1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
FAQ :: Search :: Memberlist :: Usergroups :: Register
Profile :: Log in to check your private messages :: Log in

Cool article about bus ownership.....

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    AthensVWClub.com Forum Index -> General Chatter
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Treehive



Joined: 25 Feb 2008
Posts: 58
Location: Alpharetta, Ga


PostPosted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:04 pm    Post subject: Cool article about bus ownership..... Reply with quote

Here's a cool article I found on the Samba about owning a bus........I think the general message of the article can be applied to all air cooled Vdub owners Very Happy

Enjoy!
http://www.sanjuanislander.com/columns/shus-views/main.shtml
_________________
Ted Mierzwa

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

74 Westy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
tito



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 153


1959 Volkswagen Beetle

PostPosted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

loved it!

i found this post refreshing:

solexes@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey Folks!

While driving the 30 some odd miles home from Sierra Vista to Bisbee Arizona, I happened to ponder the joys of 6 volts.

It hearkens back to a time when things were simpler. When there were fewer people on the road, and in the world. Back to when CONELRAD was a part of every day life - when a Bad Day meant you had to eat left over meatloaf and "bad news" on the radio meant Khrushchev and his cronies were at it again.

I drove that 30 miles in my 40hp 1200 cc 62 beetle at 55 - the OLD posted Speed Limit - and noticed the world closed in. What was in front of my headlights was what mattered - and that outside that area was lit by a soft ethereal glow of the moon. What could be out there? Deer? Javalina? Coyotes!?

When did faster, faster, faster! mean better? I saw these "maniacs" in modern cars - whizzing by at 75+ in a 65 zone - their Halogen lights blazing like a mini-sun. In an instant - they were gone like so much else in this world.

The change from 6 volt to 12 signified not only brighter lights - but it indicated that what we had wasn't enough. FASTER! BRIGHTER! SHINIER! SOONER!

For me - I watched the silly people zoom off - with their MP3 players in their cars blaring the newest tune, their TiVo and other things of creature comfort awaiting them. I wished I could hear the sounds from the little AM radio - long dead in my dash - and hear some hit tune from 1962 - or some news from Edward Murrow - and drove on - my lights making a yellow glow ahead of me - the soft purr of the 1200 behind me - the etherial glow of the moon softly glinting beyond the reach of my lights - and I reveled in the tiny little dark space that signified....

Here I am - in the night - alone on the highway - drifting from one town to another - waiting the warmth that I call home.


followed by this one:
solexes@hotmail.com wrote:
Installment 2 - Early Morning.

The old Linden clock in the hallway softly chimes the 3/4 hour - and it's chilly outside. I'd forgotten to put more fuel on the fire the night before - and my nose is met with the chilly air. Dawn looks to be a long way off as the soft light of false dawn glows outside. It could be 3am, it could be 4:30am. It's hard to tell during this part of the year with Chihuahua hill blocking most of the sun until 9 am.

finally the clock strikes the hour. It's 4 am, and I have a meeting at work today. So I slowly pull the covers back and the chill air greets me. My two dogs scramble on the wood floor in order to say "Good morning" first. Jockeying for position I let them both outside for their morning constitutional.

Slowly I get myself ready for work. Lets see, coffee is on, shower is going, food is heating. Soon I'm dressed, coffee-ed up, and ready to go. At 5:30 I head out the front gate and down the 100 stairs to the street bellow.

Bisbee is a town time forgot. Mining at the turn of the century, and the promise of riches brought people swarming to the canyons, and quickly, the town sprung up around the central office in the middle of town. Tiers of roads cross the canyon walls, and houses, both old and abandoned, and newly restored dot the landscape.

I make my way up O.K. street to the beetle.

There she sits. The first few weeks in many where she has been a daily driver. She sits up against the railings above a 50 foot drop to Brewery Gulch bellow. I walk up to the door as the chill air greets my already cooling coffee and numb fingers.

Inside, my ears almost pop as I close the door a little too quickly. The headliner is gone, soon to be replaced with the carpet and seat covers. These few weeks are spent making sure "Aunt B" is ready for daily service before the interior goes in.

I settle in quickly in the cold sparse interior. Coffee gets set gingerly on the floor. Laptop and lunch on the springs-for-a-seat next to me.

I insert the key and she roars to life. She complains bitterly at being woken up at such an ungodly hour. A few coughs, and a few urges on the accelerator convince her 40 hp engine - life isn't so bad - and moving under your own power is better than sitting for years. Her idle softens down and steadies to a dull purr.

I engage the brake - and let off the handbrake - deftly shifting to 1rst, and letting out the cluctch without hitting the car parallel parked behind me on the turn-of-the-century mule track - now a paved road as I head out.

