I think most men's (outside the Ricker Smart family) list of dream cars include vehicles such as Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. For at least the last 15 years a beautiful van has been at the top of my list. People may laugh at this, but only because they have a short memory and cannot remember the awesome vans of the past, sporting fancy murals. My older brother started the dream van tradition with Lola and as the next akin it was my duty to further the dream van tradition. If you haven't met Lola it is worth your time to follow this link.
My wife has feared my van fetish since she very first met me. This fear has resulted in her making a list of requirements for me to check off before allowing me to buy my dream van. I worked hard to block out the majority of these stipulations, but there were always a few that left her feeling safe. One, to make a lot more money than I make now, and two, for her to be driving a Volvo XC90. I knew I was many years from qualifying based on her stipulations so I had to go with plan B. Plan B was to wait for Ricker to pull a Ricker and come home with a dream van out of the blue. Many would think hoping a father buys such a crazy van out of the blue would be unlikely, but not with the Ricker as a father. Having seen, firsthand, Ricker in action throughout my childhood, I knew he was capable of bringing home anything from a Mailman Jeep (still one of the best Christmas presents ever) to a Rolls Royce--he even once tried to bring home a Sherman tank but just missed out. With these memories of Ricker in mind my Plan B did not seem too far-fetched.
To make a long story short, my dream came true a few weeks ago (on Sarah's birthday) when Ricker called to tell me he had bought my dream van and promised me the first option to buy. Sarah was convinced it should have been called the first option to be suckered into bailing Ricker out of marriage purgatory, but the truth is Ricker had plenty of buyers knocking at his door. Granted most of these potential buyers were my brothers who had yet to convince their wives just how cool of mom the van would make them. At first, even with the first option to buy, I figured I would be listed in the same group of brothers who could not convince their wife how cool the van was. That combined with the the above mentioned dream van stipulations and I obviously thought the odds were not in my favor. Then the moment of truth hit and Sarah saw some pictures of this beauty and realized this was her chance to be the coolest mom in the neighborhood. At least that was my story. I figured this reasoning worked for the castle so why not try it with the van. Luckily, Sarah puts great importance on being such a cool mom and she could not resist "this opportunity of a lifetime". Not that she will ever drive it. She may have mentioned something about a promise she will never have to drive it. Oh yeah, the fact my dream vehicle only cost $2,000 helped quite a bit too. Regardless of what actually caused Sarah to fall in love, the end result is me proudly owning this beauty.
In order for it to truly fit my dream vehicle description it has to be adorned with a couple of full-on murals. Since I live in Thailand and my dream van lives in PG I have only been able to listen to stories of my family test driving the van and dream to myself of what kind of murals would complete her. Dreaming up the proper mural for this beauty has been more fun than I could have hoped for. It really is difficult to come up with a mural worthy of my dream vehicle, but I believe I am off to a good start. Right now I am leaning towards something along the lines of these two below. I had originally planned to use the same mural on both sides, but Sarah has indicated she wants a snow skier on her side of the van. Hey, I might not be much of a snow skier but anything that will make her more excited to cruise in the Beast I have to seriously consider.
Seriously, just imagine one of those as a mural below and tell me that will not be one of the coolest vehicles around. As you are imagining, if any other fantastic images worthy of my dream vehicle come to mind, let me know if I can add them to my list of possible murals.
My wife has feared my van fetish since she very first met me. This fear has resulted in her making a list of requirements for me to check off before allowing me to buy my dream van. I worked hard to block out the majority of these stipulations, but there were always a few that left her feeling safe. One, to make a lot more money than I make now, and two, for her to be driving a Volvo XC90. I knew I was many years from qualifying based on her stipulations so I had to go with plan B. Plan B was to wait for Ricker to pull a Ricker and come home with a dream van out of the blue. Many would think hoping a father buys such a crazy van out of the blue would be unlikely, but not with the Ricker as a father. Having seen, firsthand, Ricker in action throughout my childhood, I knew he was capable of bringing home anything from a Mailman Jeep (still one of the best Christmas presents ever) to a Rolls Royce--he even once tried to bring home a Sherman tank but just missed out. With these memories of Ricker in mind my Plan B did not seem too far-fetched.
To make a long story short, my dream came true a few weeks ago (on Sarah's birthday) when Ricker called to tell me he had bought my dream van and promised me the first option to buy. Sarah was convinced it should have been called the first option to be suckered into bailing Ricker out of marriage purgatory, but the truth is Ricker had plenty of buyers knocking at his door. Granted most of these potential buyers were my brothers who had yet to convince their wives just how cool of mom the van would make them. At first, even with the first option to buy, I figured I would be listed in the same group of brothers who could not convince their wife how cool the van was. That combined with the the above mentioned dream van stipulations and I obviously thought the odds were not in my favor. Then the moment of truth hit and Sarah saw some pictures of this beauty and realized this was her chance to be the coolest mom in the neighborhood. At least that was my story. I figured this reasoning worked for the castle so why not try it with the van. Luckily, Sarah puts great importance on being such a cool mom and she could not resist "this opportunity of a lifetime". Not that she will ever drive it. She may have mentioned something about a promise she will never have to drive it. Oh yeah, the fact my dream vehicle only cost $2,000 helped quite a bit too. Regardless of what actually caused Sarah to fall in love, the end result is me proudly owning this beauty.
6 comments:
Ha ha,"Lola has a cousin". You got a steal Rock, Danny covets Big Blue everyday. But seriously. It's awesome! We all just go sit in it and talk dreaming of how many good times you could have! And I know secretly Sar can't wait to get behind the wheel!
P.s. The murals are sweet.
Dad loved the Blog, needless to say. Do think you will be able to have a road trip with the cousins together? Not Elie and Jillie, but Lola and her cousin. Does Lola's cousin have a name yet to replace Shagin Wagon?
Awesome! But I think you should paint it to look like the A-team van! It's got the same curves ;)
Congratulations and welcome to the bitchin' van club.
Going from driving an average car to something like that is practically like becoming a parent all over again. Your driving highs get higher and your lows get lower. Unfortunatly Lola and I are on a low. (Clutch.)
The van is awesome! Sarah is going to look great in it and of course, she is going to be the coolest mom in town, but that said let's talk about Ellie and Violet. Owners of there own Castle and now the Ultimate Princess Carriage. How can any other girls compete? That's what I call giving your kids a leg up and to think you did it for 2000 bucks. What a bargin! You guys are going to be the envy of all Pleasant Grove or at least anyone who has ever resided at 615 East 200 North.
Congrats again and Happy Birthday Sarah. I hope my Sara gets something equally cool for her birthday.
SARA SAID...Actually, I hope I get to skip my birthday this year with that kind of cool present lurking.
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