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JUNE 2004 - V'dubber of the Month |
LaRue H. & His 1969 Transporter
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You know LaRue by his red and white Westy camper bus. So what’s with the white ‘69 Transporter? Well, he’s proud of it and it needs some publicity. Okay? We will talk more about it later. But this is about LaRue, the “vdubber.” He has been a member for nearly 3 years and active all the way. His wife, Evelyn, is usually right there with him; and those 2 standard show poodles are joined at each of his hips. So, what attraction do the front seats of a Type-2 hold to dogs? You have seen some of the pictures of Bulldog Martin in Tim’s bus. Well LaRue’s dogs, Candy & Niña love “their” front seats too; and everybody loves them… the dogs, I mean. LaRue’s white Poodle, Niña’s favorite spot is the driver’s seat. She must be a control freak. Ha! LaRue’s resume makes me feel like a garden slug (bug). He completed studies at Columbia Military Academy, Memphis State University (U of M for you “youngins”) and several Navy/Marine Corps schools. Get this, he is a certified scuba diver, licensed skydiver, ham radio operator (when does it end?) … and … a dirt bike rider (I’m a RETIRED dirt bike rider, but that doesn’t count). In his spare time, when he gets bored, he choo-choos with model railroading and terrifies onlookers with his RC model airplanes. Now, believe it or not, he used to have straight black hair. But then he decided to become a master electrician. It is surprising what 440v 3-phase will do to your locks. So he earns his keep with the J.M. Smucker (we jammin’) under maintenance agreement with Tri-State Armature and Electrical Works. Maybe that is why he is so active; trying to get “discharged” or something. You already know that he has quite a magnetic and electrifying personality. So, from whence did this attraction to VW busses come? Well, I don’t know which came first; the red one or the white one. But 13-years ago, he purchased his white one from a neighbor for $300 and a Toshiba VCR. This was only after Evelyn nixed the idea of one of his first Standard Poodles, Crystal, riding in her Lincoln Town Car. So the idea of a “Yoggie Doggie” van sounded pretty logical. He had no idea of all the VW friendships it would cultivate. It took a while, but his Transporter has been restored and he is now working at converting it to a semi-camper van… not to be confused with a semi-trailer-diesel-trucking-18-wheeler. We all love stories, and here is one LaRue has for us. One evening, Candy, Crystal (before Niña), Evelyn, and LaRue were returning from Pickwick Lake. The Transporter was pulling a motorcycle trailer with 2 dirt bikes on board with camping and riding gear. Well, Crystal had a habit of waiting until the last moment to tell them that she had to TeeTee. Sure enough, on Highway 78, just before Prescott Street, Crystal came forward and commandingly barked, “Bow Wow,” which translates to “NOW!” So LaRue told her she would just have to wait a few minutes. She became adamant, which made him think that she might be telling them something else. And… one…. and … two ... and … BANG! SCREECH…. Grind…..! … kurBUMP! … all coming from the area of the engine. Being a very intelligent and mechanically adept type of guy, LaRue immediately thought…. “OH… ouch! … what the heck was that?” So he did the logical thing… slid the tranny into neutral and coasted until the wheels wouldn’t turn, just making it into a service station on the corner. So, further applying his mechanical logic, he …. called a wrecker. Through all of this, Crystal and Candy enjoyed their little adventure. And from that day to the end, Crystal always seemed to have a smart looking grin with unspoken words of “I tried to tell you … STUPID!” They will always remember Crystal. Niña and Crystal would have been good pals. Glad you are with us, LaRue & Evelyn… and Candy & Niña too. Air Bill
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