Man In The Maze

by Rich Luhr, Editor of Airstream Life magazine

Newbies

One of the things I enjoy is helping new owners learn about all the cool things you can do with an Airstream.  It’s like being there when a kid first gets the hang of riding a bicycle and suddenly realizes how much bigger her world has become.  It’s like watching someone taste gelato for the first time, when that wonderful explosion of flavor hits their brain and they see that there’s more to life than ice cream.  You might think you know freedom, but when you hitch up that trailer and hit the road with destination unknown, you find an exhilaration that is unexplainable to those who haven’t tried it.

That’s a big part of the reason I wrote the Newbies Guide (copies of which were received at my office this week, and have been shipped to all the folks who pre-ordered them). Even though I can’t get the gratifying personal feedback of a face-to-face educational session, I’m still hoping the book will make it easier for people to get started.

Another joy of sharing knowledge about Airstreaming with newbies is the amusement factor of hearing their stories.  Yes, I’m admitting it: I do laugh sometimes at the mistakes and stories people tell me.  I’m just being honest here. Hey, I was a newbie once too, and I’ve had some pretty awful/humorous things happen to me, too.  I can laugh about them … now ….

Once when camping in Oregon I ran into a couple who told me their water heater was broken.  “The red light comes on, but the water isn’t hot,” they said.  I explained that the red light was not an “ON” light, it was a “trouble” indicator, and the problem was that the heater wasn’t getting propane.  “But we have propane!” they insisted.  “We checked it last night.”  So I explained to them how propane has a habit of getting used up during the night when the furnace is running.  I also showed them how to switch over to the second propane tank, and then we reset the water heater by flipping the switch.  Poof– the water heater lit.

The wife immediately ran the water. “See, it still isn’t hot — so the heater doesn’t work!”   Very patiently (I think) I explained to them that the heater takes a bit of time to turn cold water into hot water.

Then I left them, with skeptical looks on their faces.  I can’t blame them.  After all, they had “proven” that everything I said was nonsense, and the final proof was that there was still no hot water.  I’m sure they thought I was just a know-it-all until 30 minutes later when hot water finally began to flow.

Last week I helped get a newbie friend set up for his first-ever Airstreaming experience.   He had several mishaps and points of confusion in his first few days, all of which were understandable, but my favorite was the gray tank problem.  “Rich, I went to take a shower, and the water didn’t go down the drain,” he said with a distinct tone of confusion and suspicion.  I could tell he was wondering just how small the RV gray tanks were, since his military-style shower probably required less than 2 gallons of water.

We went through the usual debugging questions (“Is the trailer level enough so that the water can reach the drain?” and “Did you dump the gray tank the day before?”) and there were no immediately obvious problems.  I thought about it for a second, and then asked if he had left the gray dump valve open long enough to fully drain the tank.

“Uh … leave it open?” he replied.  Hearing just that phrase, I knew we had found the problem. My dear friend, who I will leave safely anonymous out of my complete respect for him, had somehow gotten the impression that you dump the holding tanks by “pumping” the valve. I tried to stifle my snicker and then explained to him that the valve must be left open for a minute or two, until all of the waste water has rushed out.

[By the way, I’m going to do a seminar at Alumapalooza about being a newbie.  It should be a lot of fun.   I’m going to tell self-deprecating stories and try to encourage people ask the dumbest questions they can think of, just so we can all laugh and learn at the same time.]

As long as there are Airstreams there will be newbies, just as it is true that as long as there are colleges there will be freshmen.  When you’re a “senior” you might easily begin to think that they are placed there for your amusement or condescension (and perhaps that’s partly true) but keep in mind that they are also a wonderful opportunity.  Newbies are the people who allows us to pay back for the lessons our predecessors taught us.  They remind us that nobody was born knowing everything, and they add value to the community by freshening it and broadening our perspective.  I love ’em.

The dream job

In the early years of Airstream Life magazine I was often asked by people how I was “so lucky” to get the job I have.  To tell the truth, there wasn’t much luck involved.  It was a matter of necessity meeting inspiration.  I quit a perfectly good job in another industry because I was burned out, and stared out the window of my home office for a month trying to figure out what to do next.

vermont-shoveling-deck.jpgNo brilliant ideas came to mind, so I began working up a list of criteria for the next thing I wanted to do.  It was December, and our 1968 Airstream Caravel was sitting out in driveway, waiting out the gray winter gloom until it could be de-winterized and used again.  (See photo at right of three-year-old Emma and I shoveling the snow off our deck on a typical December afternoon.  We were doing this so that I could fire up the outdoor grill.  Such are the lengths that we would go, in order to break the monotony of winter.)

