Did you ever get the feeling that you somehow had stepped back in time, or maybe fallen into a time warp?  I got that feeling today.

As Buddy and I were out running errands for building our house (picking up pressure-treated 2×8 planks for garage door header beams), I also had to pull into WalMart to pick up a couple of items.  Buddy was eagerly awaiting me in the truck, but I had to slow down and finally stopped, uncertain of what I was seeing.

If you are as old as I am, you can remember back in the late Sixties and early Seventies, how the people usually called “hippies” had a predilection for tie-dyed clothing, a laid-back lifestyle, and Volkswagen microbuses.  (For you younger folks who don’t know about hippies, think organic alternative lifestyle combined with tree-hugging, rock music, a desire for peace across the whole world, and recreational drug use.  Got it?  Good.)

Well, right here at the edge of the Calhoun WalMart parking lot, was an old Volkswagen microbus with a peace sign hand-painted on the side.  It was like stepping back through that old television show The Time Tunnel.microbus-door

Sitting in the open side door was a dynamically-dressed Earth-motherly type with a profusion of dreadlocks, braiding colorful fiber (I can only suppose it to be hemp) into a rainbow of braided cord jewelry.  In a few moments I saw some movement inside the microbus, and a male figure with a beard came into view, a brightly tie-dyed kerchief covering his own dreadlocks.

I didn’t want to be rude and stare, but I really wanted to know more about these two folks.  So, after arguing with myself and discussing it with Buddy in the comfort of my pickup truck, I decided to bite the proverbial bullet: I walked over and greeted the folks in the microbus.

Jay and Donna (Jay has the beard) live in Seattle for most of the year, but as the holidays are approaching, they are on their way to visit family and friends in Key West.  (They got their cell Jay-and-Donnaphone the last time they were in Key West, thus that’s why they have a south-Florida phone number instead of a Seattle number.)

I should say they “hope” to be with family in time for the Christmas holidays; failing that, by New Year’s Day.  Their 1970 Volkswagen microbus, named Janis after the famous singer whose image on a jacquard throw adorns the ceiling of their vehicle, is getting on in years and needs occasional work. In fact, Jay told me they had spent some time in Chattanooga because a large part of their transport’s electrical system had issues.  Several items had to be repaired: turn signals, tail lights, etc.  I asked them, as I saw the advertisement on the side of their vehicle, if that was what they do for a living.  “Yep, we do the tie-dye, custom patchwork, make jewelry, all that sort of thing,” Jay told me.

“Jay has some painting work lined up down in Key West,” Donna added, “and I’ll be selling my work at the Key West Craft Show.”  She gestured to an array of braided bracelets, anklets, etc., that she had hanging on large rings nearby.

While I was there, a car pulled up with customers for their wares. They were running short of cash, so they were in a very low-key manner raising money to pay for gas to continue their journey.  I admire that work ethic, although I did warn Jay and Donna that Calhoun is not a very artsy-fartsy sort of place, and that he might have better luck selling their stuff down in Little Five Points in Atlanta.  “Yeah, we’ve heard about Little Five Points,” Donna said. “We usually stay out of the big cities, though,” put in Jay.Jay, Donna, and Cheech

As I stood there chatting with the two of them, I saw more movement inside the vehicle and realized that they were not alone.  Their traveling companion was a small chubby chihuahua by the name of Cheech.  “He’s a rescue dog,” Donna told me. “When we got him his name was already Cheech, so we stuck with it.”

Jay grinned.  “People are always asking us, ‘Where’s Chong?’”

It’s a long drive from Seattle to Key West… about the farthest you can go across the Lower 48 of the USA without backtracking somewhere.  “We go down there every year to visit family,” Jay said.  “Usually at the holidays.”

Donna grinned. “We’re following the sun.  Getting away from all that rain in Seattle.” She looked up at the cloudy sky. “There was almost as much rain in Chattanooga as in Seattle, though.”

I had things I needed to do, so I asked if I could take a few photos and blog about them.  They very graciously acceded to my request, so here they are.  As I drove away, another car had pulled up and was purchasing some braided bracelets.  If you happen to be in Key West in January, go by and see them at the Key West Craft Show.  They make some great handmade cord jewelry.  And if you see Janis the microbus rolling down the highway anywhere between Key West and Seattle, honk your horn and wave at Cheech.  He’s the one without the dreads.

Copyright ⓒ2009   Tony Burton