Aunt B is determined to let everyone know that if she's up - well - everyone else should be too. The classic Fweem eachoes down the canyon walls - and up the steps to houses long silent. No more coffee is brewing there - no more children complaining of a school day - only memories. The people gone to the cities - bigger and better - and faster - and life passes the rest who live here by.

Quickly I crest O.K. street - and find myself atop Youngblood Hill. A name than congers the image of a mangled body at the base of it from an auto accident - since the road is the steepest I have ever been on. I shift back to 1rst, and head down - quickly roaring down onto Brewery Avenue - and soon head out of town.

Soon I'm on the highway - pulling up to the Mule Tunnel - 30 - 35 - 40 - and hold it there. Aunt B made it 46 years - lets not ruin a good thing. We quietly rumble up the hill and through the tunnel. A few early commuters roar past at 65 - their 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder engines roaring and sucking down gas - in the quest to "be first." The lanes narrow to one - and we crest Mule Tunnel Pass and head down to Sierra Vista.

Twenty miles later the light is quite a bit brighter, and my day is a lot warmer. The soft breeze coming in through the fuse box is heck on my legs at 5:30 in the morning. The light is soft - and becoming warmer. I hit town and notice a "Wide Load" carrier ahead. I don't even slow from the 55mph I've been going as I reach them - the previous comuters now stuck behind this behmoth. I shrug and finish my now lukewarm coffee and pull into work.

40 minutes it took to travel 26 miles. Not bad.

I wonder these days how those early commuters can stand to be in such a hurry. They rush - only to find they have to wait. And they rush to get to a job they probably hate.

Me?

I get up early - and have coffee. I start the day slow. I enjoy the weather and solitude of Bisbee. I head out when I need to - and make sure I get to work with plenty of time for my meetings. These morons who rush at 15 minutes before 8 so they can make an 8:10 meeting are nutz. I got in to work that morning at 6:10 - meeting was at 7:00. *Shrug*. Even if I broke down and had to change fan-belts I would have made it. Gave me plenty of time to have coffee at work - and get some tasks done before the real work began that day.

It has to do with life - how we live it - and choose to live it.

The VW beetle is simple. A lot of people make life complex. Simplicity and slowness are good for the soul.

Ask Thoreau....


and:

solexes@hotmail.com wrote:
I am mortaly convinced, that as man has progressed, he has made his life more and more complex. As we make our life more and more complex, our brains have changed little. From almost 10,000 years ago to today - the human brain / mind has changed insignificantly. But from 10,000 years ago - agrarian culture to today - technology - we have made our lives easier, but we've also inundated our brains with more information than it can comprehend.

In my own experience - the faster paced the life - the more stress I feel. When I lived in Tucson with all the traffic, congestion, heat, and choices of things to do - I was always stressed. I recognised this and realized I needed a simpler life.

After getting into VW's - I moved to Bisbee (pop 6000) into a house built in 1904 - and barely updated with electrical and plumbing. As my life has slowed down - I find myself watching less TV, going out less, and more and more turning inward. Writing, reading, research on the internet, and thats about it.

The beetle is primal - pure and simple. It has four wheels, basic brakes, steering, and upholstery. If you compare the makeup to that of a horse and buggy - you aren't too far removed. The difference is - the horse is in the back - and only has slightly more power. The Wheels are rubber and provide cushion - but the lightness negates that by allowing it to bounce over obsticles. There is enclosure - but it's noisy.

Its pretty much an overgrown buggy without the horse.

It reminds us that we are not that far removed from 1850 when man had little communication power, when we relied on animals, and when death came at 35 from arterial sclerosis or lead poisoning. It reminds us that we are human.

The beetle is simple - it's been stated before. Thats the allure that something so simple can be so utilitarian. It was simple, easy to repair, and basically the epitome of mechanical design. When you look at function, reliability, and ease of use, the beetle is it. When it's 6 volt, with only AM radio, and dim lights, it seems to have a "can do" attitude. We ask so little of it - yet get so much out of it.

Show me a car today that will give so much with so little effort put into design, and mechanics.


and finally:

solexes@hotmail.com wrote:
The California Crisis - Missing Home.

So I have been TDY, as they say in the Government. I've been a civi all my life, and am not a Civilian Contractor, so I had no idea what this meant until a few moments ago...it's Military Slang. Temporary Duty Yonder.

Yonder.

A place far away. Over the horizon it is - and for sure. I left my sleepy little down on Friday and had a friend drive me the 90 miles to Tucson, since I did not trust poor Aunt B to some pimply faced guy in a car lot who has never seen a VW this old in his life. If it's twice his age I would be surprised.

I spent that Friday in a lazy fashion - with family and friends. That morning, I left cozy Arizona behind, and headed to "Lala land."

