Cruisin' Through Time: The Vintage Volkswagen Journey of The Oval Office's Paul Smith Ep15

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Music.

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To learn more about this class-leading VW magazine.

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VW family, buckle up and drop the clutch because today's guest is a living legend

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in the air-cooled universe.

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He got his first VW back in 1970.

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That's right, that's when bell-bottoms were still cool, when the Beatles were still on vinyl.

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Fast forward a few decades, and he's still rolling, still building,

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still showing up at meets with more passion than guys half his age.

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He's the soul behind Texas VW Campouts.

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He's a charity show OG who never made a dime, but did make a massive impact.

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He's built a beast of a single cab in a garage with just grit,

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with grind, and with good vibes.

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He runs the infamous Oval Office group on Facebook.

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Over 300 ovals going strong. It's all about that oval window life.

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If you're flipping through the first mega issue of Volksamerica.

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You got it. You guessed it. That's going to be his oval on the cover.

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This guy's not just a part of the scene. He is a part of the story.

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So whether you're riding the slammed, if you're riding the stock,

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or if you're just somewhere in between, let's get ready for some tales,

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for some laughs, and a little bit of VW soul from a guy who is truly retired, but he's never parked.

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Let's give it up for the legend, Mr. Paul Smith.

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Everything's going great. man.

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Everything, just excited to be here, and I appreciate you very much.

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Awesome. Yes, no problem. So before we get rolling today, I'd like to give a

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shout-out to a couple sponsors.

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Obviously, Bolx Mania Magazine, my primary sponsor.

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Shout out also to Dino Styles, Dino's Garage, DC Metro. Awesome guy,

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huge supporter of the podcast. Dino, what's up, sir?

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Also, shout out to V-Dubs on the pier, downtown St. Pete.

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Coming up on 524 Memorial Day weekend, we've got a huge parade,

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Volkswagen parade, over 100 cars are registered.

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We got vendors, we got all kinds of stuff getting ready to happen.

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So shout out to V-Dubs on the pier, St. Pete, Florida.

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And then lastly, before we dive in to Paul today, I do want to also give a huge

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shout out to our sponsor, Salty Dub.

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They are event organizers, promoters, and serious V-Dub culture curators.

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From epic get-togethers to must-have swag, they bring the vibes that keep the community rolling.

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Thank you, Salty Dub, for supporting the podcast and helping us keep the V-Dub

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spirit alive. Check them out and rep the lifestyle www.saltydub.com.

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You'll be glad you did. All right, sir.

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Back to you. Absolutely. So retired.

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What does that actually mean for a lifelong VW guy? What does retired actually mean?

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That means that I don't have to take my vacations from work just to go to car shows.

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It means if somebody says, hey, let's go for a little cruise,

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I just drop what I'm doing and I get to go to all the shows that I really am

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able to and basketball games and just anything comes up,

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that means that I'm able to go.

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And I have a beautiful wife that allows me to do all that, which makes it a lot easier in my life.

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But yeah, it opens a lot of things up to be able to not have that responsibility

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of running a grocery store.

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Man, it sounds like I want to be retired.

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So your first VW memory was what, 1970? Yes, sir.

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Tell me about the car. Tell me about the vibe back then. I had no idea what I was getting into.

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I actually, when I bought that, I bought a brand new 1970 VW Combi bus from

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University Volkswagen in Fort Worth, Texas.

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They were dealership that was in an old gas station right by Texas Christian University.

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And of course, now they're a huge dealership up in Fort Worth.

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But I bought it because I was racing flat track motorcycles.

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Took out the middle seat and no telling where it is and it's probably worth

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a bunch now but i could put my bull tonic motorcycle catty corner in that space

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where the bench seat was so,

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that's that's why i bought the volkswagen but you know to haul that bike around

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well in 1970 was the first year, I believe, that they went to a little bit bigger-sized motor,

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but they didn't beef up a lot of the studs, this, that, and the other,

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and the heads would loosen up.

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Well, one day, we were coming back from the motorcycle races at Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

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And was facing a pretty good, strong headwind, and man, it shattered that motor

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in the middle of nowhere.

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So it was good that the Volkswagen Company actually, they warranted that motor,

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even though it was out of warranty, because they knew they had a problem.

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And so I thought that was pretty cool.

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So after that, after the rebuilding, it just wasn't the same,

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you know, horsepower-wise.

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It just didn't seem like it had the ump that it used to have.

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So I got rid of it and got a Chevy van.

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And Chevys and Ford vans were the big deal back in that era.

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Well, yeah, they had V8s in them. Yeah.

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The V8s thing was really big. You could film the trailer. You could tow the

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house. You could tow the neighbor's house away. You could tow whatever you want to do. Exactly.

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Right. And fuck that gas down. Oh, my God. It was terrible. But anyway, it got me to the races.

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And then I started racing drag bikes.

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And so that worked out great i had an enclosed trailer pulled

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the drag bike so the chivvy worked out great well our daughter was graduate

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well no she was turning 16 excuse me she was turning 16 and when the kids turned

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16 and got their driver's license right the grandkids my mom,

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would give the kids 500 to buy

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you know on their used car well she

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had said daddy i sure would like to have a vw bug and

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so i started hunting for vw bugs and of course they

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laughed at me when i would call a d of a used car dealership in 1999 hey how

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many bugs do y'all have on the lot he said we had seen any bugs on this lot

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since the 70s they're just not out there right now you know So my son,

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he was quite an explorer.

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He knew the neighborhood like the back of his hand. And he said,

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Daddy, one of our neighbors has got a Volkswagen Bug underneath his carport.

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So I went over and talked to him.

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And he had a 62 rag top, nice condition, ran perfect.

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He had parked it, fired right up. So we struck a deal.

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So I bought that 62 And my daily driver Was an S10 Blazer I remember those I told her Was it the 4.3.

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Six cylinder Six cylinder, yeah 4.3, that was a sharp block Lots of torque Yeah,

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it was a nice little vehicle So I told her I said,

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I wasn't much for giving a 16-year-old a classic car.

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I just still don't believe that. It's not the right time for him to drive a, you know.

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But he would wreck something else, not a classic. You know what I'm saying?

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Wrecked the Hyundai. He earned $500 for the Beetle and gave her the S10 Blazers.

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Okay. So that worked out great. And actually when I got that,

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that 62, it literally changed my life as far as going to shows and meeting the people.

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And I want to touch on that. I do want to touch on that, but I want to compare

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a couple of things because it's not every day I get to talk to somebody that's

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been in the Volkswagen scene since 1970.

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See, I was born in 77.

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So you, you were already in the scene since long before I was born.

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So I just want to hear like what the scene now you go to car shows.

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Now you see how big the scene is, right? In the nineties, it wasn't cool to

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own a Volkswagen Beetle.

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Now it's super cool to own a Volkswagen Beetle.