I thought back to the brilliant few weeks we had enjoyed with the Caravel in the summer, traveling all over the northeast states and Quebec, and I decided that the first requirement of my next job would be that I’d have the ability to keep using the Airstream frequently with my wife and toddler.

This seemed utterly unrealistic but brainstorming isn’t the time to be realistic.  So I plowed on to the next criteria:  I wanted a job where I would be my own boss again, where I could have the opportunity to write creatively, and which I could do from anywhere. Publishing felt like a good path to achieve all of this, but my publishing experience up to that point was strictly business-to-business newsletters of the deadly boring variety. If I were to re-enter that industry I wanted to publish something that I wanted to read.  All of this led to the eventual concept of Airstream Life — a dream job where I could travel (nay, would be required to travel) via Airstream and have the freedom that comes with being my own boss.

But anyone who runs their own business knows it’s not as easy as that.  Making a living, managing employees, and balancing work & life are just a few of the huge obstacles that confront any small business owner.  It was a long time before Airstream Life was a financially viable business, and even today the unforeseen challenges and hassles continue to pop up on a regular basis.  The dream was achieved in some ways, not in others, but overall I feel like we did OK.

One of the decisions I made early on was to have no employees. Everyone who works for Airstream Life is part-time contract, and they all have other jobs or clients (or are otherwise retired).  I like this model because I can work with people who are truly self-motivated and need little management, and I can pick the very best people from nearly anywhere in the world and connect with them via the Internet.

The flip side is that it is sometimes difficult to replace those excellent people when they inevitably move on. This past week my assistant notified me that she was going to be leaving effective June 1, for personal reasons, and so my search for a replacement began.  She was highly overqualified for the job, but that only meant that the job was done superbly, and so I’ve been talking to some more highly overqualified friends in hopes of finding a similar replacement.

One of them was interested in talking to me about the job, and we set up an appointment for last Sunday afternoon.  Jokingly, she said, “I’m not dressing up for the interview,” to which I (also jokingly) replied, “No?  At least wear some fishnet stockings — sexual harassment is part of the job, you know.”

“Good thing I have my law degree,” she shot back.

And that’s one of the many reasons I like hiring very experienced people.  They aren’t afraid.

I’m also looking for some new contributing writers.  One of the magazine’s most popular columns, “eBay Watch” has finally come to an end as the long-time author has decided to stop writing it.  I’ve got a new concept for a buy/sell commentary column in mind, but haven’t yet found just the right person to write it.  Anyone who is obsessive about scouring eBay, Craigslist, and other online sites for all types of Airstreams and Airstream-related items is invited to send me an introduction letter.

The last person I am seeking to replace is myself.  Airstream Life has been the dream job that I wanted, but after seven years of running all aspects of the magazine, it feels like time for a change.  I would like to gradually ease out of the Editor’s position and just act as Publisher from now on.  Tom Bentley, a long-time contributor to the magazine, is stepping up to take over part of my job, as Associate Editor, and I certainly hope that he (and perhaps another Editor or two) will take on more responsibility in the future.

Replacing one’s self is probably the hardest hiring job ever, but also one of the most necessary for an entrepreneur.  Once you’ve got things going well, you can stay in the captain’s chair forever or seek new challenges.  But if you stay in place forever, you run the risk that the business will never transcend you.  I want Airstream Life to continue after I’m gone (whether working on another project, retired, overseas, or dead, whichever comes first!) so I need to get serious about obsoleting myself.

Beside, I’m not one to sit still.  With Alumapalooza and other projects taking up more of my time, I am happy to let someone else enjoy the Editor’s position under my guidance, and eventually with very little oversight. Don’t expect to see me disappear this year or even in 2012, but when I do eventually fade out, send me a note of congratulations because I’ll be happy I succeeded at my most challenging task.

Alternative lifestyles

Airstreams are superb travel vehicles, optimally designed to make exploring geography with exceptional comfort.  But they are good for something more than that.  I often meet fellow travelers who use their Airstreams for exploring a region that only they can reach: inside their own mind.

