In the same way that all Vanagon enthusiasts have proven that there are
infinite ways to modify these vehicles, I think that there are also infinite
ways to culturally interpret them.  I have just as much respect for the
gearheads as I do for the storytellers, and everybody in between, as long as
the common ground is a Vanagon.

I can certainly understand that some tangents on the list need to be stopped
in their tracks, but that's the problem--it's subjective and that's a
difficult spot for the moderators.  If we stick to the nuts and bolts
conversations, then maybe we miss out on some good entertainment in the form
of stories and barely-related topics.

So, I think we have a good mix going with Vanagon-specific threads on six
days of the week, and a wide-open forum on Fridays.  I personally look
forward to Fridays because with a group as diverse as this, you never know
what you're going to get.

Personally, I'm a hybrid.  I've always loved to work on VW's (with varying
degrees of success) but I also have spent a lot of time playing hippie and
following jam bands across the country, always in a Vanagon.

(and for what it's worth, I didn't know who Owsley was until my brother send
me his obituary from the NY Times...Interesting guy, to say the least.)

--
Joe T.
'85 Wolfsburg Westy Subie 2.2

On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 1:00 PM, Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@gmail.com>wrote:

> Rob -
>
> Yep, that's what has happened and for better or worse, it's called
> "progress" whether you (or I) like it or not.
>
> For one thing, behind a full-timer living in my Westy, I don't much
> care for driving my "house" around to go to the market or other
> errands that can be more efficiently done in my KIA which gets 3 times
> the mileage.  This saves the Westy wear and tear for going to the
> woods or the beach on the weekends and for just basic living in for
> the past 12 years.
>
> When I lived in a "real" domicile, I drove a 67 Deluxe 21 Window Bus
> my father and I bought brand new in June 1967.  Had it for 30 years, 2
> restorations, 4 engines and two transaxles.  I was the consumate
> "splitty bus" owner, driving that thing everywhere and cross crountry,
> but never once partook of the "counter culture" scene regarding the
> venerable VW Bus - it's just the way I was raised and having seen too
> many of my childhood friends either kill or seriously injure
> themselves in the drug culture made it repulsive to me anyway.  In
> that time I had also owned a few Bays and a Vanagon, but one day in
> 1997 I decided that having my kidneys pounded to death in a splitty
> had run its course in the area of comfort.  I had just bought my 84
> Westy the year before.  I found that it was time to "grow up" and
> enjoy the comforts of a more modern van (such as it is of course).
> Having been divorced and no kids since 1976, I was unencumbered and
> decided it was time to move on to something a bit nicer on the
> disposition.  Sold the 67 and have never looked back.
>
> BUT
>
> Your opinion does count (as does mine and others).  That's the beauty
> of the human experience - variety is the spice of life :)
> --
> Jim Thompson
> 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> 75 914 1.8 "Nancy"
> Full Timing Since March 1999
> oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> ***********************************
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:28 AM, Rob <becida@comcast.net> wrote:
> > At  3/25/2011 07:55 AM, Al Knoll wrote:
> >>
> >> Use your imagination.  The truth is out there...
> >>
> >> If you say you remember, you probably weren't there.
> >>
> >> Pensionerd.
> >
> > Last week I opened a small can of worms with a report on the death of
> > an old man in Australia and that generated some interesting talk both
> > on the list and p-mail.
> > I was told (on the list) that Owsley's passing had zero to do with
> > the Vanagon & to save it for Friday, this made me wonder if the list
> > still has it's soul.
> >
> > Two of the p-mail posts & a comment I made sort of intertwined ..
> > The first post said the Vanagon has nothing to do with the old vw bus
> > and I should be talking about this on an LSD list.
> > The second post talked of the Vanagon no longer being many people's
> > daily driver rather something used on an occasional weekend. A toy of
> > the financially well off, a collectors item rather than the peoples van.
> > My comment was about driving a Chevy van.
> >
> > I drive my westy every day, it's 'my' car & I have a mental link with
> > it that goes right back to the first 1959 VW bus I bought right out
> > of high school in 1971. The bus I drive today is a little bigger, has
> > better brakes and a larger engine than that '59 but other than that
> > (& the color) it's the same.
> > For what I have in the van dollar wise I could be driving a much
> > newer Chevy van, without the pop top. This is the first full westy
> > I've owned but have done a lot of camping in the VW with the standard
> > roof over the years so the poptop is not much of an issue.
> > My wife want's a newer van she can sleep in, one she can carry all
> > the grandkids in with all the modern marvels. There is a company that
> > builds camper vans, I wrote and asked if they could put a pop top on
> > a Toyota van, for about $6500 they can (a little more if you want a
> > bed in the top).  Today there are alternatives to the VW bus.
> >
> >
> > Has the bus entered the world of collectors vehicles and occasional
> > weekend camping trips? Maybe so in other places but not around here
> > (around the I-5 corridor in WA state) I think.
> > That leaves me with the question about the list and it's soul. The
> > list has compassion, no doubt about that, the list helps, again no
> > doubt about that but when it's history is mandated to be set aside
> > for Friday something is missing.
> > If this was a Chevy van list or a Toyota van list there would not be
> > any history to talk about, when the VW is treated the same as a Chevy
> > or Toyota it is the same. It's soul? What kind of soul does a Toyota
> > or Chevy van list have? Actually who would ever think about a Toyota
> > van list having a soul?  Too bad.... it's already missed.
> >
> > Bummer.
> >
> >
> >
> > Rob
> > becida@comcast.net
> > Western WA state with a Subaru powered '84 Westy
>

--
Joe T.
'85 Wolfsburg Westy Subie 2.2