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According to, you know, general population, we've always felt that way.

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Those of us that are in the culture that are, you know, that are part of it,

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but let's compare real quick.

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What's the vibe like today versus back then?

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Explain the differences of how that vibe was. I really wasn't into,

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I guess you'd call it the scene, because our little town, it was just me and two other friends.

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Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I knew that we were in Volkswagen.

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And then, but like I said, then I started going to the show.

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My first show was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Yep.

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And I drove the car everywhere, you know, to the shows. And that was about,

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that's 300-something miles one way to Tulsa from our house in the middle of Texas.

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And so you know i met a lot of nice really

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nice people up there and that kind of got the

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the ball rolling then we we drove up to

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denver colorado and rocky well we actually morrison and then we went to rocky

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mountain motorworks which was a big deal back in those days was this right around

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92 a little after that a little after that so a little after that maybe 95 96

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at Abandermeer Speedway.

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So was this your first kind of car show experience after the little break that you took between cars?

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No, this was still with the 62.

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Okay, okay, okay. Okay, then we sold the...

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Well, no, I bought the VWM 70, and...

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And then drove that to, oh, 99 or 95, something like that. Whoa.

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And it had that big gap, you know, because I was racing motorcycles.

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And that was my life. You know what I mean? Like any hobby, you get,

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you know, wrapped up in it.

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And then I got the bug and we started going to a bunch of shows and meeting people.

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And back in those days, you'd have a computer. so

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you had to be a member of these clubs to

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get their newsletters to find out where the shows were

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and that's kind of how we we you

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know communicated and everything then we got the computer that that

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worked out really well you know to keep in touch with everybody but like i say

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there we had to go to the shows to actually see our friends you know our volkswagen

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friends san antonio 150 to the south Dallas-Fort Worth, 130 to the north.

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So we were right in the middle, and we were in a good place to be,

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you know what I mean, to go to all those different places.

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Right, and see these different shows. What was the first show when you got back

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into the scene? What was the first show that you went to?

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That Tulsa show. Talk to me.

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You had mentioned about, you talked about building the single cab in your buddy's garage.

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I want to hear kind of the whole story of how that happened and what that,

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you know, how that evolved.

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Sure. In 1995, I saw I had in the Dallas paper for a single cab, $1,500 running.

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I went up there and talked to the gentleman.

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We said, I said, I'd like to take it. You know, I'd like to have it.

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It was in a kind of a lockup area by an apartment building. and so then we went back home,

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I got the money, we took a trailer up there, and we picked it up.

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And then we started working on it, and it ran good.

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But the ring and pinion was out, so if you backed up, it was like a bucket bronco.

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I mean, it shook and shimmied and everything.

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Now, it was painted white, which looked like whitewashed, like they used to do fences.

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You know literally just real thin white

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paint chalky almost yeah yeah so

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we we washed that at the car wash and

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it washed off and the logos came up of bentley's

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paint truck from sherman denison texas

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back to you know getting it actually restored i

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took it to a body shop and they're in

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temple texas where i was

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living at the time where i grew up actually and they.

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Took it down to the bare metal and you know

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we're doing a good job well and all of a sudden i'd start

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going over there at about three o'clock in the afternoon just you

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know talking into having a good time with them well they

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started opening their beer up about two o'clock and

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i said this ain't working this is not

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working so they moved to

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a different place the body shop did and evidently he

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had got in some hard times so another friend

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of mine is a vw genius they called him that

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in hot vw magazine but he's really very knowledgeable

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and and then they were working over there and then they they

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quit they just quit working on it the single

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cab they had didn't have the gates on it they were just

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piling stuff up on the on the bed of

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the of the single cab bob was bob winters

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this friend of mine was working for this company that he installed those jacks

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uh the lifts in a garage okay so and the frame machines and all that sort of

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stuff you know they rented to these body shops well he had gotten word that

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this place was fixing to get padlocked by the sheriff's

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for not paying his, you know, probably the rent or something like that.

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He said, we got to go over and get your, we got to get your truck out of there

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before they padlock that thing.

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And then it becomes a real pain, you know, to get it out of the shop.

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And the meantime, I had a stroke and I was in the hospital. Well, dang.

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Yeah, really, really. So, uh, Bob and another friend of mine,

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Alan Flanshee, another VW friend in the, in the neighborhood,

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they went over there and got that.

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Well, they told me while I was at the hospital bed, and I said,

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well, let me get up. I'm going to go over with you.

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He said, boy, you're going to stay right up there in that bed.

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You ain't going anywhere.

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There's a good friend. Yeah, they are. Yes, they are.

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And still are. They go over there and tell this guy, he says,

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we're going to pick the single cab up.

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And, of course, like I said, they had all the junk on the bed.

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And he goes, real smart, Alec.

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He goes, where am I going to put all my stuff, man? if

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you take this truck and of course they didn't think

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that was all that funny so anyway they got

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the truck out of there and his son was

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having a little trouble with the law so he was about to

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come home and he needed some and he was an expert body

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man and metal man oh nice yes so

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he had it set up for his son to have a job on my truck so it worked out real

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good that he he got that body straight and did you know just get everything

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perfect the bed everything except the gates.

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Uh he didn't he didn't do the gates so anyway another

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friend to paint it on it was on the

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labor day weekend you know where they had a i think they actually had a five-day

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weekend because it was out by four foot of a big army post by our house across

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the lake and uh so they you know they got a five-day work weekend so he was

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working at Patriot Body Shop over in Killeen,

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Texas and he asked the guys you know

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the owners if he could do some work on

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his own over those that weekend so he

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painted the truck that weekend we got

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it home no gate and the guy

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that painted said well I'll take care of your gates later

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well I should have known that there's something in

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the woodshed at that time it wasn't

00:17:36.715 --> 00:17:39.695
going to be good so anyway we started working

00:17:39.695 --> 00:17:42.735
on that and actually when i say we bob

00:17:42.735 --> 00:17:45.595
and bob and bruce winters is the ones that

00:17:45.595 --> 00:17:48.275
did the work i i've come up

00:17:48.275 --> 00:17:52.135
with the ideas i think i'm real good with the ideas but as far as you know the

00:17:52.135 --> 00:17:57.955
workmanship that's that's not me i do the little things not not anything like

00:17:57.955 --> 00:18:02.695
they do so anyway they were massaging the body and putting of course the rubber

00:18:02.695 --> 00:18:05.835
back on and everything that needed to go back on it and so one day.

00:18:06.594 --> 00:18:10.734
We hear something outside of his garage, boom, boom, like that, you know, big crap.

00:18:10.934 --> 00:18:15.294
And this guy had come by in his pickup and thrown the gates in his front yard,

00:18:15.454 --> 00:18:17.094
just threw him out there. Didn't say anything.

00:18:17.274 --> 00:18:19.854
Just threw him out in the front yard and took off. Yeah.

