This excerpt is a teaser for the book coming out in the fall titled The Long Road to Happiness – The Life Story of a Love Bus. It is the memoir of a 1970 VW bus named Vinnie, written from the unique perspective, and in the words, of Vinnie, himself.
Introduction
“Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again.” ~ KT Witten
What a tragedy it is for one to go through life having lost the hope of ever realizing one’s fondest of dreams. All too often, so many people sadly succumb to the obstacles, challenges, and pitfalls of life, simply throwing their arms into the air and surrendering. But dreams don’t have to end that way. I agree with KT Witten that dreams don’t have an expiration date.
My life has been living proof of how true that is. Had I known this quote a long time ago, and had followed its advice, I would’ve taken so many deep breaths by now, that I’d have put myself in a perpetual state of hyperventilation – constantly having to adjust my air-fuel mixture screw for fear of passing out.
In writing this story, if only one person’s life is changed for the better after reading it, then I will consider this project a success. If that person takes a deep breath and tries once again to realize their dream, the trials and tribulations that I had endured will not have been in vain. If one can accept with the mind of a child that this book was truly written by an old Volkswagen bus, then one is no doubt also capable of believing in magic.
If someone very dear to me today hadn’t believed, if he had abandoned his own dream, I may never have been restored to go on to finally realize my dream – to share life with a free-spirited creative, an artist perhaps, and travel across America wherever the spirit may lead. After all, it is in the magic of believing where dreams are restored to their original condition and luster. No matter what one’s age, or state of health, it’s never too late to begin again, to embrace the magic, to reach for that dream.