[This is Chapter 2 in a series about a group of hippies travelling in Europe in the 1970's. ]
"Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."
With our small stake remaining it was time to regroup and ponder our future plans. There seemed no better spot for regrouping than my brother's place in Germany. He had recently started working, as a civilian, on a military base there.
A quick train ride found us knocking on his door. The timing was right as my brother had, only recently, fully stocked his bar with duty free booze from the base's PX in preparation of the Holiday Season. It seems Christmas had come early.
Many a long and slurring discussion was had on what to do with the little stake remaining. The discussion became more relevant after my brother was fired for missing too many sick days since our arrival. We were now in full force think tank(ed) mode with my brother now interested in the Hippie Bus Project.
Maybe it's being blocked by me mentally due to guilt, maybe it was the copious amounts of alcohol being consumed at the time, yet for the life of me it is hard to remember who actually came up with the idea of how to finance a safety inspected German Volkwagen Bus. Being simple enough and perfectly anarchistic in its approach, it could have been any of us.
The idea was to invest our remaining stake in three runs to Amsterdam, rolling profits from one run into the next. Straws were drawn to see the order of the runs. Wico was the first pick.
It seemed none of us were into waisting any time in which to enact this ingenious plan, so off Wico went; although a little hung over; the following day.
The amounts we were talking about could be met at any Amsterdam cafè. So after four or five days had passed we felt some concern while waiting in Germany.
Contact was made with my former construction employer in Holland. He said he had heard that Wico was cooling his jets behind French bars. Evidentally when the customs came onboard his train they went right to him. He had been wise enough to hide things under the cushion on his seat; which may have been a good defence in Germany, but in France you are guilty until you can prove otherwise.
Wico was out of the running for now and our stake was gone with him. As rent day approached we seemed out of ideas. That's when my brother received a letter from an old flame from home. She had packed it in in the insurance business and wanted to formulate her future while spending the winter in the warmer parts of Europe. She wondered if he would be interested to join her.
As he finished reading the letter aloud, he looked up and our eyes met just as we both spontaniously broke into maniacal laughter.
We poured fresh drinks and toasted our new partner in the Hippie Bus Project. She just didn't know it yet.
Dig it ! I see nothing wasted, just an adventurous spirit sharing slices of their epic journey. Brings to mind “furthur” and the merry band of pranksters. Keep The wanderlust alive and well✌🏽
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Thanks for the feedback!
Neal Cassady was a huge influence on me at the time; as you will see once Spanish amphetamine enters the story. 😎
P.S. There was also an attempt at a play on words with the title. Wasted being used as a slang for very stoned here in The Great White North.
Awesome, I’m enjoying this series. Spanish “bennies” lol 😂 I can’t wait. You’re inspiring me to perhaps unlock my vault 🤔. I’ll never forget my baby boomer parents reaction when I came home with On The Road at age 14. They were cool with it, but also like, yup our son is definitely doing the weed 😎and probably more ! They were absolutely right, and my escapades had only begun. In hindsight coming of age in the mid 90s was a bit of a rebirth of the Beat Generation with a dystopian mtv flare. A perfect amalgam for a psychedelic mess of the future.
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That's an interesting take on Beat Generation 2.0. Never thought of it that way before. On The Road! Now that book changed a few lives! 😎
Open up those vaults. It's therapeutic. 😆
I love it my friend, keep them coming.
So glad you are enjoying the series. It is enjoyable to me to dig up the old memories, as well, although some of it has the aspect of looking at yourself in a mirror... or whoever that was some 45, or so, years ago. 😎
I love the series, I am an old fart too never forget, and hey, we have some great memories, thanks for sharing yours, I just wish you got the rewards those posts deserved.
Your enjoyment is reward enough. 😎
Such an enjoyable read. Is that the actual van you adventured in? Must go back and read the other stories.
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Glad you enjoyed the read, @riverflows!
The van pics are the right year models, yet the Split Window from Chapter 1 was maroon and white and the later year model pic in Chapter 2 was fully maroon.
Going back to read them now. They are so expensive now. The trendy people have them ;)
Yeah, the split window pic from Chapter 1 is from an eBay auction. It was bidding at something like $30k USD at the time.
Lol! Ah, the rebel life. When's the next installment coming?
It's in the works! Be nice to keep coming out with one chapter a week. We should be able to cover that winter over this winter that way. 😎
Enjoying your escapades ...great memories. U & R.
So glad you're enjoying the read, @redheadpei!
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Such an enjoyable read. Is that the actual van you adventured in? Must go back and read the other stories.
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