Incognito Members

[Jamie Bradford]

I feel that people on the forum should be required to fill out some "required"
info. I do not care about their last colonoscopy but it would be nice to know some general info when you read their posts.

When "Cecil__Z" asks about how much a light bulb should cost for a 98 Marathon it would be nice to see what "Cecil__Z" 's profile is.

It irk's me when I look at a profile and NO info what-so-ever is provided.:confused:

No big deal......Just a " It would be nice if..............."

Jamie

[garyde]

I agree Jamie, it would be nice if people would tell us a little about themselves.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

At the very least I would like to see a signature line that includes location, year of coach, type of coach (XL, XLII, H3, etc.) and toad.

It would also be very helpful to get some indication of the POG member's experience level with coaches so answers to questions can be more focussed.

As we meet one another at rallies or we interact on this forum we tend to learn of people's interests, areas of expertise, and vocation. Sometimes that would be nice to know. I'm not ashamed to reveal I am unemployed.

[phorner]

Yep,

I'm a homeless, unemployed senior citizen living in my camper....:eek:

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

I also agree with all the previous remarks and would add that when a new person joins they are so excited to read everything about buses and see what is there for them that they forget that there are two parts to the forum.
One must give and partake in the discussions and not just take out information for selfish gain.

Then too some that have come here are not computer literate and have never participated in any other forum and are not aware of all the minute details until after they have become more comfortable with all the bells whistles and buttons. You can't break anything so try everything.

At the top "User CP" means user control panel, go there and answer the questions and make your selections. Notice in that same line there are 7 more selections for you.

Quick Links is very handy and will get you to Bill's and Dales maps.

To have your data added to dalej's map PM him and he will add it.

:) JIM

[dalej]

I have added Michael Terry to the members map and have added a couple of bus friendly rv parks.

[michaeldterry]

I have added Michael Terry to the members map and have added a couple of bus friendly rv parks.

Thanks, Dale!

I, too, would love to know some basic information about my fellow POG members! I wish that there was a "profile template" to give suggestions to members for personal information sharing.

With that in mind - I am a 54 year old disabled/retired Healthcare Financial Services executive, married to the LAST great love of my life on December 6, 2008, Dr. Vita M. Terry, Ph.D., who directs the bioterrorism software development group (BioSense) at the CDC in Atlanta. We live in Woodstock, GA and have a blended family of 5 children between us, aged 15 - 25, a 2 year old grandson, and another one due in 2 weeks!

Our Prevost is a 1996 XL45 Featherlite Vantare that I found on eBay in the middle of the night in late December 2008! We tow a 2005 customized PT Cruiser (another "toy" that I bought on impulse prior to getting the bus). I've driven buses for almost 30 years and have previously owned a 1981 Eagle 10 Entertainer conversion that I lost in my last divorce in 2000. I practically "grew up" on entertainer and tour buses, as I was a professional musician for almost 20 years as a young man. However, my mechanical knowledge and skill is very limited - due, in part, to mobility and dexterity issues related to my disability. As you might guess, I view my more experienced POG brothers and sisters as valuable resources for information, advice, and guidance in areas of bus repairs and maintenance where I lack knowledge, ability (or both).

We also have two dogs - a Shih Tzu boy named Scooter, and a Chihuahua girl named Harley. The dogs are just now starting to travel in the bus with us. Their inaugural trip was to the Tom Johnson Prevost Rally in April. They adapted very well and loved traveling with us!

We are also Harley Davidson enthusiasts and currently have a Harley Sportster 1200 Custom Trike. My disability is the result of a catastrophic accident on my previous Harley, an FXDS Dyna Convertible, in May 2004 that left me in a coma for a month, various hospitals for three months a wheelchair for 6 months, partial paralysis of my left arm & hand, and various other neurological deficits. However, I'm not complaining! I'm alive! (I was given a 5% chance of surviving the first night by the neurosurgeon who saved my life with emergency brain surgery!)

Okay, I probably shared way more than Jamie had in mind when he started this thread! :o However, they say that my "impulse control" was affected by my traumatic brain injury, so I'm not responsible! :D

Although everything I posted above is true, I intended this to be a humorous view into why I am "who I am." :p Laugh with me - laugh at me <shrug> I won't be able to tell the difference - I just like to laugh! :D

[GDeen]

Guilty as charged - I have updated my profile with a little more info......

