Kevin-
Good question.
To me Mike (and this group) have been an unbelievable godsend. A few years ago when I was first getting acquainted some serious health concerns I lived a in a very rural area of Maine - 45 minutes to a supermarket etc. and I couldn't be up for more than an hour without rest, my meds needed refrigeration, I had to eat often etc. I relied on WuWei, my '84 Westy, she was my independence, my security blanket and my life support system. When she blew her engine and I needed a replacement cheap and fast I put the word out to every list I could think of. I got lots of replies to my request most trying to be helpful but they didn't work and a few were down right nasty "You shouldn't own a Westy if you don't know how to fix it and expect a cheap fix." and other such replies. Mike was different - he told me of a guy in Providence RI (David Beierl) who had an engine to give away. Mike and Carlos from Nova Scotia met me in Bangor, Maine - we drove to Providence; we
 got the gifted Westy roadworthy in a few days and drove it back to Maine. Mike and Carlos were the mechanics and I was the gofer. 
Long story - short version is that Mike, David and Carlos dropped me off in Portland, they drove on to Mikes house in Houlton (5 or 6 hours north) took the engine out of the Westy (Mike used the rest it for other purposes) and a couple days later David drove the engine to Belfast where I had it installed in my beloved WuWei. It's still running strong today. Immediately after my rescue Mike and Carlos took off to rescue someone else in, if I remember correctly, Nova Scotia.
That's who Mike Collum is to me and it's� also representative of the type of people you'll meet on this list.

You're in good company with this group
regards - Dake