00:18:20.414 --> 00:18:24.534
Yeah. I'm ready. Go figure. I thought VW guys were chill. Dang.

00:18:25.054 --> 00:18:28.594
Well, he wasn't a VW guy. He was a painter. He was just a painter.

00:18:28.774 --> 00:18:31.714
And that's why I bought VW Oracle with my truck.

00:18:32.314 --> 00:18:37.594
I did the Phantom Painter. I told Dean Kirsten, I said, we just put the Phantom Painter.

00:18:37.614 --> 00:18:40.374
I'm not going to give this tiny credit. Yeah, right on.

00:18:40.894 --> 00:18:46.454
But anyway, I got a story like that, you know, with getting them done,

00:18:46.454 --> 00:18:48.854
if they don't do all the body work and stuff themselves.

00:18:49.374 --> 00:18:53.154
So anyway, Bob and Bruce got it together, got the truck together.

00:18:53.634 --> 00:18:59.234
And actually, the first show I went to with the single cab at Rocky Mountain

00:18:59.234 --> 00:19:04.594
Motor Works on Saturday, And then Vandermeer Speedway in Denver on Sunday.

00:19:04.954 --> 00:19:09.014
And out of 300 cars, and it was a popularity deal. You know,

00:19:09.094 --> 00:19:11.554
it's one of those participant judge deals.

00:19:11.774 --> 00:19:18.294
And got number one out of all the 300 cars. I think a bunch of the Phoenix bus guys like my bus.

00:19:18.394 --> 00:19:20.734
So anyway, whatever, I was thankful for that.

00:19:21.094 --> 00:19:25.274
So then we finally, I got another friend to do the gates.

00:19:25.534 --> 00:19:28.434
And the rest was history. and we i just i've changed

00:19:28.434 --> 00:19:31.614
a little bit every year on the truck one

00:19:31.614 --> 00:19:34.394
year i'd put dual cobs on it next year i

00:19:34.394 --> 00:19:37.654
put different different wheels and tires

00:19:37.654 --> 00:19:40.614
on it then put the deluxe trim on

00:19:40.614 --> 00:19:43.554
it then hearse bumpers on it and yeah you

00:19:43.554 --> 00:19:46.434
know and like i say i didn't want two cars i

00:19:46.434 --> 00:19:50.654
didn't need two Volkswagen and so i

00:19:50.654 --> 00:19:54.394
just you know did a little bit easter preview of dresses and stuff you know

00:19:54.394 --> 00:19:59.954
that was my at the first show something was different you know uh so each year

00:19:59.954 --> 00:20:04.874
we we did a little bit more we put a vinyl uh back like it was logo when it

00:20:04.874 --> 00:20:07.234
was a paint truck oh cool okay.

00:20:08.094 --> 00:20:14.054
It was actually that paint truck in north texas and i finally found i was doing

00:20:14.054 --> 00:20:19.374
another hobby of mine and the guy it was up in north texas kind of by that the

00:20:19.374 --> 00:20:24.794
denison texas area and he said i see you got denison texas on there are you

00:20:24.794 --> 00:20:27.654
from denison he said you know i had a friend of mine,

00:20:28.214 --> 00:20:31.194
he was an apprentice painter for that

00:20:31.194 --> 00:20:34.034
company and so i said man well if

00:20:34.034 --> 00:20:37.674
you don't mind have him call me i'd love to find out more of the history of

00:20:37.674 --> 00:20:43.114
the truck well they only had one vw in their fleet they were the top painting

00:20:43.114 --> 00:20:49.194
company in north texas at that time he said they had 20 trucks but only one

00:20:49.194 --> 00:20:53.054
volkswagen he said you don't know why they just had one Volkswagen, but,

00:20:53.586 --> 00:20:56.726
That's what they had. But anyway, so I found a little history on that.

00:20:57.106 --> 00:21:00.786
Nice. And just went everywhere with the truck.

00:21:01.046 --> 00:21:05.946
Like I said, it got featured in Hot VW and won a lot of best of shows.

00:21:05.946 --> 00:21:14.426
And we put rack and pinion steering on it out of parts that Bob had on the shop floor.

00:21:14.646 --> 00:21:16.926
I mean, like I say, this guy was just incredible.

00:21:17.526 --> 00:21:20.766
And we put disc brakes all the way around. And, you know, it just,

00:21:20.846 --> 00:21:26.446
it was, it drove, I mean, you, it couldn't have driven any better than any other,

00:21:26.686 --> 00:21:27.846
you know, vintage Volkswagen.

00:21:28.326 --> 00:21:32.666
So anyway, so did that over the years and the old truck kind of,

00:21:32.846 --> 00:21:36.886
it got, it was in Wolfgang International's ad a couple of years.

00:21:37.106 --> 00:21:41.966
And so that a lot of people knew it and it kind of got a life of its own.

00:21:42.106 --> 00:21:46.286
And it was, it's so much fun. The Zone was the name of it, because when we first

00:21:46.286 --> 00:21:52.306
got it, my son and I, we'd put snowmobile suits on and drive it in the winter because it was so cold.

00:21:53.126 --> 00:21:57.306
And we went to the Jack in the Box. I love Jack in the Box tacos.

00:21:57.886 --> 00:22:02.066
And so we went to the Jack in the Box, and this girl opens the window up,

00:22:02.146 --> 00:22:05.966
and she says, that is the ugliest thing I have ever seen.

00:22:06.386 --> 00:22:09.926
That was what we painted it or anything. It was still the whitewater.

00:22:11.506 --> 00:22:16.046
So i took out of there and she's still holding those tacos because i am not

00:22:16.046 --> 00:22:19.886
buying no tacos from a girl who tells me that's the ugliest thing she's ever

00:22:19.886 --> 00:22:22.206
seen right anyway then that

00:22:22.646 --> 00:22:28.106
was before the whole you know thing got restored so and i i told my son i said.

00:22:28.857 --> 00:22:32.957
Man, I'm in the zone when I drive this thing. So that's what we named it,

00:22:33.017 --> 00:22:35.477
The Zone. Zone. I love it. All right.

00:22:35.857 --> 00:22:41.037
Hey, I want to touch on the charity shows that you actually would end up getting into.

00:22:41.597 --> 00:22:44.937
Talk to me about, you know, I know you never kept a dime or anything,

00:22:45.077 --> 00:22:47.957
but talk to me about, you know, where the money went, why you never,

00:22:47.977 --> 00:22:49.357
you know, made it profitable.

00:22:49.737 --> 00:22:54.677
And just teach me just a little bit about these events that you put on, these charity shows.

