That is one of the best stories I have ever heard. 

Mike

> On May 7, 2015, at 5:39 PM, Tim Mc Dermott <h2oboxer@VERIZON.NET> wrote:
> 
> That is some story!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On May 7, 2015, at 4:42 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> 
>> Today I had a lunch meeting so before that I stopped off at Home Depot for
>> a few things I would need this weekend. I was leaving the parking lot when
>> I saw the chocolate brown 86 Westy of Nick, a former Vanagon mechanic at my
>> local VW shop so I turned around and parked to talk with him for a minute.
>> When I returned to my car, there was a guy about my age standing behind it
>> and asked if I had time for a few questions. I told him I was waiting on a
>> phone call about the exact time of a meeting, so until that happened, yes,
>> I did.
>> 
>> He told me that he was in the Air Force in Germany in 1892 When his dad,
>> back in the states, became obsessed with owning a Westy. The son explained
>> that they worked out a deal: The exchange rate was good, so the son put a
>> westy just like mine on layaway at a dealership near Rammstein. Dad sent
>> the money for some time, then the son drove it during the rest of his hitch
>> in Germany with the agreement that dad would pick it up and own it after it
>> got shipped back to the states.
>> 
>> Dad's ownership of the Ivory diesel was legendary in the family. It was the
>> only car he owned or drove regularly for the next 20 years, and in fact
>> soon after the keys were taken away from him by the family, he passed away.
>> 
>> The fellow telling me all this introduced himself as Travis Reeves.
>> 
>> I asked him if his father was also Travis Reeves.
>> 
>> He said that he was.
>> 
>> "Then this is the car you bought in Germany in 1983" I told him. "This is
>> your dad's car."
>> 
>> An outing is planned for the few surviving family members to go somewhere
>> in it.
>> 
>> As we were leaving, here comes Nick in his brown Westy leaving the parking
>> lot. I introduced Nick to young Travis as the guy who worked on the car
>> throughout his dad's ownership. The old mechanic remembered the car, the
>> dad, and Travis when he was a young man.
>> 
>> It was quite a reunion.
>> 
>> Jim