Unlived Bohemian Dreams by Bonnie Ramsburg
I pointed at it and said, “Hey mom! There’s a VW BUS!!!”
I overheard my mom telling either my dad or my grandmother that she’d always wanted an orange Volkswagen bus.
She looked at it and said, “I’ve always wanted an orange VW bus.”
I didn’t happen to catch the reason why, but I thought to myself, “Awww… how cute!” A few days later, mom and I were out and about with my aunt. One of the stops that we made had an unexpected surprise; there was a Classic Car Show right beside it! While my aunt went to do her shopping, mom and I strolled through the cars, admiring them and their personalities (both of us are in agreement — cars nowadays have none!) and just soaking up the ambience of a time gone by. All of a sudden, I saw a VW Bus! It wasn’t in picture-perfect shape; it was down to the gray color that cars have before they get painted.
I asked her why, just out of curiosity. Her answer left me a bit shocked; as it wasn’t something I would have ever thought about My MOM. She said, “I’ve always wanted to own one and travel in it. I guess I wanted to be one of those hippie chicks.” Hearing this, it sort of explains a few things. I think the need to be out and travel is what prompted many of our weekend/Sunday drives. It probably helps explain to me why she got so much joy out of a camping trip we took when my brother and I were younger (not so much me, I wasn’t allowed to read!) I think it also explains why mom and I will occasionally look at each other and say, “I just want to get in the car and GO!” Unfortunately for mom, responsibilities started early in life for her, namely me, then six years later it was my brother. She never got to live that Bohemian dream of owning and traveling in an orange VW bus, she says that even after I was born, she still wanted one so that she and I could travel. Although if she could do it now: I’m not sure if she’d want the bus, or a full sized motor home instead. If I could do it, maybe I’d get the motor home and paint the sides to look like an Orange VW Bus. What do you think, Mom? Would that be okay?
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