I bought my bus when my daughter Willow was barely
a year old.  Since then I've tried to get her 
involved in daily life with the bus that carried
her to pre-school, ran out of gas (always on the
freeway, somehow), took us camping, took us to the
store, etc etc etc. She was usually not a very good 
helper -- I'd be lying on my back under the bus, 
fumbling around for the 13mm combination wrench, to
find her digging in the garden with it.  But, as they
say, Perseverance Furthers.

Last night I got home with about an hour to spare before
choir rehersal, and I decided to install the shift 
coupler which had arrived the day before from RMMW. I
invited Willow (now age 6) to come out to the garage with
me to hold the light -- not that I needed the light held, 
but I could use the company.  Now Willow is not terribly
enthused about lying under the bus, which is probably a
good thing at this stage, but she found a way to hold the
light where I needed it without getting on her back under
the bus.

Well, the time came to insert the pin through the rubber
mounts and the shift rod, which is kinda a three-handed
job. Yeah, I could have probably done it alone, but I 
thought I'd give Willow a chance. "Willow", I said, "how 
about getting into the bus and moving the gearshift for me,
when I tell you.  "Sure", she said. And she actually followed
my instructions in moving it forward and back until I got 
everything lined up, the pin through the rod and the setscrew
in the hole.

Now, I know this is not earth-shattering, but I felt so good
that Willow was actually able to help me -- and not make-work,
make-the-kid-feel-good help, but actually helped me get the 
job done quicker help.  She was pretty cool about it, but I
could tell she was pleased too.  I really don't expect her
to turn into a wrench, but she's going to know more about a 
car than where to put the gas in.  And who knows, she may
help me pull the engine someday.

BTW -- I've finally put together a homepage, where you can
see the Campmobile, Willow, and some Words of Wisdom.
Check it out at www.geopages.com/CapitolHill/1895 and tell
me what you think.

Thanks for letting me share.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Todd R. Schroeder   todds@sungate.chotel.com
'71 Campmobile