Los Angeles - you either love it, hate it, or visit it. More importantly I was in Anaheim. Disney Land sat across the street from the hotel. The hustle and bustle was amazing.

I watched from my room for hours - the throngs bellow - shoving, yelling, screaming, and rushing to get somewhere before everyone else.

I sat in the rental - a 'GM Mid sized' product I believe, as we zipped through traffic. People in a hurry - all for no reason - and of course, through it all I thought back to Aunt B.

Not only was she left behind for the practical reason of sparing her from the hands of an unknown, but because she's getting a new interior. Some might just go for black on black - and consider it a cheap car. Some might throw in that "One Piece" headliner and call it 'good.' Nope...

If she's survived for 46 years - she's getting "the good stuff." Pea Green and White, with a 6 piece charcoal Grey carpet kit, and an OEM headliner.

As we zipped in and out of traffic - I noticed how people are more fascinated with their cell phones, their lattes and their I-Pods as we zipped listlessly between them. How they tend to ignore other people until they are right in their face. How the since of "ME" pervades everything until the whole rotten mess stinks of selfishness.

I thought back to Aunt B. How when you are in her, you can barely hear a conversation and are mostly listening to "problems" in her heart. How you are attentive to the feel of the road - anticipating any bump or pothole which might send you careening into another lane. How the since of "oneness" is part of the driving experience.

We who drive the old VW are part Mechanic, and part Family Practitioner. We're constantly looking and listening for problems. Scanning the horizon our patients live in - awaiting the next disaster. Holding on to the sick and nursing them back to health, and in general, keeping the patient alive.

As a guy in a large truck tried to negotiate a STEEP hill in Beverly Hills, I saw him bog the engine down, and the whole truck, filled with a ton of lumber at least, began to shake and jolt and realized a VW owner would NEVER do that. The poor beetle would DIE.

I saw some guy in a Mercedes cut someone off, and slam on their brakes, while flipping someone off. A VW owner would rarely do that, they'd be risking their lives!

I also saw someone drinking a latte AND talking on the cellphone at the same time, while the GPS spat out instructions, and her stereo was blaring. A VW owner wouldn't do that - they'd loose their tenuous control on their car!

In all I was amazed at how comfortable our lives have become. We're so comfortable and safe in our cars, that our safety has become someone else's problem. If we stall out, cut off, or slam into someone, it's ok, no one is seriously hurt. Airbags, crumple zones, and insurance policies see to the problems in that situation.

We've become soft. Metal Dash Boards. Points and Condensers. Manual transmissions and steel bodies made for a hardier person. Someone willing to be careful of his actions, for fear of killing someone else, or themselves.

We've forgotten that 50 years ago, a 40 mile an hour impact would claim at least one life! Today - 80 MIGHT kill someone, and it might not.

The VW reminds us that we are human and fragile. It connects us to our humanity - and to our manners. It's tough to yell at someone and cut them off when all that separates you is half a ton of steel and some trace elements.

I cant wait to get into the airport - and see the carelessness we have in allowing ourselves be hurled through the air at 600 miles an hour, just so we can get home just that much sooner. I can't wait to make it to Tucson, and have my friend drive me down to Sierra Vista in his modern Truck.

I can't wait to pick up Aunt B. Step inside her, and feel the old-style new vinyl seats, warmed by the Arizona sun. I can't wait to feel the soft vibrations as her engine idles. And I can't wait for the fragile feeling I get as I drive her along at 55 on the highway --- to home.....

As she reminds me...

Be carefull...

You're alive....

But ever so quickly....

That could change.....

Be safe!

_________________
59 std monster
2187 cc
suicide doors, 6 inch beam, 2 inch chop, 4 inch drop, bus dash
73 std Bubba
1600 cc
all stock baby
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tanner



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Augusta


PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There they go again. A middle-aged throwback from the '60s buys an old bus and suddenly they're the spokesperson for everyone else who owns a bus. Jim Carroll gets off to a good start waxing eloquently about the experience of driving a bus, but then he has to let everyone know he's a Bush-hating, anti-everything, roll-over-and-pee liberal. How, or why, does that tie into bus ownership? Because there's lots of room for Obama stickers on the back?

I love my bus. I love it because it's odd. And I love it because you have to put so much effort into driving it down the road that you become part of it. I can feel the engine through the accelerator cable. I start turning the steering wheel preparing for a left turn a hundred yards up the road. When I put my foot on the brakes I may as well be putting the sole of my boot on the tire to slow it down. I can feel the painted stripes on the road when I drive over them.

Maybe I'm just one of the few that drives a bus because they like to drive a bus. I imagine a lot of people see me with my long hair driving around in my '67 and assume that I'm a pot-smoking, Dead Head and my wife's name is Moon Beam. I don't smoke pot, I hate the Grateful Dead, and my wife's name is Sugar Pants.

