TheSamba.com :: View topic - Resurrection of the 3hippies and the green bus

Thu Jul 14, 2005 7:53 am

Found the pics again:

Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:36 pm

My dear friends. This shall be the final chapter. I want you to know that regardless of recent responses, responding negatively to me leaving out my final chapter, in all sincerity it was done in your best interest. I honestly couldn't bear the thought of relaying to each of you the gruesome end of this story. Often in life, it does seem that some things are better left unsaid. Perhaps in the softness of my heart, I have discovered a weakness. However it is in that softness that I possess my greatest strength. I realize that this might be difficult for some of you to understand. I also know that sometimes some wounds go too deep to be healed. Is my only hope that you might see through the bitter memories of betrayal? And forgive me for not being strong enough to finish what I started... regardless of who it hurts. Please remember I never offered a fairy tail ending, only the truth? Sometimes that can be a bitter pill to swallow. But in light of recent responses, I am here to offer you that bitter pill. So for those of you who are strong of heart, I entreat you to take a glass of water and swallow this if you so desire.
...On we continued on our oil-guzzling journey across the American Plains seemingly without event, until... We had come so very far and so very close to our goal. We had rounded third base. We were on the last leg of the race. And the shore of our Homeland glowed softly in the distance with the warm breeze bringing in the fresh fragrance of the harvest corn of our beloved Illinois plains that we've grown to know and love. With a thankful heart we thought of the bitter hell we had been delivered from... the broken bottle-ridden streets of LA during a heat wave. Thirty miles from home the three hippees, ectstatically rejoiced at the nearing completion of a seemlingly inconceivable journey. As the CD player blaired, we sang in joyful adoration at the completed task. It seems that fate however is not without a bitter sense of irony. A certain driver who will remain anonymous made a fatal mistake of which the ripples are still felt deep within my soul until this very day. With pedal pressed tightly to the floor, Sonset screamed in a panicked desperation. Unfortunately those screams fell upon the deaf ears of our three hippee friends. Pressed to the brink of his limitations, Sonset gave all he could. With one last burst of travail, Sonset breathed his last. As deep within Sonsets overburdened heart, our tattered Warrior, gave his all as his heart exploded within him. It could be said on the plains of Illinois, fell one of the greatest buses to ever master the asphalt. No bus can ride that high in third gear... regardless of the strength of spirit. If only the warning of defeat wasn't supressed by a preemptive cry of victory, Sonset might be alive and well today. And so you can see now my friends, where the hesitancy to finish this story comes. It certainly did not originate in disdain or in the absence of my appreciation for you. I very honestly consider all of you to be my family... along with all VW loving kindhearted souls. On the contrary, my hesitancy was born out of my love. I believe this is something all men must learn in their life. Do we really do any favors to shelter our friends and loved ones from the truth no matter how bitter that pill may be?....

You might say that this is the end. Yet many times the end is really only a means to the beginning of something of a far greater glory. And this my friends, is the reality that Sonset has yet to step into. I believe that one day we will all meet again. And perhaps on that day I might come bearing tidings of joy as the resurrected Hippies and the Green Bus shine before you. Shine on my VW-luvin friends.... Shine on.

Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:08 pm

Soooo... Maxed out in 3rd, blew the engine?

Did it get towed? Is it in a junkyard?

YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE STORY!!!!

Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:31 pm

Sorry about your bus motor, man...but dig this...That's, like, normal.
Half these volks probably been through at least this much bad luck with these.
Including me.
Most of the ones I've seen have bad motors to start with.
That's why they are for sale, I suppose.
Including yours.
If you haven't junked it yet, maybe you should store it away until you have the means.
Peace

Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:37 pm

A sad end to a tale of impressive tenacity. I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to get it back on the road?

Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:44 pm

livingbeyondtheveil wrote: A certain driver who will remain anonymous made a fatal mistake of which the ripples are still felt deep within my soul until this very day. With pedal pressed tightly to the floor, Sonset screamed in a panicked desperation. Unfortunately those screams fell upon the deaf ears of our three hippee friends. Pressed to the brink of his limitations, Sonset gave all he could. With one last burst of travail, Sonset breathed his last. As deep within Sonsets overburdened heart, our tattered Warrior, gave his all as his heart exploded within him.

Kiddies, this is why you shouldn't do drugs. :roll:

Tue Jul 19, 2005 9:31 pm

RIP Sonset

Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:04 pm

So is there a plan to rebuild the engine and get the bus back on the road?

Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:48 am

vegaluca wrote: I have given up on ye,
Hippys ... I don't think so ... :roll:

Forgive me :oops:
I just played back that vid that Shark made of ye ... man it makes me brake my ar$e laughing EVERY time :lol: :lol: :lol:
Remember guys ... A journey/trip like the one ye have come through is just another chapter in the life of a Vdub bus, it would be so cool to give Sonset a heart transplant and keep the legend alive.
Peace out.

