Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Dave's Baha Bug
I heard a "David story" this morening that I've just got to share. David's my stepdad. He grew up in rural Kentucky, and brings stories like this up fairly often. They usually start with something like "My cousin Earnie's Daddy's brother's friend..." or "Back in the day when I was, hell, I dunno, about your age I guess...." By the end of the story you'll have been introduced to about 5 more people in Dave's vastly populated world (I never figured out how you could live miles from anywhere and still know so many people). Generally, they're not called "David stories" until they've been told to everyone in the household at least 3 times, but this one's a special case because it's just such a great set of images.
David launched into his story this morning while we were on the way to work. We had just passed a Baha Bug for sale on Charlotte, and since I'm still on the car hunt I was trying my best to read the price. I think it said $5k, but it may have been $1500, or even $500 (which would mean it doesn't run). Anyway, on with David's story. I'll edit out the descriptive explatives he usually uses.
When Dave was in his 20's him and a buddy of his bought a '63 Bug for $200. He didn't say whether he'd "Baha'd" it or whether they'd bought it that way, but it didn't really matter. It was a Baha Bug. The roof had been cut out to make a crank-back top that went all the way over to the doors, and the entire Bug had been painted like an American Flag. The exhaust pipes stuck up so tall they looked like a pair of [beepitybeepity] antennas.
David wasn't really taken by the American Flag Motif, so one day he decided to repaint it. He took to sanding, and found coat after coat after coat of paint. He got creative, or fed up, with this after a while and started sanding off in creative places. He turned it into a "psychedelic" design by sanding in patterns and swirls.
Groovy.
So now we have the psychedelic baha bug. This is rural KY, so you know what happens next.
It's time to get Dukes-of-Hazzard-stupid in it.
David and his buddy (I think it really was his cousin Earnie, come to think of it) take off to the nearby lake / park. They go tearing through tall grass, zipping around trees, and generally have a field day testing the neigh-indestructible nature of a VW Bug.
Then they come up on this big hill.
It should be noted here that Dave's not from this area, and neither of them are really in a full, clear thinking state of mind.
Dave's buddy (Earnie?) tells him to floor it over this next hill. "Okay" Dave says, and does just that.
A second after they're airborn, David looks down and says another of those words I'm not going to print.
They crashed straight through an abandoned shack without slowing down.
The Baha Bug died about a month after David bought it. He sold the broken down remains for $50. It remains the best $200 he ever spent. ¶ 0 comments
David launched into his story this morning while we were on the way to work. We had just passed a Baha Bug for sale on Charlotte, and since I'm still on the car hunt I was trying my best to read the price. I think it said $5k, but it may have been $1500, or even $500 (which would mean it doesn't run). Anyway, on with David's story. I'll edit out the descriptive explatives he usually uses.
When Dave was in his 20's him and a buddy of his bought a '63 Bug for $200. He didn't say whether he'd "Baha'd" it or whether they'd bought it that way, but it didn't really matter. It was a Baha Bug. The roof had been cut out to make a crank-back top that went all the way over to the doors, and the entire Bug had been painted like an American Flag. The exhaust pipes stuck up so tall they looked like a pair of [beepitybeepity] antennas.
David wasn't really taken by the American Flag Motif, so one day he decided to repaint it. He took to sanding, and found coat after coat after coat of paint. He got creative, or fed up, with this after a while and started sanding off in creative places. He turned it into a "psychedelic" design by sanding in patterns and swirls.
Groovy.
So now we have the psychedelic baha bug. This is rural KY, so you know what happens next.
It's time to get Dukes-of-Hazzard-stupid in it.
David and his buddy (I think it really was his cousin Earnie, come to think of it) take off to the nearby lake / park. They go tearing through tall grass, zipping around trees, and generally have a field day testing the neigh-indestructible nature of a VW Bug.
Then they come up on this big hill.
It should be noted here that Dave's not from this area, and neither of them are really in a full, clear thinking state of mind.
Dave's buddy (Earnie?) tells him to floor it over this next hill. "Okay" Dave says, and does just that.
A second after they're airborn, David looks down and says another of those words I'm not going to print.
They crashed straight through an abandoned shack without slowing down.
The Baha Bug died about a month after David bought it. He sold the broken down remains for $50. It remains the best $200 he ever spent. ¶ 0 comments