I've been on several bus campouts with another club (when the moon was big and bright) and a couple of them were like a cross between Woodstock and a Taliban training camp. I just like to camp and eat and throw some frisbee. Let's keep the conversation around the campfire about Volkswagens and dogs and loose women, not politics or religion - please?
_________________
'67 Westy (Ursula)
'78 HiTop (Wolfy)
Liberty Fire & Grill
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Treehive



Joined: 25 Feb 2008
Posts: 58
Location: Alpharetta, Ga


PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Confused Well, I didn't post the link to make a political statement.....I'm on this forum to learn more about the vehicle I drive and meet other people who love Vdubs, but I am a bearded-long haired-grateful dead lovin-dog lovin-woman lovin-frisbee tosser Very Happy see ya at the campout----sorry to offend Embarassed
_________________
Ted Mierzwa

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

74 Westy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Tanner



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Augusta


PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No offense taken. I'd say most of my friends and family don't share my political or religious views. And we don't always agree on our music choices. But we get along fine. I enjoy a good conversation/debate about my beliefs and worldly views and I enjoy hearing about yours - when it's a good time to have a discussion about it. I just thought that it was a good article about a bus that for some reason had to segue into a rant about the president. How did that tie in? It's like he's going along typing on his computer and has a Turret's outburst. "...and as the little bus rolled down the highway - BUSH/CHENEY! @#%!! - we sang kumbaya and ate - BUSH/CHENEY @#%!! - cheese sandwiches..."

That's all I'm saying.
_________________
'67 Westy (Ursula)
'78 HiTop (Wolfy)
Liberty Fire & Grill
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Johnny



Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 93
Location: Hephzibah,Ga.


PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey--J.T. it's not like Treehive wrote the article Shocked -- Confused who peed in your corn flakes Question Question Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jon
Site Admin


Joined: 01 Jun 2006
Posts: 2421
Location: Bishop GA

1969 Volkswagen Type 3

PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tanner wrote:
It's like he's going along typing on his computer and has a Turret's outburst. "...and as the little bus rolled down the highway - BUSH/CHENEY! @#%!! - we sang kumbaya and ate - BUSH/CHENEY @#%!! - cheese sandwiches..."

That's all I'm saying.


Tanner you made me laugh out loud. I felt the same way. I'm glad Ted posted an article about owning a bus, but I too felt that the liberal whining detracted from it. Mad
_________________
73 Typ481
76 Westy
73 Bug
69 Squareback
70 Fastback


63 Bug
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Clyde



Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 855
Location: Athens


PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone know how I can make my 1776 slower, and convert it to 6 volts, so I can be a better person?
_________________
'69 Bug, 1776, dual kadrons, Web 111 cam

Clyde's Aircooled
(706) 206 6327
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
71_georgia_beetle



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 440
Location: Grayson, GA

1974 Volkswagen Westfalia

PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree and disagree with all. Thanks for the post Teddy.
_________________
71 Standard Beetle "Big Bird"
74 Westfalia "Winifrid"
Burel Photography
Call me if I need you!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
tito



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 153


1959 Volkswagen Beetle

PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

id tell you clyde but youd have to put down your cell phone and your coffee. honestly clyde, how do you drive a stick with all your hands full like that?
_________________
59 std monster
2187 cc
suicide doors, 6 inch beam, 2 inch chop, 4 inch drop, bus dash
73 std Bubba
1600 cc
all stock baby
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tanner



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Augusta


PostPosted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 11:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't afford corn flakes, Johnny, since somebody thought it was a good idea to use corn to run my car and jacked the price up. And I'm not sure where you read where I said Treehive wrote the article. Jim Carroll wrote the article and I disagreed with the way it was written.
_________________
'67 Westy (Ursula)
'78 HiTop (Wolfy)
Liberty Fire & Grill
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Johnny



Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 93
Location: Hephzibah,Ga.


PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just messin' with ya Tanner---you can loosen up that knot and step down off your soap box before ya fall( that's a joke also ).......
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tanner



Joined: 05 Sep 2006
Posts: 41
Location: Augusta


PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing :wink:
_________________
'67 Westy (Ursula)
'78 HiTop (Wolfy)
Liberty Fire & Grill
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
mopel1



Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 96
Location: Athens, GA 30607


PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wait a second......You mean owning a bus is not a physical synonym for being a pot smoking liberal????? Well, heck, I guess I've got two buses I need to sell. But seriously, ask a cop how they'd profile a splitty driver. Something tells me the men in blue probably have read Jim Carroll's article.
_________________
The Slumlord

'64 T34 Ghia, '66 Beetle, '69 Westy, '73 Thing,
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    AthensVWClub.com Forum Index -> General Chatter All times are GMT - 4 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



AthensVWClub.com