The first new VW Beetle, or Bug, that I owned was grey. It was the only 5 speed diesel we could find. I was driving from Parksville to Port Alberni and back every day, so the diesel engine got a real workout. I got 1000 km a tank, that was almost 2 weeks of driving. And as it was a turbo, I surprised a few 4×4 truckers going up the hump into Port Alberni. But my left knee was starting to act up and then we moved back to Port Alberni, so it was time to get rid of the standard transmission and the diesel engine. We traded it in for an automatic gas engine Salsa Red Bug.
One day Dale found an online site that sold magnets for cars. We thought daisies and ladybugs would look great on the little red Bug. And then he found daisy taillight covers. My happy little Bug was born! Surprisingly no one stole the magnets, although one did disappear. I believe it fell off because if someone took it, why wouldn’t he take them all? The magnets worked well, but one day I was driving to Nanaimo and heard a terrible noise. I pulled over to discover what it was. After several minutes of careful inspection I discovered the large daisy magnet on the driver side door had dirt underneath several of the petals and wasn’t secure. I pulled it off and continued on my way.
We decided to replace the magnets with decals. The magnets had been on the car long enough that you could see where they had been when we removed them. We got a local design company to make the daisy and ladybug decals and put them on the car. That was about about 10 years ago. Everyone in Port Alberni loved my car. People would smile and point when they saw it. I got used to smiling back and thanking people who stopped me as I was getting in or out of it to say how much they liked it.
The reaction to my Bug was different when we moved to Alberta I think the conservative-minded Albertans thought it was the vehicle of a dope-smoking, left-leaning, granola eating, hippy-dippy crackpot. For the record, only one of those descriptions is true. Few people smiled at me, in fact I most often saw frowns and pursed lips. It was a rude awakening, given the universal positive response I got in BC.
I’ve written about this before, so why am I writing about it again? Well, fast-forward to about a week ago. I drove to a local strip mall to get my hair done and to pick up a few things at Shopper’s. It was raining lightly when I got back to my car. I got in and noticed something stuck under the windshield wiper. I was a little annoyed, thinking maybe someone had hit my car. I had been away from my car for several hours so anything could have happened. And that day, the parking lot was quite full and I was parked farther away from the salon than usual. Well, the note was not bad. In case you can’t read it, this is what it says:
“Your Beetle is wonderful! It makes me happy & smile. Thank you for sharing!”
The note was quite wet and I carefully placed it beside me. When I got home I put it on the counter to dry. Later I shared it with Dale. When it was fully dry he put it on the side of the fridge using a red VW Bug magnet we got in Newport Beach,California (that’s why it has a surfboard, dude).
We’ve talked recently about me getting a new car. I’m worried that getting Ari in and out of the back seat, first in an infant car seat and then a toddler one, will be difficult. A Bug is not a family car, the backseat is tiny. But I can’t really entertain the notion of getting rid of it, at least not right now. I’ll have to struggle through the difficulties, or make sure I have Dale’s Explorer when I have Ari. I think I would pay big money to see Dale drive my Bug to work, the longshoremen would appreciate it I’m sure!