Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:33:35 -0600 From: vwmaster@volks-motorsports.com Subject: My morning with Charlie Ford! Listees, I had the priveledge to have Charlie "Darken my Doorstep" on Monday :) What a great person. I was very busy at the shop and wished I had the time some of the other people on the list had had to spend hours with him :( The experiences that Charlies had on this trip are somethings that many of of will never know. The Courage it takes oneself to just get in a Bus and had for the unknown is an Amazing thing. I'm glad I could share to be one of the "Motherships ports of call" so to speak. Charlie phoned me on Sunday night, we spoke breifly and I let him know were it was SAFE to park his bus and sleep for the night. I asked him what color it wa, so in the AM when I got to the shop(6:15) I'd see his bus. Cacka Brown is the color he told me:) The funny thing about the Mothership sighting when I came around the corner to the shop is, just about every Monday morning, or it could be any given morning during the week. There are Buses, Bugs and All types of VW's parked outside our shop's gate. It was a normal bus sighting, the $3.00 storage pod on top, the Dinghy on the back, etc. I just wanted to keep the Charlie Ford journey going with my $0.02 worth of writing. What I din't share with Charlie, and I will now listwide is; When I was 12, my mother, brother (8) and I left Santa Cruz, Cal for ST Paul Minn. My parents hadf just divorced and Mom had friends in Minn. I cae home from school and was informed that in 3 hours we were getting in the bus and heading for Minn!?:( Wow that's alot to swallow at the age of 12. I now take on the responsibility of the Bus (69) mechanic! I learned alot on that trip. we travelled to Minn, stayed there about 3 months. Then we made our way back to California by way of family a friends houses, staying a month here and a month there. The thing that makes a trip like this today such a wonderful kind of journey, is that WE have this list, all the different people across the States and Worldwide! In the same manner that Ron & Evon Salmon did their trip across the States, Ron had to go out on a limb to trust me, the person he bought a Vanagon Sight-unseen from and the powers that be to have allowed him and Evon to make their Safe journey across the States. I know now that IF I ever decide to do Any kind of a trip, that I have the List and all of it's resources to help me out along the way :) Sorry to ramble on, maybe some of Charlie rubbed off on me while he was here :) Thanks for stopping in Santa Cruz Charlie. I can't wait to see your writings, (Ramblings) about this wonderful town I live in. Kyle Kyle Wade (408) 462-9424 Hm # Keeper of the Volks-Motorsports page Home Page - http://www.volks-motorsports.com