00:22:55.017 --> 00:22:58.097
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. still have people

00:22:58.097 --> 00:23:01.237
want me to do shows and tell me about how

00:23:01.237 --> 00:23:05.557
much they enjoyed some of the shows but in 1999 we

00:23:05.557 --> 00:23:08.417
put a show on i worked for acb food stores which is

00:23:08.417 --> 00:23:15.197
a a big uh chain of food stores here in texas and family owned and i worked

00:23:15.197 --> 00:23:22.637
for them for 50 years well we would have selling events well i said i told the

00:23:22.637 --> 00:23:26.277
big manager at the time that i can put a car show on and uh

00:23:26.677 --> 00:23:31.997
And our store in our region was a big sponsor for juvenile diabetes.

00:23:32.677 --> 00:23:40.857
So we did a show, and I didn't charge anything, but we raised money through donations and stuff.

00:23:41.357 --> 00:23:44.877
We had a big bucket there that people would just throw money in, you know.

00:23:45.177 --> 00:23:51.757
And we had a show and gave the money that year to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

00:23:51.757 --> 00:23:58.017
Action okay the next year we had another show hot vw put it you know it was

00:23:58.017 --> 00:24:03.377
covered in the magazine and we'd had about have about 100 entrants and like

00:24:03.377 --> 00:24:05.397
i said it was on the parking lot of our grocery store.

00:24:06.172 --> 00:24:09.352
So we outgrew the parking lot.

00:24:09.992 --> 00:24:16.192
Several of the other businesses that was in the complex started griping because

00:24:16.192 --> 00:24:18.792
we were taking up all the parking on that Saturday morning.

00:24:19.172 --> 00:24:24.392
But that year, we gave the money to the Ronald McDonald House. Nice.

00:24:24.852 --> 00:24:28.852
Which was a neat deal. yeah after that show

00:24:28.852 --> 00:24:32.632
we would cruise out to a little farming community

00:24:32.632 --> 00:24:35.572
german community uh west of town

00:24:35.572 --> 00:24:38.772
westphalia texas which came in

00:24:38.772 --> 00:24:41.652
perfect the name you know westphalia what you know

00:24:41.652 --> 00:24:45.052
volkswagen is anonymous you know yeah and

00:24:45.052 --> 00:24:48.032
then we we started getting a we

00:24:48.032 --> 00:24:51.372
called it bus and bugtoberfest because it

00:24:51.372 --> 00:24:54.452
was always in october and we started to get more buses

00:24:54.452 --> 00:24:57.832
than bugs i want to do a camp out also you know

00:24:57.832 --> 00:25:01.152
the saturday night after the show well the

00:25:01.152 --> 00:25:04.252
camp out was out here where i live on

00:25:04.252 --> 00:25:07.972
lake belton and morgan's point resort and so

00:25:07.972 --> 00:25:14.132
that year we just did it kind of in a field out by the baseball park and we

00:25:14.132 --> 00:25:18.832
made a thousand dollars and and we we donated that to the morgan's point police

00:25:18.832 --> 00:25:25.392
department because we're just a very small little town we don't have much businesses, no industry,

00:25:25.752 --> 00:25:28.152
no school, no post office.

00:25:28.512 --> 00:25:31.212
They don't have much for extras.

00:25:31.712 --> 00:25:37.092
So that year, we made $1,000. I think I must have charged a little bit for the entry fee.

00:25:37.432 --> 00:25:42.532
The stores at H-E-B never did. We never charged anything. So then...

00:25:43.081 --> 00:25:48.461
We had another show at the ballpark, and I think we raised $2,000 that year

00:25:48.461 --> 00:25:49.561
for the police department.

00:25:49.761 --> 00:25:53.041
This friend of mine out here said, Paul, there's a park over here that's not

00:25:53.041 --> 00:25:56.041
used very much. I want to take you over there and see if you think it would

00:25:56.041 --> 00:25:57.701
be a good place to have a car show.

00:25:57.901 --> 00:26:02.681
And oh my God, you go through this residential area, and then you go into this

00:26:02.681 --> 00:26:06.241
park, and it's a peninsula on the lake.

00:26:06.481 --> 00:26:09.401
Your cars are right up on the edge of the lake and everything.

00:26:10.261 --> 00:26:17.141
I mean, oh my Lord, I thought I was in heaven. So anyway, so each year we donated

00:26:17.141 --> 00:26:19.061
the money to the Polish department.

00:26:19.321 --> 00:26:26.241
The city of Vargas Point would furnish those big lights, the big spotlights

00:26:26.241 --> 00:26:27.881
where we'd have a little bit of light at night.

00:26:27.941 --> 00:26:32.041
And then, of course, we'd turn them off, you know, 10 o'clock, something like that.

00:26:32.301 --> 00:26:38.581
They even built us a shower stall, mobile, and they brought it out there.

00:26:38.681 --> 00:26:40.921
They still bring it out there each year. Wow.

00:26:41.961 --> 00:26:47.001
Like I said, we started having an auction, and that's where we made our money.

00:26:47.281 --> 00:26:52.761
We did charge $25, but that was three days camping, a cruise on Saturday,

00:26:53.061 --> 00:26:58.501
a barbecue on Saturday night, and a breakfast on Sunday, all for $25.

00:26:59.121 --> 00:27:03.681
So, I mean, you can't hardly beat a deal like that. No, that's a screaming deal.

00:27:03.941 --> 00:27:07.281
I would pay that just for the Texas barbecue.

00:27:08.161 --> 00:27:13.321
Absolutely, and it was good. And so, like I say, we talked out at about 100

00:27:13.321 --> 00:27:16.601
buses, which in Texas, that's a lot of buses at one time.

00:27:16.801 --> 00:27:19.861
You know, we were given $5,000 to $7,000 each year.

00:27:20.381 --> 00:27:24.361
And I was getting sponsors to buy, you know, stuff. Yeah, sure.

00:27:24.661 --> 00:27:29.441
And stuff like that. And I had a good friend of mine from City City,

00:27:29.561 --> 00:27:34.861
Iowa, that had a deal with O'Reilly Auto Parts.

00:27:34.861 --> 00:27:41.261
And he would buy, when they'd open a new store or remodel an old store, they wouldn't.

00:27:42.154 --> 00:27:44.874
They wouldn't leave any of the old stuff in there at that time.

00:27:45.014 --> 00:27:46.974
That's what they were doing, all new stuff.

00:27:47.674 --> 00:27:53.734
So he would buy that stuff, and we'd meet him at a show in the Midwest,

00:27:53.734 --> 00:28:00.074
and he would give me totes of stuff to give away, you know, and some auction,

00:28:00.234 --> 00:28:02.574
some raffle. So that was very helpful.

00:28:03.174 --> 00:28:09.314
And then participants, they bought in big time for helping Morgan's Point.

00:28:09.314 --> 00:28:16.454
Since Morgan Point, government was all over our welcoming shirt, our show.

00:28:17.074 --> 00:28:24.694
And we had a group called Cops, and that was a group here in town that was kind

00:28:24.694 --> 00:28:27.574
of a support group for the police.