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Great post Michael.

A lot about me and my wife can probably be found on this site, but to provide the condensed version in the hopes others will reveal a little about themselves I will add some info about us.

Di and I were married in 1961 and we were not well off financially. I went through a series of jobs, some as a draftsman, with second shift factory jobs to try to get past the poverty level. We eventually reached a point where I was able to begin a business of my own and still continue working (then as manager of product development for a medical products company) doing screen process printing. I then bought my first distressed (defunct) business in 1974, and from that point on bought and sold bankrupt businesses before starting Jamestown Advanced Products. I sold that in late 1999 and have been unemployed ever since.

I started flying in 1977 and what started out as recreational flying quickly morphed into flying exclusively for business, flying from Jamestown NY, the Miami of the north with 240" of snow annually on average. I worked hard to fly safe and to a schedule and aviation is my second hobby, the bus being my first. My aviation hobby has evolved into www.pilotsnpaws.org which Debi Boies and I started last year.

We have one daughter, now the owner of our former company, and one grandson who has been accepted to Georgtown.

Di and I bought our first bus in 1990 and if it wasn't for a fire in 2004 we would still be driving it. We replaced it with our current Liberty and couldn't be happier. The change in every respect from our 1987 Liberty to our 1997 was huge. We were not happy about the fire (all damage was repaired) but we are glad it pushed us into our current coach which in the ten year gap between the two showed how far the buses evolved.

The only way I learn anything about my coach is when something breaks I fix it myself by forcing myself to learn the system affected. It has been a tremendous learning experience and I love sharing it.

[michaeldterry]

Thanks Jon!

Your post was great, too! I enjoyed the read!

C'mon everybody - tell us about yourself! :D

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

I am having a cocktail right now, so I won't elaborate on anything, other than I Love being a POG member and I love my bus.

But Michael, I just got to say, "Holy Crap" I am glad your here too! :)

Gary S.

[michaeldterry]

But Michael, I just got to say, "Holy Crap" I am glad your here too! :)

Gary S.


Thanks Gary! Every day is a gift! :D

[garyde]

I'm still trying to become jobless. I'm a Electrical Contractor based in Santa Barbara, California. I've been in the business since graduating from college in 1972. My wife and I met in 1982 , and married in 1984. We have three daughters and one son. Originally from Idaho, I love to get back there as much as possible. Including raising a Family, we love Boating, Travel, RVing, POG, our dogs and cats, and my bus. I have always had some kind of camper or RV since I was a teenager, but I really caught the RV bug about 12 years ago. Aside from golf, waterskiing, and sometimes racketball, I enjoy working on the bus.

[rahangman]

Well, here goes. I am new, real new and "Bus Virginal" . I have never had a bus, never thought of one till about 3 yrs ago, we decided a Motorhome would be nice for retirement, a traveling Condo to allow us to travel and see the kids/grandkids in Colorado when we wanted. However a friend of mine is into aftermarket sales mostly in Transit buses, got us interested in Bus Conversions with a friend of his of Custom Coach background. I retired from Railroad Operations in 2007 at 60yrs old, surviving back surgery, a bout with cancer and 2 new knees in 2006. We got our bus (1990 Country Coach 60115 Prevost) in Feb 2008 in Traverse City, MI and with only about 1 hr of driving experience drove it back to NW Arkansas (home) with a few hassles along the way that we overcame without too much trouble. Since then we are feeling our way along, have spent some "LewBucks" more than we wanted to , but getting better at things all the time. Recently spent some time in -30 windchill at Christmas in Ohio (never again) then south Myrtle Beach to St Augustine then home. Took about 5 weeks doing that and found true harmony. Colorado soon for kids then hope to make Oklahoma City and the Fat Beagle soire to meet some of you Poggers. We are loving it. All the negative things we hear ($$$ etc) we just say, well, we will do what we do and live with it. Safety is paramount. Branson is close enough to go there for dinner anytime. Life is Good and that is our byline.

[michaeldterry]

Great posts, Gary and rahangman!

