Hitchhiker's Lament
(sung to the tune of Streets of Laredo,
or Cowboy's Lament)

As I was out driving one morning for pleasure,
My bus and me riding one morning so fair,
I spied an old geezer beside of the highway,
A pack on his back and his thumb in the air.

There was something about him that gathered my notice,
A something familiar, and yet still unseen,
A spirit so kindred, I felt in a moment
That here but for god's grace was easily me.

I pulled to the shoulder and waved to him friendly,
He walked to the bus and he slowly got in.
I asked, "Where you headed?"  He answered, "Out that way.
"And I'm later than usual," he said with a grin.

In talking while riding, he told a sad story
Of trading two morrows for one yesterday,
And then he admitted that he once had buses,
And like his tomorrows, they faded away.

"I once had a camper, a nice sixty-seven,
A neat little Microbus rolling along.
But the wife and I split up, I needed some money,
So I sold it to strangers for nearly a song."

"My fortunes rebounded a year or so later,
But by then the buses lost most of their charm.
Still I bought me a Breadloaf and learned that I love it,
For it still was a Bus and could do me no harm."

"After that, there were others, in lengthy succession.
A Vanagon camper I had for a while;
A Pickup, a Kombi, a Double-door Panel ...
I had always thought I'd be riding in style."

"But fortunes and favors don't stay long at my house.
They find better lodging with others some day.
When I lost all my money, my job, and my buses,
That's when I packed up to try traveling this way."

"As the years added to me, I wandered the country,
Searching and seeking and moving along.
Unsure of the way that my destiny pulled me,
I changed my direction like changing my song."

He talked for a long time to tell his life's story,
I listened intently to his sad refrain,
For his tale was spell-binding, no matter the sadness,
And he spoke as if knowing he'd rebound again.

My exit came up as we rode down the highway
So I pulled to the shoulder and bid him farewell.
He thanked me profusely and wouldn't take money
And waved at me til I had turned down the dell.

And as I was driving, my home road returning,
His last words were ringing around in my brain:
"Enjoy this nice bus for as long as you have it,
You just never know if you'll have one again."