00:28:27.714 --> 00:28:32.434
The money we raised, we'd give the cops, then they would give it to the police department.

00:28:32.914 --> 00:28:36.654
You know, we had the bank made us a big check,

00:28:36.834 --> 00:28:39.594
you know, where we'd you know right but anyway it was

00:28:39.594 --> 00:28:43.174
pretty cool yeah really absolutely and the

00:28:43.174 --> 00:28:46.834
sheriff would come out and not the sheriff the chief police would come out and

00:28:46.834 --> 00:28:52.034
we'd present him with the check and the money in so i did that me and my wife

00:28:52.034 --> 00:28:57.174
my wife was my right hand man she she never goes to any other shows with me

00:28:57.174 --> 00:29:01.154
but any of the shows that we put on she was she was there,

00:29:01.714 --> 00:29:04.494
helping out I mean couldn't have done it without her

00:29:04.494 --> 00:29:07.594
and help from other volunteers but so

00:29:07.594 --> 00:29:10.434
anyway I did it for 10 years we did it for 10

00:29:10.434 --> 00:29:13.174
years the last year we did

00:29:13.174 --> 00:29:16.894
I started having little health problems so but the

00:29:16.894 --> 00:29:21.094
last year we did it we made $11,000 wow

00:29:21.094 --> 00:29:24.054
how much of that got donated all of

00:29:24.054 --> 00:29:26.954
it wow from the from the

00:29:26.954 --> 00:29:33.414
participants the 25 from them and then from the auction and most of the auction

00:29:33.414 --> 00:29:41.614
was items that they donated or hand handmade i mean what year what what year

00:29:41.614 --> 00:29:44.154
just to paint the picture what year was the last show.

00:29:45.251 --> 00:29:50.231
Well, it's still going. No, I mean that you were a part of. Oh, right. Yes.

00:29:51.091 --> 00:29:55.851
Receiver started in, I would say, 2010.

00:29:56.371 --> 00:30:01.331
Okay. Was the last year that we did it. And then I was lucky enough that another

00:30:01.331 --> 00:30:02.871
friend of mine took it over.

00:30:03.911 --> 00:30:10.331
Shirley Clark, a lady in North Texas, took it over. And she's had it for, I guess, 12 years now.

00:30:11.711 --> 00:30:17.051
It's still the same place. Still rocking? Do you still go? Yes. Yeah, it's in October.

00:30:17.611 --> 00:30:19.891
Yeah. The. Beautiful weather.

00:30:20.551 --> 00:30:27.251
Still, sometimes. That time of the year is like, you can have the best weather

00:30:27.251 --> 00:30:31.971
in Texas, or you can have the crummiest weather because those cold fronts start coming down.

00:30:32.131 --> 00:30:34.211
That's right. That brings the rain. Yeah.

00:30:35.071 --> 00:30:39.111
And lightning and tornadoes, all kinds of crazy stuff you all have.

00:30:39.531 --> 00:30:41.051
Dallas-Fort Worth area.

00:30:41.771 --> 00:30:44.571
Yeah. I taught a class out there for a few years.

00:30:45.871 --> 00:30:49.091
Almost four years and i brought

00:30:49.091 --> 00:30:52.131
my camper in a couple times you know and you

00:30:52.131 --> 00:30:55.231
know i'd be in a koa in dallas fort worth and i

00:30:55.231 --> 00:31:00.951
got these sirens these you know going off or the tornadoes and i'm like hey

00:31:00.951 --> 00:31:08.191
you know i like hurricanes i can run from those we even had a couple years oh

00:31:08.191 --> 00:31:11.531
it's been pretty good weather for them this year we've had years that you know

00:31:11.531 --> 00:31:14.531
it blew all the temps down and blew the awnings down,

00:31:14.671 --> 00:31:20.771
but that year, I think we had to get, like, back-end loaders or front-end loaders

00:31:20.771 --> 00:31:23.911
to pull the buses out of some of the stuff.

00:31:24.331 --> 00:31:30.571
They put some very new dirt for us, and that was terrible, you know,

00:31:30.631 --> 00:31:32.631
but anyway, we got them all out of there and everything.

00:31:32.691 --> 00:31:35.531
The city helped, and that was my last.

00:31:35.771 --> 00:31:41.851
It was called Transporters at the Point, and now that's what I asked Shirley

00:31:41.851 --> 00:31:47.551
whenever she asked to take it over, I said, I would love for you to have it, Shirley.

00:31:47.871 --> 00:31:50.931
I just asked that you change the name.

00:31:51.411 --> 00:31:54.591
And she did. She changed it to the Texas bus fail.

00:31:55.291 --> 00:31:57.831
Okay. And it's still rocking. That's what it's called now.

00:31:59.551 --> 00:32:04.891
I believe every first weekend in October still. Okay. Awesome, man.

00:32:05.371 --> 00:32:08.491
I'll check that show out for sure. let's fast forward

00:32:08.491 --> 00:32:11.951
to the finding of the oval

00:32:11.951 --> 00:32:15.011
office which is your facebook group all righty

00:32:15.011 --> 00:32:17.871
so you know we mentioned that i had the zone the pickup

00:32:17.871 --> 00:32:22.891
the single cab 61 single cab i had some trouble with the motor on it friend

00:32:22.891 --> 00:32:29.391
of mine from i was sent me a brand new long block we put it in and there was

00:32:29.391 --> 00:32:35.751
more when we fired it up there's more oil on the garage floor there was in the motor in there.

00:32:35.851 --> 00:32:42.051
Then I was having some hospital issues and I just, it was a very dark.

00:32:42.929 --> 00:32:48.629
Part of my life, you know, with the things going on, and I just didn't want to deal with it.

00:32:48.909 --> 00:32:55.289
And so we got the hospital stuff straight down, and I was at a show locally,

00:32:55.289 --> 00:32:58.729
and a friend of mine, I heard him talking to another friend about,

00:32:58.949 --> 00:33:02.149
yeah, man, I'd like to sell my oval that next day.

00:33:02.269 --> 00:33:09.249
I called him at the house, and I said, man, would you like to trade that oval for a single cab?

00:33:09.449 --> 00:33:15.429
He said which which single cam you talking about i said mine he said heck yeah

00:33:15.429 --> 00:33:21.969
and a nice way of putting it and uh yeah so we we did a little bit you know

00:33:21.969 --> 00:33:23.489
a little harsh trading and uh,

00:33:24.129 --> 00:33:26.889
came out okay on it and uh it was

00:33:26.889 --> 00:33:31.969
completely a start when i had a black wall tires the whole nine yards and then

00:33:31.969 --> 00:33:37.749
uh i'd i'd kind of finessed it like i wanted the big white walls and did some

00:33:37.749 --> 00:33:44.249
other stuff anyway so what what year was this that is a oh that i got the you got the oval.