Now c'mon all you other POGgers - tell something about yourselves, even if it's mostly lies! :p

[aggies09]

I (Tony) am married to my H.S. Sweetheart for 22 years. We have twin daughters that will be going to Texas A&M in the fall, and one son who is a 5th grader. We are novices to the whole bus experience. We have never even owned a tent prior to buying our 97 Liberty. My wife (Jenny) got to the point that she absolutely hated airports and hotels and if i wanted to travel; I was going to have to try something else. Viola! Prevost. We will have owned our coach for one year in June. We have thoroughly enjoyed every minute in it. I am extremely thankful to many of the Poggers for helping me with issues along the way. Jon, Ted, Loc, and many others have helped me trouble shoot along the way. We have yet to meet many of you. The Fat Beagle Bash was our only pog related event and we had a blast. We are looking forward to the October event.

I am a real estate developer/investor operating largely in west Texas. Jenny is now a stay at home mom after teaching elementary school for several years. We live in Abilene, Texas which means that it is 200 miles to anywhere so when we do go somewhere it turns into a nice a little driving experience. We consider that a plus since getting the bus. That's a little about us.................Hope to meet you down the road..........

[michaeldterry]

Thanks Tony! Great post! I lived in Sugarland, TX when I bought my first bus (an Eagle Entertainer conversion) in 1997. We used to love jumping in the bus on Friday afternoons, picking a direction (often without any particular destination in mind) and driving until we saw someplace we wanted to stop! I've got many fond memories of adventures in the bus in the great state of Texas!

[Darrell and Linda]

Great oppportunity to get a little background on everyone, Thanks.

Linda and I have been married for 28 years and have three sons, aged 21, 23, & 26..... They all have been inching to take the coach for a spin for a weekend.... but that won't happen for a while. Linda and I love our new coach and are looking forward to traveling across Canada, Yukon, Alaska. In a couple of years we are hoping to spend the cold Canadian winters down south and travel throughout the states. I love tinkering and learning a much as I can regarding the coach.....This group is so very experienced and very knowledgeable with all aspects of these fabulous machines. I hope I can give back as much as I take from this membership.

We have extensive background with camping and then RVing. This is our first coach, 1990 liberty, Build #158 and she spent the majority of her life in Texas. It took two years of research and flying around the country looking at coaches but finally found this coach. We purchased the coach on Ebay in July of "08", (I had my reservations regarding on line purchases but... it all worked out great). Our previous RV's have been all Class "C"'s and in the beginning, a tent trailer.

In been a firefighter for 26 years. My current position is the Deputy Fire Chief of Operations for Leduc County Fire Services. Leduc County is located just south of Edmonton, Alberta. I am 53 years old and hoping to retire in a few years, but in the meantime, short holiday trips are on the horizon.

We are hoping to attend some of the rallies and meeting many poggers but that doesn't look to promising until 2010, unless there's a rally in the North West somewhere.

[Larry W]

I grew up in the montains of Colorado. My "trade" has been in the automobile trade. I started as a lube boy in a dealership as a teenager and worked my way up the ladder from mechanic, to service manager and then owning a dealership over the years. I joined the Air Force for a 4 year hitch.
Pat and I married in 1964. Pat is a native Colorado girl. In 1970 we moved to Fairbanks, AK. It took us 30 years to get enough money to get out. We owned our own dealership for 18 years. Pat worked full time in our business, which we sold in 1995. Our bus makes the 7th RV for us. We have owned our bus for 3 plus years.
When we sold our store we started to do volunteer Christain work. We became Baptist Mission Service Corps Missionaries in 1998. Still volunteers no pay. Our committments have not allowed us to attend any POG function as the dates always fall at the wrong times for us. We are working at getting some things changed so we can be at OKC. It is still not certain.
My flying was all in Alasksa to hunt and fish. I ended up with more float time than wheel time. Have owned almost as many planes as RV's.
We have lived in Montrose, Colorado 6 years now.
Our bus is a 45' 2000 Royale with rivets. (99 chassis).

[michaeldterry]

Excellent posts, Darrell and Larry! I actually feel like I'm getting to know some of you now!