So many of us are just a little bit weird by conventional assessment.  We eschew the normal travel pattern by avoiding airlines and hotels, we haul our children and pets to quirky places, and we often are accused (sometimes with frank admiration) of having an “alternative lifestyle” by virtue of being free-booting and happy to take a chance once in a while.   That last characterization is a bit of a broad brush, but I’ll accept it because I’ve come to realize that “alternative lifestyle,” although a loaded term, is another way of saying we live where the wildflowers grow.

That’s where the interesting stuff happens.  You get a little more room to roam around when you bend the rules and conventions of straightlaced society. We meet people all the time who admire the traveling lifestyle, and they generally fall into two groups, those who have done it too and get the concept, and those who are firmly in the center of the fairway and happy to admire the wildflowers from afar.  It takes all kinds to make a world, so I’m not implying that any one group has it right or wrong, but it is interesting to me to see what choices and options have opened up to us simply by virtue of releasing ourselves from the conventional bonds of society and taking a chance that something good might happen.

It really doesn’t take much to broaden your life. Last night we were talking with one of our overnight guests, a writer who is going to take his Airstream across the country to find raw material for his next book. Along the way, he’ll discover new friends and interests.  Heck, he has already and he hasn’t even left yet.  I am looking forward to reading what he has gleaned from his travels.  He’s launching on a massive cross-country expedition but there’s just as much value in taking the Airstream off to a quiet spot in the woods for a couple of days to re-connect with yourself.

I also think its interesting to see how generally-accepted social boundaries change when you take people away from their routine and put them into a campground for a few days. Suddenly people are feeling freer, and you can see it in their dress, their speech, their relaxation of personal rules, what they eat, how they decorate, and from a thousand other little cues.  Nearly everyone comes away refreshed, and a few (like us) come away with a determination to stay out in the wildflowers as long as possible.

“I’m fixing a hole, where the rain gets in,

and stops my mind from wandering …”

My plan for the summer includes a few trips like that too.  I want to do more writing and come up with new ideas for the coming years.  The first step is to “fix the holes” and stop the rain from getting in, and travel is great for that.  Deep in most people’s minds are the thoughts that we haven’t had time to process, and the ideas we never gave a chance.  There are also often old hurts and energy-sapping memories that can be better vanquished with a change of scene.  There are inspirations waiting to be born, and viewpoints yet to be conceived.  Once you clear out the detritus of daily life, who knows where you will go next?  Perhaps an “alternative lifestyle” is waiting out there for you–even if it’s only a change of perspective.

Virtual caravanning

I’m deep into the Summer 2011 magazine, as is normal for this time of year, but between editing articles my mind is straying to Alumapalooza.  It’s coming up in two months.

We’ve sold out of trailer spaces on the field (the limit was 200) and the schedule is about 95% solidified, so at this point you’d think the major work would be done. But in fact there’s much more to do.  We are still registering “walk-in” attendees, and there are a thousand small details to finalize. Brett and I will be very busy in the two months between now and May 31, 2011 when it all officially begins.

The last couple of weeks before the event, we’ll head out from our respective locations (me in Arizona and Brett in Florida) heading for Ohio, like 200 other trailers that are coming from all corners of the country. I’ve been toying with the idea of organizing a caravan as many other people are doing, but because of the way we are going to travel I’ve conceded that it won’t work.

Instead, I’m working on a concept of “virtual caravanning.”  The idea is that many people who are traveling to Alumapalooza via differing routes can share their experiences through the Internet, both with fellow virtual caravanners and people who are unable to attend. As a small first step, I’ve set up a Twitter account called “airstreamlife” which I’ll use to post quick notes and photos from the road as we go.  Fellow travelers can follow airstreamlife and we’ll follow you as you travel as well.

Now, long-time readers of this blog will remember my rant some time back when I explained in excruciating detail why I have — to this point– avoided using Twitter and Facebook.  But I’m not a total Luddite, just a highly critical adopter, and my perspective has changed.  The iPhone has now given me a very useful mobile tool that integrates with Twitter. Now I can easily post photos with short notes from the road as we go.  That’s a much more interesting form and reason for communication, to me, and so I’ll explore it a little.  It’s an experiment.  Still, this blog will remain the primary outlet for all things related to Airstream Life and our restless travels.

In the next few days, we will be occupied with a few spring visitors.  Erica is coming back today from Texas, with a Globe Trotter that she is delivering to a mutual acquaintance, and we are going to have a little driveway camping session to get the new owner up to speed.  On Friday we are expecting another guest, and next week a third, so life is going to be more exciting than it has been thanks to the folks who are swinging through. More on that later.

