Butcher Bob

I met “Butcher” Bob and Jill in the Owens Valley in September. They were visiting from Australia. I was there to fly with Kari Castle, and they were there with Bri-dog and Cookie, who was also flying with Kari. The group of us ended up meeting up and flying together most days. We hit it off quite well, and parted with the customary mutual invitations to visit. I had known that I wanted to fly in Australia some day, so it was more than just a pleasantry.

As it turns out it couldn’t have been at a better time. After a spectacular time flying in the sweet fall conditions in the Owens, I was looking ahead at a long winter layoff. I had already decided that I wouldn’t make a trip to Florida this year, and so the cross country flying was probably over until Lakeview and Chelan in July. Bob and Jill’s offer planted a seed that quickly sprouted. I had assumed that an Australia trip was at least a year or two in the future, but why not this year? When I got home I started looking into my options.

Things rapidly started falling into place and I contacted Bob and let him know that I was considering the trip. I would need a car, and since I was planning a fairly long trip, renting one was probably going to be my largest expense. I had asked Bob what he thought my best options were. He responded that he “would start looking around”. In no time at all he got back and said he had found a Mitsubishi mini-van for AU$2200. Did I want him to buy it for me? “Do it!” I replied. It was much less than I would spend to rent, and I could re-sell it and re-coup some when I left. Well, I got a message a day or two later that the deal had “fallen down”. He would start looking again. Oh well, it did seem to be too good to be true. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of days later that Bob came back and said he had found another Mitsubishi van. This one was older but “tidy”. He had already bought it for me - AU$750. Sweet! Bob’s quite handy with cars, so I knew if he said it was OK, it was solid. He reported that he would go through it and check brakes, wheel bearings, etc. Well, he did far more than that. I am now completely set up; fully outfitted with wheels, camping gear, and a rack for my glider.

How easy is THAT!