00:33:45.329 --> 00:33:49.389
Uh possibly 2018 okay

00:33:49.389 --> 00:33:52.089
so relatively recently and then

00:33:52.089 --> 00:33:55.249
that stim that stimulated you to start oval office which

00:33:55.249 --> 00:33:58.109
is your facebook group right yeah i yeah i saw

00:33:58.109 --> 00:34:01.269
that you know i liked facebook and got on there and that's how

00:34:01.269 --> 00:34:04.569
i would keep up with my shows and my friends you know through facebook

00:34:04.569 --> 00:34:09.629
and i just i don't know somehow or another oval office just popped in my head

00:34:09.629 --> 00:34:15.069
that that's a cool you know cool name it is it's a very cool name so you've

00:34:15.069 --> 00:34:20.149
got this oval office award there's an award that you give out at car shows talk

00:34:20.149 --> 00:34:23.209
to me about that award yes the the show the

00:34:23.589 --> 00:34:27.889
awards that i give out are resource old trophies

00:34:27.889 --> 00:34:30.789
and plaques and and items that i won

00:34:30.789 --> 00:34:33.969
and car shows and and i rebrand

00:34:33.969 --> 00:34:37.269
them as the oval office pick also had

00:34:37.269 --> 00:34:41.269
a friend of my larry schultz up in kansas his

00:34:41.269 --> 00:34:44.549
shop made me a bunch of uh made me 10 of

00:34:44.549 --> 00:34:50.469
the metal cut out ones for the oval office so i've used those also but most

00:34:50.469 --> 00:34:55.749
of them are the ones that i re i recycle and the one that i gave out at the

00:34:55.749 --> 00:35:01.529
last one was was a really really cool one that i gave it the dub splash up in.

00:35:02.229 --> 00:35:06.889
Grand prairie texas to a real nice oval but that's what i did i just go around

00:35:06.889 --> 00:35:12.149
and i pick my favorite oval it it might be the radiest one there it doesn't

00:35:12.149 --> 00:35:15.549
make any difference if for some reason it catches my eye.

00:35:16.454 --> 00:35:20.694
I picked that one. It might be the best over there as far as quality.

00:35:20.914 --> 00:35:24.134
Sure. But it just depends on what I like.

00:35:24.434 --> 00:35:29.014
We really don't know what the credentials are. It's just whatever you're feeling.

00:35:29.514 --> 00:35:32.794
Whatever. Yeah. All it has to do is be an oval. Yeah.

00:35:32.994 --> 00:35:37.794
So it's almost like the oval is like a cat for you. Because you know how they say cats choose you.

00:35:38.934 --> 00:35:44.574
So when you go to a show, the oval chooses you. Right. And then that one gets the award.

00:35:44.774 --> 00:35:47.014
That's interesting. That's interesting. Exactly.

00:35:47.314 --> 00:35:54.394
And I take a picture, of course, of the cars and take a picture of the restoration

00:35:54.394 --> 00:35:56.034
card where I remember the name.

00:35:56.194 --> 00:36:03.414
And then we actually give the award away at the award ceremony each time, you know, down here.

00:36:03.514 --> 00:36:05.734
And I don't know if they do it in another state.

00:36:05.914 --> 00:36:10.054
Well, I know they do it at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, but they have club awards,

00:36:10.054 --> 00:36:14.254
you know, where the clubs also present their favorite car.

00:36:14.254 --> 00:36:22.174
So I present our award in that time spot Nice This oval, again,

00:36:22.394 --> 00:36:28.394
gets lots of attention Beautiful car Made the cover of Volksamerica Which I

00:36:28.394 --> 00:36:32.634
believe was the first Volksamerica And you had a feature in that Tell me how

00:36:32.634 --> 00:36:40.434
that felt To have your car on the cover of a magazine Felt fantastic I mean, I cannot think,

00:36:41.114 --> 00:36:48.594
Paul Caves, Jason Vogan And the late, great Tim Lerma did their photo shoot

00:36:48.594 --> 00:36:52.814
at an awesome, awesome venue up in Kennedale, Texas.

00:36:53.854 --> 00:36:59.854
So Paul had gotten Tim to do the photos, did a great job.

00:37:00.034 --> 00:37:06.714
Then Tim passed away of COVID at a very young age, very young age.

00:37:06.794 --> 00:37:13.414
He was a Volkswagen man, also as a great photographer. COVID has definitely left its mark.

00:37:13.734 --> 00:37:18.234
It has, yes. It sure has. I can't believe that we all went through that,

00:37:18.474 --> 00:37:21.814
lived through that, and have these stories to tell.

00:37:22.114 --> 00:37:25.174
We lost family members during COVID as well.

00:37:25.654 --> 00:37:30.334
Exactly. And it was, what a challenging time. Let's go back to the Volks America

00:37:30.334 --> 00:37:33.434
cover. Yeah, let's just touch on that a little bit more.

00:37:33.954 --> 00:37:39.734
So you got your car on the cover of a magazine. how was the feature?

00:37:40.014 --> 00:37:43.594
Did it do a good job painting a picture of you and the car and your life?

00:37:44.614 --> 00:37:50.614
Oh, I think they did a wonderful job. And the pictures, the story was awesome.

00:37:51.174 --> 00:37:54.614
You know, it wasn't one of those deals where I had to say, well,

00:37:54.674 --> 00:37:58.034
I was misquoted. You know what I mean? One of those deals, it was all,

00:37:58.773 --> 00:38:04.733
It was a, I enjoyed it thoroughly. And like I say, that issue sold out really

00:38:04.733 --> 00:38:07.453
quick and there's no more issues of it to be had.

00:38:07.913 --> 00:38:11.033
Yeah. I love how they actually, I like how they do that.

00:38:11.633 --> 00:38:15.973
I do too. I like how they, it's like, Hey, if you want to be a part of the club,

00:38:16.113 --> 00:38:17.393
you better get in and buy one.

00:38:17.533 --> 00:38:20.853
Otherwise you ain't going to see it because they ain't going to make it again.

00:38:20.993 --> 00:38:23.593
No, that's, that's really awesome. I do. I do like that.

00:38:24.193 --> 00:38:28.533
So let me ask you a question. You've been in this scene for a long time now,

00:38:28.833 --> 00:38:30.793
and you've kind of grown through it.

00:38:30.953 --> 00:38:37.953
What advice would you give today to a younger VW enthusiast that might be new

00:38:37.953 --> 00:38:43.213
to the air-cooled scene, or maybe even a new, you did a lot of shows, a new show organizer?

00:38:43.413 --> 00:38:46.753
What type of advice would you give to somebody getting into it now?

00:38:47.813 --> 00:38:54.473
The guys that are getting into the Volkswagen, whether air-cooled or water-cooled.

00:38:55.893 --> 00:39:04.373
If you see another air cooler or Volkswagen guy, talk to them. Get to know them.

00:39:04.673 --> 00:39:10.153
Find out about local clubs or on the Facebook clubs.

