Mr. Tow helps "Big" Star

I admit: I never read Via, the AAA periodical that comes to our house since we got our membership. Last night, though, my wife pointed to an article and said, "You might like this one." I'm tempted to say that it's eerie how often my wife is right, but in this case I think it's just a matter of having been married to me for as long as she has. The article involved a "green Volkswagen Bus."

Apparently, Tom Hanks (you know, the movie star) and his brother were tooling around the West Utah Desert in said Bus when they ran out of gas, and Mr. Tow was called upon for help. So, see, now I'm going to have to up my Netflix rating on any movie involving Mr. Hanks. If he drives a Bus, he must be a better actor than I've ever given him credit for (not that I've been especially stingy with credit for that guy anyway).

You can even see a clip on Vimeo (conveniently embedded here) of Mr. Hanks telling the story on the David Letterman Show:

Tom's Syncro Westy Adventure from Ryan Alfonso on Vimeo.

More Christmas Than YOU!

Every now and then a great idea comes to you like a bolt of lightning. While the jury may still be out on whether or not this qualifies as one of those lightning bolts of brilliance, I still can't keep from grinning every time I walk out the front door in the morning.

I present to you the first annual Yule-wagen, the Bah Hum-Bug.

Some might be inclined to point out that the house is already encircled by 150 empty milk carton/luminaries and that a rotting VW carcass might just be going a little too far, but I beg to differ. Some months ago I noticed about six Volkswagens sitting in the equipment yard of one of the contractors that I use. When I pitched the idea of him loaning me one for the holidays he didn't even think twice. His eyes just widened as he exclaimed,"that is the best idea ever!" Not a week later he showed up one evening with a flatbed trailer carrying my Christmas lawn ornament and some heavy machinery to place it. (My parents are just hoping he remembers to come pick it back up after the holidays)

My father graffiti-ed the side, some garland and wreaths were graciously donated and a friend helped string the lights. This much Christmas magic is hard to pass up.