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unclebilly Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2019 Posts: 42 Location: AB
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2020 10:06 pm Post subject: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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My 10 year old son has confiscated the Baja bug over the past 2 or so weeks. He has taught himself how to drive a standard and seems to always have an excuse to drive it... checking cows, seeing what I’m up to when I am working in the field with the tractor, etc...
We have 300 acres and lots of backroads so I’m more impressed than worried.
He has a dirt bike and access to our quad but the Baja is the new ‘thing’...
He has been driving karts since he was 5 and racing since he was 7. He’s a good driver. |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:02 pm Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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When my son was 3 years old, he started claiming my 1961 F100 as "his". It's a long bed integral cab (some folks call it "unibody") with slot mags and a 428 Cobra Jet engine. When he was 7, we ran across a sign in a curio shop that shows a '66 F100 with a caption that says "When I grow up, I'm gonna drive a Ford". That sign still hangs in our hallway and still gets noticed often. He's now 26 and I still have the '61, but he has owned 5 Ford pickup trucks, including his daily driver 2K Ford Ranger pre run truck, and his alternate daily 96 F350 crew cab 4x4 high rider with 7.3liter turbo diesel and a "chase rack" on the back for chasing and pitting offroad race cars.
So I 'get' your son latching onto a Baja Bug. There are vastly worse things for him to latch onto at 10 years old. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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TonyB Samba Member
Joined: December 11, 2018 Posts: 173 Location: Kansas
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:07 am Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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We need pic's! |
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:26 am Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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Good Job Dad.
My son has autism but I started him on a dirt bike at age four. A few years later he was driving our stick shift Samurai about the desert with my guidance. He will never be able to get a license and drive on the street but once my Baja is finished he will for sure get his turn at the wheel out in the desert. |
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dustymojave Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2007 Posts: 5802 Location: Lake LA, Mojave Desert, SoCal
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:32 pm Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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Cool Rick.
I wish my sister in law had that sort of approach to raising her autistic son. But she went full protection mode and now has cut off my wife and I and our son because we "don't invite them to our home to visit", even though for 25 years she has always refused to come to our home because her autistic son "cannot be exposed to an environment that he is not familiar with".
I see your approach as much like in the story of Rain Man when the autistic brother leaves the protective environment, he actually grows and becomes more accepting of and able to deal with different environments. He still needs some protection, yes, but not an absolute isolation from the world. _________________ Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet. |
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unclebilly Samba Member
Joined: January 07, 2019 Posts: 42 Location: AB
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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TonyB wrote: |
We need pic's! |
I posted a video the other day on the Class 11 Junkies Facebook page... |
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rkwfxd Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 107 Location: Whittier
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:43 am Post subject: Re: My 10 year old has adopted my Baja bug... |
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dustymojave wrote: |
Cool Rick.
I wish my sister in law had that sort of approach to raising her autistic son. But she went full protection mode and now has cut off my wife and I and our son because we "don't invite them to our home to visit", even though for 25 years she has always refused to come to our home because her autistic son "cannot be exposed to an environment that he is not familiar with".
I see your approach as much like in the story of Rain Man when the autistic brother leaves the protective environment, he actually grows and becomes more accepting of and able to deal with different environments. He still needs some protection, yes, but not an absolute isolation from the world. |
Rich you are 100% correct. My wife and I decided long ago that we would not be the limiting factor for Dave. Not sure if I mentioned it but he started riding a motorcycle in our back yard at 4. Now, 20 years later, he is 6-2 and 240 pounds and would get seriously hurt if he fell wrong so we have phased out the dirtbikes and he seems OK with it. |
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