[lewpopp]

Micheal and Dr Vita,

You are getting the scoop on a few members but there is something you must realize. This bunch of busmen have some shady pasts and might not want to lay out too much.

Have you ever heard of "The Witness Protection Program"? Once someone is outed, they are in trouble with the mobs that would like them dead.

Ever notice and wonder why JDUB is on the move all the time. Loc is trying to lure him into a trist in NYC. That could be bloody.

Now where is "Sting" when you want the low down?

[michaeldterry]

Lew - thanks for the WPP warning! As one with a past that is, shall we say, "less than pure" myself - I am sensitive to the plight of those with a need to stay on the "down low." ;)

Oh, wait - disregard my previous statement! I'm actually as pure as the driven snow! ;) Yeah - that's the ticket! :rolleyes:

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If you wish to continue spreading information such as you have in the above post Michael, may I prevail upon you to bring it up here to TN and put it on my tomatoes? I think it will make a fine fertilizer.

Pure as the driven snow, indeed!

[phorner]

I've seen snow that been driven on......

Not pretty...

[michaeldterry]

I've seen snow that been driven on......

Not pretty...

Never claimed to be purty. On the other hand "pure" can apply to many things - such as.... pure BS! :D

Jon - I'll offer fertilization services in exchange for fresh home grown tomatoes! :D There's nothing better in the summer than a 'mater sammich with thick slices of homegrown tomato on fresh white bread with plenty of Kraft Real Mayonnaise! It's almost better than.... well, let's not get carried away - but it's really, really good!

[ken&ellen]

:eek: they ride Harley's!

[michaeldterry]

:eek: they ride Harley's!

Ken - you forgot to mention "drummer & fifer extraordinaire" in yours & Ellen's profile! :rolleyes:

[lewpopp]

Mike.... It ain't real mayonaise unless it's Hellmanns, remember that. That Kraft stuff is salad dressing for sissies.

I wish I could make it to your first rally. The Dr may leave you behind and none of the members will remember your name.

[Loc]

Great posts. I am in the Witness Protection Program, but I want nothing to do with JDUB and NY. I grew up on a cattle ranch in Central Texas and was voted in high school as most likely to work at the Exxon gas station for life. My how things change and that Exxon job looks pretty good. I swore I would never live in a big city, work for a big company or wear a suit to work. Now I just say I will never win the lotto since I am 0 for 3 on the first nevers. We are in our 40's and live in Houston and have two boys ages 7 and 10 and two dogs (married for 19 years - us not the dogs). I have worked in financial services / banking for 20 years (for the same company that was unfortunately acquired in 2001 by a large TARP recipient company who shall remain nameless). Courtenay is a housewife but works harder than I would ever want to taking care of the M&M's and volunteering at their school. I have been commuting weekly to NYC since October for work and that looks likely to continue for the forseeable future or the next job. We started RVing in 2000 with a Fleetwood DP which we put 45k miles on in 2 years. Our second son came home from the hospital in the motorhome. We moved to a 92 Angola conversion in 2002 thanks to Pete who let me drive his Executive conversion at the time. In 2007 we moved to an 02 Millennium with bunks. The best thing about the campin' lifestyle is the quality time spent together with the family over the last 9 years. As the Visa commercials say: fuel for bus - $xxxxx, repairs for bus - $XXXXXX, spending time with the family - priceless. We have taken the boys on trips covering all 48 states (not Alaska or Hawaii before JDUB says, "but there are 52 states"), 3 Canadian provinces and 40 plus national parks/monunments all in the bus. Even though we have never been to an official POG rally, we have made some great friends through POG. Tony, the Fat Beagle is not an officially sanctioned/sponsored POG event. Skiffer is just nice enough not to delete my posts.

[michaeldterry]

Mike.... It ain't real mayonaise unless it's Hellmanns, remember that. That Kraft stuff is salad dressing for sissies.

I wish I could make it to your first rally. The Dr may leave you behind and none of the members will remember your name.

Lew - we'll just have to "agree to disagree" about Kraft vs. Hellmanns! :p

Dr Vita won't leave me behind - I'm her pet "project"! (Her "fixer-upper")! Besides, it seems that some of the POGsters may be more interested in sheep! :D