Living vicariously

 I’m starting to appreciate the feelings of people who have read my blogs for years, living vicariously through us and thinking about the next time they will get to break away for a road trip — because now I’m one of those people. Except for our trip at New Year’s to Anza-Borrego, we haven’t moved the Airstream since October.

It’s not for lack of ideas.  This was a planned pause, specifically so we could take care of things that could best be done while we were parked, but it is mostly behind us now.  All of the routine medical exams are done, Emma’s orthodontics are on auto-pilot, Modernism Week 2011 is done, the Newbies book is done, Alumapalooza is about 90% set, and I can always work on the magazine from the road.  So at this point we are under very little obligation to stay put in Tucson.

It is springtime here, which means lots of days in the 70s and 80s, and believe it or not, plenty of pollen.  I notice it somewhat, but Eleanor is virtually incapacitated, which is a drag anytime but especially tragic in the stunningly beautiful weather we get this time of year. We can’t go hiking up in the mountains to take in the spectacular views and desert blooms. Naturally, the idea has struck us to escape to some part of the country where pollen is less of an issue, and that has led to temptation of the sort that causes us to spend hours browsing maps and weather reports, and reading blogs of fellow travelers who are currently exploring.

All kinds of places are suddenly appealing to me.  It was about this time three years ago that we went to Bahia Kino in Sonora, MX and lazed around on the beach for four days.  If things were a little quieter in Sonora right now I’d be inclined to revisit that trip, just for the chance to stroll a quiet sandy beach and listen to the waves at night.  Or perhaps we could dash off to the foggy Redwood National Park in northern California, where the humpback whales are passing by in their annual migration.

But really, we probably will stay put, with the exception of a quickie weekend here or there.  It is not as interesting as traveling but I feel like we are earning credit somehow.  There’s something to be said for maintaining continuity at least.  This is the longest period we’ve been out of the Airstream since 2004, and I suppose it indicates that we are gradually learning how to be “normal” people.  So far I’m not impressed with the perks of normalcy, but nonetheless we will stay and get our work done, save our pennies, and plan & dream.  When we do finally get back on the road, it will feel like we’ve earned it.

Once we do venture out, the trick will be making the planned trip — a long Interstate slog on roads we’ve seen several times before — into something more than just a 1,900 mile death march. Our primary purpose in May will be to get to Ohio for Alumapalooza 2011.  That’s something we can do in four days if we press hard, seven days if we travel half-days, and two weeks if we do it in our classic “stop and smell the roses” style.  I was initially not feeling very good about being on the road for a long period of time because I was concerned about work I needed to do, but that’s crazy.  Since when is work the most important thing?  I can clear the decks before we go and deal with the little things that pop up as needed, and maybe even take a few days off.  Let’s make it a two week trip and really enjoy it.  I might even use the “v-word” (vacation) but not too loudly because this is supposed to be a business trip.

Speaking of which, I’ve been having some conversations with Marty Shenkman, a tax lawyer who is also behind RV4theCause.org.  Marty uses his Airstream as a business tool, as I do, and both of us have some concerns about the correct way to deduct, document, and depreciate our travel trailers. We’re having a rather spirited debate, since he does it one way and I do it another way, and Marty’s CPA has joined in with his own thoughts on the subject.  The key, of course, is finding a way to bulletproof ourselves against audit challenges, since an Airstream can be viewed both as a home and a business vehicle, and each can be handled differently from a tax standpoint.

The outcome of this has been that Marty will be researching the subject further and presenting at Alumapalooza.  His topic is going to be something like, “Making Your Airstream A Deductible Business Asset,” which I bet will appeal to all the folks who would like to work from the road.  You can bet that I’ll be in the front row to hear what he has to say (and heckle him if needed).

But I’m not mentioning this to push Alumapalooza.  We’re basically sold out — just five spaces left as of today — and as far as I’m concerned, 195 trailers is plenty!  My only wish at this point is that we don’t have the usual Jackson Center summer weather pattern, which includes chilly fog, rain, sun, intense heat, humidity, thunderstorms, and a chance of tornadoes all in the same day.  Given the dramatic mood swings of the local weather, I suppose I should be impressed that 380 people are going to join us in that field next to the manufacturing plant.  Brave souls, every one.

So we are in the same boat as all the frozen northerners now.  We’re at home, waiting for the moment when we can hitch up and head out, and in the meantime we are dreaming of what’s to come. For those of you in the north, hang in there–spring is coming.  For those of you who are on the road right now, take a picture and update your blog for me.