Welcoming 2012 with an Airstream Trailer Tale!

(Photo: Unknown owner of a 56' Caddy)

Back when I was a kid in Ohio, there lived an old man five houses down the street. He was a retired Chemist with a bad heart and a bad knee; surgeons tried to replace his knee. Unfortunately, his heart started to fail during the operation and the surgeons wisely decided to stop the procedure. So, throughout my Mid-Western childhood, this man was always amiable, always walked with a cane, drove a riding lawn mower, was great fun for me to visit and one other thing...he owned an Airstream trailer. He seemed to work on that trailer almost as much as he and his wife towed it across the country with a 1960's era Oldsmobile. I think they easily traveled to all 50 United States during their lifetime.

I've always loved visiting with older adults because they have so much to share with us from their wealth of life experiences. Bill was such a man. I'd ride my red Huffy bicycle up his driveway when I'd see him out and about in his garage during the summertime, and we'd always have  enjoyable conversations! Much of it had to do with mechanical concerns I had about my bike, or questions I had about the preventive maintenance I noticed him undertaking with his trailer. After I went off to college, I learned that he and his wife wound up in a retirement home and that he had passed away some time later. Here's why I bring up this subject, as I'm known to think aloud "celestially", albeit, I always have a point and eventually get around to "closing the loop" on a given subject. I'll even keep count of my points.

First, good songwriters tell a story and sometimes tickle us. Some examples include Shelby Lynne, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Gordon Lightfoot. The list could go on forever. But for the purposes of this post, we'll restrict ourselves (actually, I'm restricting myself).

Second, over the recent Thanksgiving Holiday, I discovered a Shelby Lynne song that had so many truths woven into the lyrics that it frankly amused me. I played it over and over again on the CD player in my car during a road trip (I always bring a bag filled with eclectic CD's from my home collection on these trips to pass the time). In 2010, Shelby wrote a song called "Something To Be Said About Airstreams". You can find it on her "Tears, Lies and Alibis" CD--which is quite good, by the way.

(Photo: NBC TV)

Third, I have a personal physician who has a sense of humor. Every one of his examining rooms has a full sized cardboard cut out of a television or movie star. John Wayne occupies one examining room--Clint Eastwood is in the other. I regularly contribute Black & White 8" x 10" glossy photo stills of stars to his collection ranging from Don Adams (answering his shoe telephone) from the original TV series "Get Smart" to the cast of "The Magnificent Seven". Just in case you think I'm bluffing, this is the photo now thumb tacked to one of my doctor's examining rooms: 

(Photo: NBC TV)

And here's another!

(Photo: from an antique shop) 

"The Magnificent Seven"

Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn,

Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz. 

Fourth: Also on the walls of these examining rooms are messages that are positive and even funny. One of them reads: "Hitch Your Dreams to a Rising Star". The Airstream Trailer reference in the song caught me by surprise. I thought, "Who else but me would actually remember a neighbor who owned one of these iconic luxury travel trailers?" If you've read this blog page for any length of time, you know that I was raised during the era associated with "That 70's Show". 

(Photo: FOX TV)

Fifth: Wow! Come to find out that Airstream is manufactured in Jackson Center, Ohio. These trailers are easily recognized for their distinctive rounded aluminum bodies, which originated in the 1930s from designs created by Hawley Bowlus, the chief designer of Charles Lindbergh's aircraft, the "Spirit of St. Louis". How about that for Ohio?

(Photo: Courtesy of WDOK 102.1 FM)

In Akron, Ohio rocker Chrissie Hynde was sadly forced to close her vegetarian restaurant (VegiTerranean) last October thanks to the recession.

The Raspberries Live on the Sunset Strip CD: Amazing!

(Photo Courtesy: Jim Bullotta used in my January 9, 2010 Post)

And of course, The Raspberries is one of my favorite power-pop bands who originated in Cleveland (even though none of my childhood friends knew who they were until "Go All The Way" became a hit song). So, we have a few themes percolating here. Let's review them so that I can eventually close the aforementioned "loop":

• It's a New Year and this means New Beginnings!
• If you can "Hitch Your Dreams to a Rising Star", you may as well try hitching a Cadillac to an Airstream trailer!
• This blog post is a happy way to say "Good Riddance" to a lousy year (as far as I'm concerned).

 Let's have a look a some Airstreams in the event you can't afford one:

(All Photos: Courtesy of Generous Airstream Owners)

This one is a dual axle and a little longer than my neighbors' model. Let's see if I can find one that was closer to Bill's.

I'd say this one would be closer to Bill's. He would spend time replacing the door seals, the brakes, tires, recharging the fuel tanks for the gas stove, maintaining the restroom (yes there really is one on board, and aren't you relieved to learn this?). How about a look at "the facilities"?

On second thought, better not. Instead, let's consider this blueprint. Just imagine an exquisite shower and toilet "facility" and leave it at that. They still require maintenance and Bill, my neighbor, enjoyed prepping his Airstream and poring over maps to visit places such as South Dakota, Montana and New Hampshire.

I found this photo pleasantly inviting for some reason. Bill always told me as a kid that there was nothing that compared to seeing America by surface travel, and I certainly see his point. So, whether you buy a vintage Airstream trailer, a new one or wind up just borrowing one for the experience, make sure your Cadillac V-8 engine is well tuned and your brakes are matched for the velocity of the weight that you'll be pulling (and attempting to stop with). Either way, Happy New Year and have a great 2012 hooking up your dreams to a rising star!

SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT AIRSTREAMS

by: Shelby Lynne

The longer I live the more I'm amazed

How folks get hooked on the latest craze

I want to get away from all the hassles

But I'm a little burned out on castles

Guess it's that time again

Time to be free again.

[Chorus:]

There's something to be said about Airstreams

A rolling home made out of silver

There's something to be said about Airstreams

Aww who'da thought art, was a trailer.

Over the hill, a paper sack

I want me a big ol' Cadillac

To haul all my demons and dreams and

Listen to silence

Maybe I'll stop in Needles

Say hello to my people.

[Chorus]

[Bridge:]

When the sun hits her right,

She'll blind you with her light

A beacon of royalty, ooooh

Yeah she's like a Van Gogh

Or an old Picasso

Oh what a sight to see

The CD Where You'll Find This Song...enjoy it!