How It All Started

This is how it all started.  This love of ours for Airstreams.  We were coming home from a family reunion in Fredericksburg in July of 2006 and saw this 1982 31' Airstream with an Isuzu diesel motor at an auction site outside of Llano, TX.  We stopped and the auction owner, Jimmy Decker, told us that the auction had ended the day before and that the motor home had not met the owner's minimum bid.  He said the keys were in it if we wanted to go drive it.  We got in it and rattled down the road for a couple of miles when all of a sudden we looked at each other at the exact same time and said, "This is cool!"  We went home to research and found the Airforums.com and started reading when we realized what we had found was a treasure and a good deal.  And anyone who knows Jimmy Mooney, knows that he's all about a good deal.

The picture above is of Phil Becker.  He lives on his ranch outside of Bandera, TX and was the owner of the motor home in question.  And he has become one of our dearest friends.  This picture was taken last month at the Region 9 Rally in Mineola where he attended for the first time since the death of his beloved Ruth.  A very sad and emotional time for Phil.  

Before we purchased the motor home we spoke with Phil and he gave us the long and funny story of how he had flown to Florida to buy it and spent several thousand dollars to make some improvements to it just to find out it wasn't equipped to pull a trailer with deer corn, etc. to put on his ranch for deer hunting and that Ruth refused to even stay in it.  He has always had Airstreams and when we talked with him he was in one of his Airstreams at an airshow up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  

We negotiated a deal with Jimmy Decker and Phil allowed us to purchase it for even less than his original minimum price.  We took that Airstream home and loved it!  We had new drapes made for it.  (Blue ticking) and then covered everything in denim and threw in red throw pillows and towels and rugs.  Since this was our first time for RV'ing we bought plates, cookware, silverware, etc.  It was a little doll house.  We had so much fun fixing it up and dreaming of all the magnificent places we would go.

It was during this time that we "met" Gayland Stephens (pictured below) from Hamilton, TX on the Airforums.com.  I introduced ourselves to him and we started an almost daily correspondence between the two of us and he helped us a great deal in discovering all the nuances of owning an Airstream and how to get the very most enjoyment we can from owning it - which in his opinion meant you had to belong to a WBCCI Unit!

This picture was taken after Gayland was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was in the midst of  fighting with everything in his might.  He succeeded for the longest time - way beyond anyone's expectations - but died this last October.  We lost a dear, dear friend.  His death left a hole in our hearts as big as he was.

However, as long as he was alive, he sought after and fought for new members for WBCCI - just like new Airstream owners like Jimmy and me.  We were the perfect "suckers" for his goal and fell in love with not just him but everyone in Texas Highland Lakes Unit, Region 9 and in WBCCI.

On "the Forums," we learned that many Airstream owners name their Airstream.  There's a lot of people who call their Airstream, the "Silver Bullet," or the "Twinkie," or the "Toaster" but there is a group of people who believe (I don't know why) that a used Airstream should always be named after a previous owner.  We found in all the records we received when we bought the Airstream was a guy with the last name of "Seymour."  From a business card we located, we discovered that Mr. Seymour was a retired jeweler in Florida and was the one who had to replace the motor on one of his trips.   All the receipts were in two big boot boxes and came included with the motor home.  We decided that we should name our "new" Airstream "Seymour" in hopes of getting to  SEE-MORE of the USA!

Before we ever even had a chance to take that very first trip, Jimmy had to go into the hospital and ended up having quadruple by-pass surgery in November of 2006.  It was bad.  It was very, very bad.  I thought I was going to lose him.  But he came around.  It wasn't a bounce right back recovery - it was very slow and painful.  But after awhile, it was like he decided it was easier to live than to lie around just waiting to die.  Like everything else about Jimmy Mooney, it's wasn't a quick decision.

In January of 2007, Texas Highland Lakes Unit (THLU) was sponsoring a Vintage Airstream Rally in Montgomery, TX and even though Jimmy was still trying to get his strength back and recover from surgery, Gayland suggested we attend.  Gayland told Jimmy that if he could just drive "Seymour" to Montgomery, that he would hook us up when we got there and take us anywhere we needed to go while we were there and that they were planning an open house and that they would love to be able to display our "Vintage" motor home.

We thought long and hard about it and finally decided we would take the plunge and make our first camping trip.  For January, it had been wonderful weather so far and we looked forward to a change from the daily pills and aches and pains and looking at the four walls of our house and occasionally sleeping in the driveway on Seymour's queen sized bed.  We packed and re-packed and packed way too much for our first trip.  Things we would never ever need but we thought we just might need.  Then we completely forgot some of the most important everyday things we required!    Just like a couple of first-timers!

The morning we got up to leave for Montgomery we awoke to cold and wet and ice!  It was miserable. But we were determined.  We got everything ready and started to start it up so it would be nice and warm and toasty on our trip to find the batteries were dead.  Jimmy had to jump the thing off before we could even get out of the driveway.  Once again, we plunged forward.  Determined to make this work.  

Little did we know that there was a huge hole someone had cut in the firewall letting cold, cold, cold air come whistling in around our feet and legs as we went down the highway.  No, the dash heater didn't work!  We wrapped ourselves up in blankets and all the coats, gloves, scarves, and hats we had with us.  We finally made it but we were two very blue and cold people.  

End of a long story is that we had a wonderful time!  It was kind of flattering to be courted by two Units - the Texas Highland Lakes Unit and the North Texas Unit - but in the end we had to go with the most friendly and Gayland's group - the Texas Highland Lakes Unit.  We've never looked back and never regretted our decision.  

In fact, I'm currently serving as our Unit's President and Jimmy will be President next year.  When we jumped in, we didn't just jump in with both feet - we went all the way under!  And we're having the time of our lives!  This is what retirement is suppose to be about!  We have made some of the very best friends and we are getting to go and do things we would have never have done on our own.  I am so blessed!