Long may you live and surf all day long !

Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:09 pm

I couldn't agree more. there is a dude in springfield mo. who will sell you a rebuilt type 4 longblock for 600 bucks!!(re-ringed, used jugs) man that is a good year and set-up of bus you guys have.(you still have it right?) anyway, don't give up on the bus. Just continue to love it. It got you guys home running on 3 cylinders from california! that's one tough crate!!

anyway, Glad to hear you guys made it within an hour from home.

Wed Aug 17, 2005 11:40 am

well this sucks come on people finish the damn story

Mon Nov 21, 2005 4:16 pm

I guess this thread is pretty dead now. Was a super cool read. Made me want to travel cross country in my own bus.

I wonder what has become of the 3 Hippies? Will they be stranded and broke down when they were driving home in a bus for Thanksgiving? Are they starving and in need of food? Do the 3 of them still get along and see eachother? Do they have jobs?

Hope they are all happy wherever they ended up.

tj

Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 pm

Yeah, I think it's time to un-stickie these.

I do have the original thread archived on my site in PDF format too.

Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:39 am

bottomend, call them up and find out whats going on with the bus.

Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:30 pm

Wow what a read.

Good on ya, Grease.

To me, this story is about you.

Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:35 am

It was a great ole laugh alright ... and the sence of community spirit amongst the veedubbers was truly class. I came accross the thread from a surfing fourm in Ireland and believe me the word went out like wild fire .... everybody amped to get their daily saga of 3 hippies and two legends (Grease & Sonset) ...

Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:57 pm

Pictures of the wedding? <sigh> Was a good read...only took me a couple weeks. Been waiting for a finale that never came.

Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:52 pm

Amazing!!

I've spent the better part of today reading both parts of this epic adventure. This is what I miss most since parting with my last ac V-dub. The true camaraderie of people who have nothing else binding them but a love for vintage air-cooled German engineering. I'm fortunate that I still live in a part of the country where if you drive a VW and you pass another, you will get a smile, a nod, a peace sign, or all of the above. In fact, when I bought my first Beetle, I was surprised by people acknowledging us in that way. I didn't know of the practice until I read about it in a VW magazine :oops: :P

Anyway, this is why I'm desperately wanting to find a squareback (like the one I learned to drive in), and rejoin this wonderful family. I still stop and help if I see an acVW on the side of the road. It just doesn't feel the same doing it in a Dodge Caravan :D, lol.

Before I go, I have a "Hippie Fix" ;)

One day while just driving around, my accelerator cable end broke off right behind the pedal. I had a few tools with me, but had no idea what I was going to do. Then it hit me...I pulled back the pedal and clamped a small pair of vice-grips on the end of the cable (with the handles pointed towards the brake pedal). Pushed the pedal up against the "grips", and voila, it worked almost like normal. I only had to drive about 3 miles to my local V-dub mechanic, who luckily had a new throttle cable on hand.

Peace!

Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:57 pm

livingbeyondtheveil wrote:
...On we continued on our oil-guzzling journey across the American Plains seemingly without event, until... As the CD player blaired....A certain driver who will remain anonymous made a fatal mistake.....Sonset screamed in a panicked desperation. Unfortunately those screams fell upon the deaf ears of our three hippee friends. Pressed to the brink of his limitations.....his heart exploded within him....If only the warning of defeat wasn't supressed by a preemptive cry of victory, Sonset might be alive and well today. And so you can see now my friends, where the hesitancy to finish this story comes...And this my friends, is the reality that Sonset has yet to step into...I believe that one day we will all meet again.

Ok, so I know this is late, but I've recently found this story while browsing thesamba and I have to comment. I've been reading this for days now. I've laughed, I've cried, I've hated and loved these guys and even tried reevaluating my life. Now that I've read this last post buy Rez, I've condensed it and read between the lines.
The all important Best Buy cd player seems to be the undoing of this poor unsuspecting bus. What I get out of this is that they forgot to put oil in sonset and the cd player was so loud that they didn't hear the bus knocking and they blew it up. Very creative writing by Rez, tho :wink: . Then obviously they left it there and called someone to come get them because they were so close to home. Look at the pictures and you'll see that there's a california tag still on it. They never even bothered to get it registered or insured. (if you read the whole story, would you expect them to?) Rez didn't leave you guys hanging, he told you what happened to the bus, only in creative words. "And so you can see now my friends, where the hesitancy to finish this story comes...And this my friends, is the reality that Sonset has yet to step into...I believe that one day we will all meet again" I think he was scared to tell you he left it there. Has anyone heard from them since that last post? Does anyone know what happened to them? I want so badly to be wrong here. What a horrible way to end a great story.

Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:03 pm

it got crushed