What in the world is this thread about???  Birth certificates!?

Tarheel wrote:

> I am also on the Vintage VW list, and from what I hear, some people receive
> the things, and some don't.  I know their policy at the museum  is 20 DM
> CASH..................that could be where a  lot of the trouble is in the
> pilfering of said cash by the mail readers.........
>
> My .02
>
> Adam Puzerewski
> 81 westy
> 74 beetle
> 86 cabrio
> Vanagon Partsmobiles
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Golen" <rgolen@UMASSD.EDU>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Friday, February 02, 2001 9:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [VANAGON] Birth Certificate Requests Received to Date
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I just want to clarify a few things regarding the "birth certificates"
> > which I offered to obtain in June 1999. I took a stack of requests to the
> > Museum in Wolfsburg in June. I was told that, unlike previous years, the
> > museum could not accept large numbers of requests all at once. They took
> > about 20 or 30 of the requests, and told me to send the rest later in the
> > summer.
> >
> > This was at the time the museum was preparing to open a second exhibit
> area
> > at what would become Autostadt, and the folks at the museum said they were
> > very busy getting that project going. That was their reason for not taking
> > all of the requests.
> >
> > When I went back to Germany later that summer I sent the rest of the
> > requests and the rest of the money to the museum via Deutsche Post. I
> > assumed that would be the last of it. In the early fall, judging from the
> > email I received, some folks received their certificates and others did
> not.
> >
> > I asked those who didn't receive their certificates to wait a bit longer.
> > Later, after receiving a number of nasty emails and one or two threats I
> > decided to not to respond to any further emails on the subject. Perhaps,
> in
> > retrospect, it wasn't a smart move on my part.
> >
> > As to what happened to the rest of the certificates, I really do not know.
> > I did my best to do something for a group of VW owners. I had been able to
> > obtain in  previous years certificates for over 100 owners.  If you think,
> > as Bill does, I ran off with the money, nothing is further from the truth.
> > All of the money went with the certificate requests to Wolfsburg.
> >
> > What happened to the last batch of requests that was mailed is anybody's
> > guess. I'm sorry if you didn't receive your certificates, I don't know
> what
> > else to tell you, other than I apologize for any trouble or inconvenience
> > that I may have caused.
> >
> >
> > Ric
> >
> >
> > Ric