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R TERRY (207.230.144.240)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 2:00 am: | |
As dedicated Busnuts, there’s probably one thing we can agree on: By definition, a bus conversion is an exercise in “Doing it your way”.
I found out “Doing it your way” has more than one meaning.
When I drove my new-to-me GM 4905A from Nebraska to Arizona in January of 2002, our first stop was Wichita, KS, where I have an aunt and uncle and several cousins. Pulling the bus up in front of my aunt and uncle’s house turned out to be a fairly big deal.
It loomed larger than anything in the neighborhood, was taller than the house and barely fit between the ends of their circle drive, hogging almost half the street. Uncle Sonny, grinning but shaking his head in mock disbelief, said, “What in the world are you going to do with that bus?”
With great enthusiasm I explained to him the art of bus conversions and my dream of traveling around America with the kids, seeing places I have only heard about, and generally living “the Good Life”, Busnut-style.
For the next couple of years I suggested he do the same. If anyone could afford to, it was Uncle Sonny. And why not? Isn’t it the American Dream to retire and enjoy the fruits of your labor, as the saying goes? Remember the bumper sticker, “I am spending my children’s inheritance!”? What better way to do that than in your own custom coach?
Being “well to do” fits that scenario perfectly. His real estate “empire” included apartment complexes, duplexes, houses, commercial properties, land in California, Arizona, Kansas, and you name it. As the top salesman for a Mercedes-Benz dealership, and later a stocks and bonds broker, his personal fortune can only be imagined. He owned a four-place Cessna, a handful of collectable Mercedes-Benz automobiles, boats, and almost everything… EXCEPT A BUS.
Rarely did anything pass through his hands without being profitable. I was often annoyed by that… I call it a character flaw… because it never worked that way for me. I could simply look at a pile of gold and it would go down in value. (I have never seen a pile of gold, so not to worry.) Further annoying me was his unwillingness to retire. He asked me, What in the world are you going to do with that bus? I asked him, What in the world are you going to do with all that money?
I implored him to buy a bus, travel America, and relish the good life. Actually, this is what I wanted to do, and I continued to urge him to do it my way. Instead, he continued to be amused, if not perplexed, at my obsession with buses.
Uncle Sonny passed away in May at the age of 69 after a short, sudden bout with cancer. He never bought a bus and never retired. Before he died, he did the most remarkable thing, something that essentially answered all my questions.
The hospital doctors, in their best bedside decorum, let it be known that he would not be going home. His lungs were irreparably damaged by the chemotherapy treatments. He spent his final days in bed wasting away with an oxygen tube in his nostrils and another oxygen mask covering most of his face. Breathing wasn’t just laboriously difficult for him to do; it was heartbreakingly difficult for us to watch.
Then the phone rang.
Unbelievably, it was a 92-year old stock investor wanting advice on some instruments in her portfolio. Suddenly, as if given a new lease on life, Uncle Sonny remove his oxygen mask, grabbed the phone, and for fifteen minutes—between excruciating gasps for breath—, administered the investment advice she apparently could not go another minute without.
During this brief period of time, his composure greatly improved, a broad smile enriched his distraught face, and the familiar tone of professional wisdom returned to his voice. For those fifteen minutes, he was truly in his element, at work, doing exactly what he wanted to do. Under such dire circumstances, what seemed like a gracious act of enormous generosity on his part, was in fact a man who just LOVED his work.
Until then, I always wondered why my uncle, with all his wealth, never took retirement. Again and again, I urged him to buy a luxurious bus and live the good life.
I realize now he didn’t need to do that because he was ALREADY living the good life.
Ultimately, we differed on the concept of retirement: He could afford to retire, but chose not to; I would have retired ten years ago, but could not afford to. But we seemed to agree on one philosophical point of view: Doing it your way.
He did it HIS way. Someday, I hope to do it my way.
I’m going to miss him.
R TERRY |
bill keel (Crptklnr) (68.19.89.60)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 5:24 am: | |
The timing of your post couldn't be more ironic. My brother-in-law, Gary was one of the good guys. He was at work waiting for the construction crews he supervised, to show up; when he had a massive heart attack. He was in his element as he died. He was living the good life his way, loving every minute of it.He died yesterday morning. Like you, I am going to miss him. Bill |
Nick Russell (66.82.9.17)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 1:54 pm: | |
As singer Jimmy Buffett says in one of his songs, "I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."
Whatever makes you happy, go for it. That is why, at age 45, we walked away from successful careers to travel fulltime and publish a newspaper for RVers. We're not making nearly as much as we did before, but we love every minute of every day. |
John that newguy (199.232.244.24)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 2:34 pm: | |
I thought Warren Buffett said that. |
TWO DOGS (63.156.216.1)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 2:34 pm: | |
My best friend died two months ago...he had just bought a new motorhome,never got to use it,I've been a fulltimer for 10 years,he was finally seeing the benefits of different scenes out the window every time you looked,poor little guy.. |
John that newguy (199.232.244.24)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 2:46 pm: | |
I'll bet he's still seeing those scenes, only from a higher vantage point! |
R.J.Bob Evans (204.83.31.95)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2004 - 6:51 pm: | |
We met a guy last winter in Las Glorias who had given up a successful accounting practice to live full-time in an Airstream on $1000 per month.
He said he did the numbers and decided that he had enough money to last the rest of his life as long as he could live on $1000 per month so that is what he was doing. He's in his mid 40's. He and his dog looked to be having a wonderful time. |
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