Hmmm - turned 37 this year.  I have been afflicted with VW's on the brain

since I was 16.  At point I have owned a 76 rabbit, a 78 Scirocco from hell

a 86 GTI, a 1991 G20 [ oops, I went to the dark side... ] and now a

2001 TurboGolf that is in the shop every month. [ and has me planning to

return to the japanese dark side very very soon....]

 I picked up my 1991

Westy back in 1999. I started to get interested in Westy's after spending

years falling trying not to fall asleep at the wheel during roadtrips
telling myself

"if I had a Westy I could just stop and take a 5 hour nap...."

Several coworkers are Westy people as well which definately provided
encouragement.

I really have enjoyed camping since getting the westy

[ after 8 years of boy scouts / sleeping on top of rocks and roots ]

Probably like many people on the list .. I think it would be great someday

to spend the summer living out of the van in between jobs. But for now -

it is just a hobby vehicle that I [ happily?] pour tons of money into....

Pulling the van out of storage next week..   then it is time for

new front brakes, new slave cylinder, new front blower motor.....

fridge won't light....., new fuel lines, A/C not working......., must fix

rust.......... [sigh] all in the day of a Westy...........

Tom

        ----------
        From:   Vanagon Mailing List on behalf of JordanVw@AOL.COM
        Reply To:       JordanVw@AOL.COM
        Sent:   Saturday, May 8, 2004 4:23 PM
        To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
        Subject:        State of the List... State your ages!!!!!!! :<)

        In a message dated 5/8/04 3:06:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
        gnarlodious@EARTHLINK.NET writes:

        > > I have noticed that as the younger crowd joins in
        > > there's a lack of spelling ability; grammar notwithstanding...
but that's
        > >  my pet peeve.
        > That's a good rant stranger, so let me add my singleminded
observation.
        >
        > This list attracts a certain idealistic youthful component who
identify the
        > Vanagon as a vehicle of escape and freedom. Probably an extension
of the
        > hippies in the '60's.
        > On the other hand, some of us appreciate the German design and
other more
        > tangible aspects of the machine.
        >
        >

        i think it would be a cool thread to see the average ages of people
on the
        list...and why you like vw vans, or why you bought your van..and if
you used it
        for your your family, or just yourself..   ive been on the list
since the mid
        90's when i was in my early 20's..  and i just rolled over the big
Three Ohhh
        (big three ohh sh*t im still single) not long ago and i am as
furthest away
        from any "hippy" culture stereotypization <--is that even a word? )
as you can
        get..  i just like vw vans because they're vw's..  im also a part of
that
        go-fast annoying loud exaust and lowered GTI crowd that many of you
hate too..  :<)
        why do i like vw vans? because they look cool and you can carry big
stuff in
        them. lame answer,  but thats pretty much it :<)   am i into
camping? nope.
        not one bit.  i think i slept in my current van once..because i had
to.. LOL
        ..well id probably be more into camping if i had someone to camp
with..(no pity
        party please!!) ive owned plenty of Westys before, but would never
want one as
        my own to keep.  Anyway, ive owned just about every year vw van from
'67 on
        up to 91.. the interest has turned into somewhat of a hobby over the
years, and
        ive parted out various vans over the years to fix someting i had at
the time,
        and then sell what i dont need....  the accumilation of vw van/bus
parts
        comes and goes (have big barn, will accumilate schtuff) and i go to
all the east
        coast shows i can, sometimes showing one of my cars (i just have 2
vws myself)
        or setting up at the swap meet selling stuff i dont need..   when
you are
        single, you need something to occupy your spare time, so the vw
hobby does that
        nicely :<)  (hmmm maybe that IS why im single LOL) and to ben's
earlier remark..
        no i am not a 'dealership' ..i have a real job (doesnt pay much, but
it is a
        real job LOL).. the 3 or 4 vw parts i sell a month is hardly enough
to survive
        on LOL  maybe i chould change my email addy to chrisT@aol.com  ..
funny thing
        the "vw" in my email address doesnt even stand for volkswagen...
:<)

        so anyway, tell us how old you are..and what got you into vw's...and
what you
        use your van for...  should be a good read!

        chris