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Thanksgiving/Update
Captains Blog
11/25/08
Spiceland, IN.
Behind a sickening cloud of black smoke, the Permibus coasted to an ominous halt at the Flying J truck stop outside of Spiceland, Indiana. What had seemed a minor problem just days ago manifested its true face, a cracked piston. The Permibus was dead in a parking lot and our situation seemed dire at best. What to do? At first I had to think my way past that feeling of hopelessness that can only come when you sit behind the wheel of a 27,000 pound bus that you know is not moving another inch. I pulled on warm clothes and began to crawl under the bus. I walked to a nearby mechanic and sought their advice, I called my two diesel phone consultants, eventually I even limped the Permibus up to the local mechanics so they could take a look. Oil had begun to run from the exhaust manifold, down the exhaust pipe and onto the ground. A thick crust of wet oil coated the rear bumper and tail pipe. The three mechanics who looked the bus over reached the same conclusion. We had a cracked piston. I limped the bus back to the Flying J.
Our choices were to scrap the tour, figure we had done enough, sell the Permibus for salvage, and make our way back west. We could try to get another engine put in the Permibus, spend a couple of weeks in a nearby motel, and continue on from there. Lastly, we could make the choice to find another bus and go on in some version of the Permibus Two. An e-mail from a student at the University of Oregon who wanted to bring us to Eugene combined with a Permaculture phone conference made it obvious that the Skills Tour had to go on. It soon became apparent that getting a new engine would be too expensive. We started looking for another bus. Our search took us west. We rented a U-Haul and spent Thanksgiving well into the night loading the entire Permibus into a 14 foot moving van.
Some very good local folks helped out. Morris Cook who runs a plumbing business in New Castle, a small town just 3 miles away, not only donated a hundred dollars to us but he sent one of his workers, Toby, to help us load. Another family brought us boxes. Anton, a local youth minister, and his family bought us dinner on Thanksgiving night and got us a hotel room for the night. These folks will always be in our hearts and are another example of the goodness of the American people. I have discovered in our 10 month adventure that despite our differences, we really a good and decent people.
With a long ways to go and a short time to get there we headed back to Richmond to get our chickens. The Miller family had earlier driven out to the Flying J to get our 3 hens and take them to the Miller Farm at Earlham college where they lived for a week. We drove west all 3 humans and 3 dogs parked into the cab of the U-Haul. The chickens and worms rode in the back. We spent Friday night with a family we had befriended earlier in the year. We spent Saturday at relatives in Minnesota and Sunday at the home of long time friends in South Dakota.
Monday night we arrived in Wyoming at Megan’s grandmother’s house. We spent a long day not only unloading the rental but making arrangements for me to take a bus to Bismark, North Dakota to pick up the Permibus Two. We are safe and sound with much work still to do. The tour is still alive, we look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones as this vital work continues. We eagerly seek your continued support so just let me thank you for the abundance of your generosity in advance.
Captain but not leader,
Stan Wilson,
Permi Preacher and Infrastructure Cordinator.
Keep that bus a rolling!
Donate On-line:
Go to: www.earthactivisttraining.org/donate.htm
Click on: Donate Now!
Under “Gift Information” write: Permibus
Under “Please send acknowledgment of this gift to” write: skillstour@gmail.com
11/25/08
Spiceland, IN.
Behind a sickening cloud of black smoke, the Permibus coasted to an ominous halt at the Flying J truck stop outside of Spiceland, Indiana. What had seemed a minor problem just days ago manifested its true face, a cracked piston. The Permibus was dead in a parking lot and our situation seemed dire at best. What to do? At first I had to think my way past that feeling of hopelessness that can only come when you sit behind the wheel of a 27,000 pound bus that you know is not moving another inch. I pulled on warm clothes and began to crawl under the bus. I walked to a nearby mechanic and sought their advice, I called my two diesel phone consultants, eventually I even limped the Permibus up to the local mechanics so they could take a look. Oil had begun to run from the exhaust manifold, down the exhaust pipe and onto the ground. A thick crust of wet oil coated the rear bumper and tail pipe. The three mechanics who looked the bus over reached the same conclusion. We had a cracked piston. I limped the bus back to the Flying J.
Our choices were to scrap the tour, figure we had done enough, sell the Permibus for salvage, and make our way back west. We could try to get another engine put in the Permibus, spend a couple of weeks in a nearby motel, and continue on from there. Lastly, we could make the choice to find another bus and go on in some version of the Permibus Two. An e-mail from a student at the University of Oregon who wanted to bring us to Eugene combined with a Permaculture phone conference made it obvious that the Skills Tour had to go on. It soon became apparent that getting a new engine would be too expensive. We started looking for another bus. Our search took us west. We rented a U-Haul and spent Thanksgiving well into the night loading the entire Permibus into a 14 foot moving van.
Some very good local folks helped out. Morris Cook who runs a plumbing business in New Castle, a small town just 3 miles away, not only donated a hundred dollars to us but he sent one of his workers, Toby, to help us load. Another family brought us boxes. Anton, a local youth minister, and his family bought us dinner on Thanksgiving night and got us a hotel room for the night. These folks will always be in our hearts and are another example of the goodness of the American people. I have discovered in our 10 month adventure that despite our differences, we really a good and decent people.
With a long ways to go and a short time to get there we headed back to Richmond to get our chickens. The Miller family had earlier driven out to the Flying J to get our 3 hens and take them to the Miller Farm at Earlham college where they lived for a week. We drove west all 3 humans and 3 dogs parked into the cab of the U-Haul. The chickens and worms rode in the back. We spent Friday night with a family we had befriended earlier in the year. We spent Saturday at relatives in Minnesota and Sunday at the home of long time friends in South Dakota.
Monday night we arrived in Wyoming at Megan’s grandmother’s house. We spent a long day not only unloading the rental but making arrangements for me to take a bus to Bismark, North Dakota to pick up the Permibus Two. We are safe and sound with much work still to do. The tour is still alive, we look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones as this vital work continues. We eagerly seek your continued support so just let me thank you for the abundance of your generosity in advance.
Captain but not leader,
Stan Wilson,
Permi Preacher and Infrastructure Cordinator.
Keep that bus a rolling!
Donate On-line:
Go to: www.earthactivisttraining.org/donate.htm
Click on: Donate Now!
Under “Gift Information” write: Permibus
Under “Please send acknowledgment of this gift to” write: skillstour@gmail.com
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