00:39:10.713 --> 00:39:17.753
You might not ever meet that person face-to-face, but if you find out that they're

00:39:17.753 --> 00:39:21.773
local, you probably are going to see them somewhere in town or see them at a show.

00:39:22.473 --> 00:39:25.673
Like I say, everybody's helpful. they you

00:39:25.673 --> 00:39:28.673
know and they can help you grow help you with your

00:39:28.673 --> 00:39:34.173
car ideas where to source out a mechanic or something which is getting harder

00:39:34.173 --> 00:39:41.093
and harder to do you know just kind of in the local scene and you you'll probably

00:39:41.093 --> 00:39:46.753
your love for the whole deal will grow it might not but even if you just have.

00:39:47.665 --> 00:39:51.205
Small interest in the hobby, it's still well worth it.

00:39:51.305 --> 00:39:55.705
But I believe if you get into it like that, you, and locally and.

00:39:56.145 --> 00:40:02.565
What I'm hearing from you is get plugged in and, you know, get plugged into

00:40:02.565 --> 00:40:04.305
the local scene, the local community.

00:40:04.405 --> 00:40:10.745
I went to a church many years back and the pastor did a really good job of connecting.

00:40:11.505 --> 00:40:16.005
And, you know, he made you feel like you wanted to be a part of the clone essentially.

00:40:16.565 --> 00:40:20.445
And I think that's what, what you're talking about, but he talked about back

00:40:20.445 --> 00:40:25.485
then the importance of plugging in to the community, plugging into,

00:40:25.865 --> 00:40:30.065
you know, the opportunities that are there, plugging into the meetups and the, right.

00:40:30.205 --> 00:40:33.925
And that's kind of what you're saying, find the locals, find the scene,

00:40:34.125 --> 00:40:35.965
get connected, get plugged in.

00:40:36.065 --> 00:40:39.245
I think that's very sound advice. And I'll be honest with you,

00:40:39.325 --> 00:40:43.805
I've heard other Volkswagen guys say that same thing.

00:40:44.205 --> 00:40:47.785
So there's obviously weight in that, right? It's very important.

00:40:48.265 --> 00:40:53.905
I've got some fast questions, some rapid fire, you know, fast answers.

00:40:53.945 --> 00:40:57.685
I got about maybe five, maybe 10 of them to throw at you. All right.

00:40:58.105 --> 00:41:02.325
First one I got for you, lowered or stock height? What do you fancy?

00:41:03.105 --> 00:41:06.505
Depends on the car. All right. a bus

00:41:06.505 --> 00:41:09.405
single cab needs to be lowered a little bit i don't

00:41:09.405 --> 00:41:12.325
like the slam stuff but if it's

00:41:12.325 --> 00:41:15.945
air ride you can do what you want to with it you know what i mean yeah sure

00:41:15.945 --> 00:41:21.305
and i don't like that camber in the back where they lay those wheels yeah i

00:41:21.305 --> 00:41:26.705
call that uk style only my deal with the with the stock or or lowered is just

00:41:26.705 --> 00:41:31.785
depending on what which vehicle it is that's a good answer All right. How about favorite?

00:41:32.325 --> 00:41:37.965
Oh, I'm sorry. When I had the vintage look on my car, of course,

00:41:37.965 --> 00:41:39.865
I had the big white walls and everything.

00:41:40.365 --> 00:41:44.325
You don't want to lower that, you know. But then when I put the drop spindles

00:41:44.325 --> 00:41:49.185
and everything, I put different tires and rims and a little bit lowered. So anyway.

00:41:49.805 --> 00:41:53.365
All right. How about favorite color? Sealing white red and chestnut brown.

00:41:54.365 --> 00:42:00.265
All right. One VW event that everybody should attend. Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

00:42:02.385 --> 00:42:05.405
What's the name of the event uh the eureka springs

00:42:05.405 --> 00:42:08.505
bw weekend i think i'm not for sure exactly

00:42:08.505 --> 00:42:14.405
uh there's three volkswagen events going on at the same time the same weekend

00:42:14.405 --> 00:42:20.725
one of them is at the host hotel is everything you know all volkswagens then

00:42:20.725 --> 00:42:27.005
they have one at another area that is mainly water cool then they have another show that's.

00:42:28.329 --> 00:42:33.549
You know, both different ones. And what happened, the show got so large in the

00:42:33.549 --> 00:42:39.069
parking lot of the hotel and the convention center, they just had to, they split up.

00:42:39.249 --> 00:42:42.989
But at the end of the day, we have a parade through this little,

00:42:43.209 --> 00:42:47.769
cool little artsy town in the mountains, about 300 cars.

00:42:48.269 --> 00:42:53.969
That all freeze, police, escorted the whole nine yards.

00:42:54.089 --> 00:43:00.089
The people alive, freeze, we throw candy. it's worth going it's 585 miles that

00:43:00.089 --> 00:43:05.989
i used to drive my single cab up there every year in the single cabin back it's

00:43:05.989 --> 00:43:07.889
worth going up there just for that parade.

00:43:08.749 --> 00:43:13.469
All the townspeople you know it's just a big deal the little town to keep the

00:43:13.469 --> 00:43:18.729
tourists they have a harley weekend they have a car vet weekend they have a

00:43:18.729 --> 00:43:26.589
good good one yeah that's awesome Of the neighborhoods get out on their front

00:43:26.589 --> 00:43:28.429
yards And they, downtown,

00:43:28.889 --> 00:43:31.129
it's 10 deep I mean, it's unbelievable,

00:43:31.809 --> 00:43:35.929
That's awesome, man I mean, that one day you're a celebrity You know what I mean?

00:43:35.989 --> 00:43:40.589
It's a cool deal Yeah, good, that's special I love to hear about that Alright,

00:43:40.869 --> 00:43:46.729
most overrated VW of all time That new electric bus,

00:43:47.549 --> 00:43:54.469
Alright, the ID Buzz Yeah As far as buses go Split or bay?

00:43:54.749 --> 00:44:00.349
I like the splits, but I just missed a deal in Florida on a bay window.

00:44:00.609 --> 00:44:02.749
So it's a single cam.

00:44:03.069 --> 00:44:05.509
But y'all like the split buses. Okay.

00:44:05.969 --> 00:44:10.149
What's one tool that you always forget to bring? A jack.

00:44:11.349 --> 00:44:16.009
A jack. Hey, man, solid answer. Been around the scene for a long time.

00:44:16.149 --> 00:44:19.809
Next question, you know, could be a very interesting one for you.

00:44:19.809 --> 00:44:24.769
Do you have anybody in the scene That you consider like your VW Hero?

00:44:25.169 --> 00:44:30.989
Yes sir Very strong on this one Bob Winters, the man behind The Zone,

00:44:31.189 --> 00:44:36.189
Bob Falk A great friend of mine in Sioux City Iowa that has been,

00:44:37.061 --> 00:44:44.141
We met him on a mountain in Colorado at a show in 1999 and been a great friend ever since. Awesome.

00:44:44.921 --> 00:44:53.541
And Dean Kirsten has been just awesome throughout Volkswagen fun days and still is a great friend.

00:44:53.861 --> 00:44:58.861
But I was lucky. He had family in Texas at the time, so he would come down and

00:44:58.861 --> 00:45:04.481
he would meet here in Belton, another little town right by us.

00:45:04.481 --> 00:45:08.861
And we'd eat barbecue because he said they couldn't get good barbecue in California.

00:45:10.261 --> 00:45:15.041
You can't get good barbecue in Florida either. So I still come to Texas several

00:45:15.041 --> 00:45:18.921
times a year, teach a sales class to, you know, younger.

00:45:19.101 --> 00:45:22.281
Well, not, I can't say younger, to technicians in the trades.

00:45:22.561 --> 00:45:28.001
And I get the privilege, and I say the privilege, of coming to Austin and I

00:45:28.001 --> 00:45:30.161
get to eat some very good barbecue.

00:45:30.481 --> 00:45:35.641
So super, super awesome. In that area where you're at I think I might even mention

00:45:35.641 --> 00:45:40.461
this I used to teach a class up there too In the Dallas-Fort Worth area And

00:45:40.461 --> 00:45:42.901
I used to get brought to this place Called Heim.

00:45:44.001 --> 00:45:47.561
Heim Barbecue I got the

00:45:47.561 --> 00:45:53.121
barbecue bacon burnt ends Oh come on Those burnt ends are something else man

00:45:53.121 --> 00:45:58.281
Yeah so yeah I agree with that person There is no barbecue in the world Like

00:45:58.281 --> 00:46:04.341
barbecue in Texas You're exactly right And like I say, next time you come to Austin or Fort Worth,

00:46:04.441 --> 00:46:07.781
you give me a holler, and we'll go.

00:46:08.101 --> 00:46:13.641
That'll be so much fun. I'll be in Austin. My next class is October.

00:46:14.161 --> 00:46:18.681
So, yeah, I'll be happy to connect with you at that time. All right.

00:46:19.001 --> 00:46:24.321
If you're playing a song and you're cruising in the Dove, what song's playing on your playlist?

00:46:25.121 --> 00:46:28.361
Anything Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin. Awesome.

00:46:28.761 --> 00:46:34.621
Led Zeppelin. I like to share what I have on. I also like Freebird by Leonard Skinner.

00:46:34.781 --> 00:46:37.141
Any of his solos are good.

00:46:37.861 --> 00:46:44.441
Joe Bonamassa. I got so many, but most of my stuff includes electric guitars.

00:46:44.981 --> 00:46:51.041
I love the blues guitars with electrics. Any of that stuff, I dig.

00:46:51.981 --> 00:46:59.281
Money, no object. Favorite VW ever, even if it's got to be a project. What's it going to be?

00:47:00.301 --> 00:47:04.681
I would like to have a Blonde Door bus that's sitting Wax Red,

00:47:04.941 --> 00:47:06.801
test that brand 23 window.

00:47:08.601 --> 00:47:14.561
That's a beauty So Oval Office On Facebook, how do people connect With you,

00:47:14.621 --> 00:47:17.861
how do they find you, you got Oval Listeners that are going to definitely be

00:47:17.861 --> 00:47:19.401
Listening to this podcast,

00:47:19.661 --> 00:47:24.441
how do they connect With you, how do they find you on Facebook The best way I think,

00:47:24.981 --> 00:47:26.481
Is go to Paul Smith,

00:47:27.384 --> 00:47:30.984
And then I'll have something on there at the Oval Office, and you can probably

00:47:30.984 --> 00:47:33.324
hit that, and it'll take you to the Oval Office.

00:47:33.844 --> 00:47:39.424
No problem, man. That's awesome. All right, so final thoughts from you on,

00:47:39.464 --> 00:47:43.324
I guess, your legacy on the scene in general.

00:47:43.604 --> 00:47:46.184
It's almost like saying goodbye, right? We're like, hold on.

00:47:46.184 --> 00:47:50.884
I don't want to get the final thoughts yet, but what did I not cover?

00:47:51.244 --> 00:47:55.644
What would you want to say to the Volkswagen scene, the Volkswagen community

00:47:55.644 --> 00:48:00.024
that's listening? Like I say, anything I do is not for profit.

00:48:01.664 --> 00:48:07.044
When I get a car or something, it's not to resell.

00:48:08.024 --> 00:48:14.164
This is my hobby, my main hobby, but drag racing also.

00:48:14.824 --> 00:48:20.184
But like I say, it's not a monetary thing to me at all.

00:48:20.604 --> 00:48:24.104
We used to have a saying at the bus camp out,

00:48:24.104 --> 00:48:27.124
the volkswagen get you there but the

00:48:27.124 --> 00:48:30.444
people keep you there oh that's absolutely

00:48:30.444 --> 00:48:33.244
i'm gonna have to agree with

00:48:33.244 --> 00:48:38.784
that yeah i would you know and things like that that make me happy when i hear

00:48:38.784 --> 00:48:44.204
paul my wife wouldn't go to any other show but the shows that that you put on

00:48:44.204 --> 00:48:48.604
because we knew they'd have clean restrooms you know stuff like that makes you

00:48:48.604 --> 00:48:52.424
really feel great and like i said just the longevity,

00:48:52.744 --> 00:48:58.164
I guess, that I've had and still enjoy it and have so many good friends in the deal.

00:48:58.424 --> 00:49:00.544
It's just so cool.

00:49:00.964 --> 00:49:04.224
And that's a wrap for this episode of Dove Life Diaries.

00:49:04.524 --> 00:49:08.284
Thanks for riding along with us and diving into these incredible stories of

00:49:08.284 --> 00:49:10.344
the people in the doves that drive their dreams.

00:49:10.584 --> 00:49:15.144
If you loved today's episode, don't forget to subscribe or hit that follow button

00:49:15.144 --> 00:49:16.484
so you never miss an adventure.

00:49:16.744 --> 00:49:21.444
Do you have a story to tell or know somebody else who's living the Dove life. Awesome.

00:49:21.744 --> 00:49:26.784
Reach out to us. You can find us on all socials at Dove Life Diaries or shoot

00:49:26.784 --> 00:49:28.544
me an email. I'm not hard to find.

00:49:29.404 --> 00:49:34.464
DoveLifeDiaries at gmail.com Until next time, keep the engines humming and the

00:49:34.464 --> 00:49:37.724
wheels turning and always follow the road that inspires you.

00:49:37.904 --> 00:49:42.004
This is Joe Person. I'm signing off. I'll catch you on the next ride.

00:49:42.000 --> 00:50:39.291
Music.