Starting this blog and whatnot was a risk. To be frank (or any other name you like,) it was a big deal and a lot of discussion to decide to "put it out there", so to speak... to literally beg for help to make this dream come true.

Well, here comes risk number two...

I'm kinda shocked that I've never heard directly from the fellow that is RLH 3's current caretaker/owner.

Pretty ballsy of me to say that now, isn't it...

(Oh, and if you're wondering how I know it's LIKELY for sale and what the price would most likely be, two "bus enthusiasts" have spoken to him... not on my behalf... but they did pass the information on to me and yes, they are extremely trustworthy sources!)

BUT...

If I am to believe my stats (and I do as sometimes the hits here are great... sometimes, like the last few days, they are ATROCIOUS!) apparently, almost half-a-million people have traipsed through this blog... and you'd think that SOMEONE in the number might know the fellow... or maybe the fellow himself has seen it but never commented.

Now granted, I don't know what internet service is like in the rural bits of Santa Rosa, California... but hey, it's (it was) the home of Luther Burbank, Charles Schultz (thanks to whom, Santa Rosa boasts the COOLEST airport!), (believe it or not,) Robert Ripley, Natalie Wood, and personal music God to myself, Tom Waits.

...anyway...

...the risk bit...

Well, I'm putting an ad in "CraigsList" asking for help from people in Santa Rosa to see what the current owner/caretaker of RLH 3 thinks of us, the blog, and out efforts...

...will it help?

...will it hurt?

I can't say.

I know that he asked one visiting "enthusiast" who contacted me what the bus would be worth... which suggests he's considering selling...

...or is he...?

This COULD end this dream... or change it a little... we'll see...

In all honesty, if he loathes, detests, or otherwise poops on our parade, the blog WILL become "One Old YELLOWY-BEIGE Bus" and I'll be trying to get RLH 39 which is in Lake Havasu City, Arizona...

I know, it's "not the same", but it is a personal fave... and at this point, it's has so much more to do with the dream... and the kid too...

...that said...

"Our" bus is RLH 3... and it's our primary target for so many reasons... so fingers crossed...

Wanna see the ad? Click here... We'll see what, if anything, happens!

Update: 7:55am Something happened... I was flagged and deleted... I'm not sure why, but I've asked... I have a feeling it was because I posted the URL to this blog OR I put the last name of the fellow who has the bus (not other information and his last name is quite common,) in the post... or perhaps it was in the "wrong area"... I don't know yet... Perhaps they think I'm a "spammer"...

I'll let everyone know if I find anything out.

Update: 10:44am I am spam. Well, I'm either spam or a blogger "advertising for hits". Apparently, this is why I was deleted... and this is NOT a knock at the folks at Craigslist. I asked in their forum about what happened and I got several thoughtful responses... one of which was quite open that they saw the ad and assumed it was an advertisement for hits... then, upon further reading, assumed it was a cyber-beg... then, upon further reading, realised I was was looking for contact information and help... but by then, the damage was done... I was flagged and deleted.

All three commenters in the forum suggested re-editing and re-posting... making it more succinct and clear... but one of them was very honest... The help and information I wanted, albeit valid, does not have a place to request it on Craigslist and most likely, I would be flagged and deleted again.

Now, WAY, WAY back when, I did the exact thing on Craigslist to track down the fellow who just recently sold his three RLH buses and had been able to get information and speak to him about them... (This was because he said he was willing to "donate" them to a good cause... and although "we" (the family) are probably not a good cause to many in the grand scheme of things, I managed to get two non-profit groups to "come on board" and I thought, Well, it's not one of the ones we're dreaming about, but it'll do VERY nicely! Ended up his version of "donate" was to ask for several (tens-of) thousand dollars to cover his "expenses".

Anyway, that was a year ago... in a different "area" of Craigslist (same "Category", different "Location"...) and things have obviously changed...

...and probably, thanks to the spammers, cheats, cyber-beggers, and people trying to "bump" their Google Page Rank and whatnot for the better.

...but those people mentioned above have cost us an outlet to try and get some much needed information.

Oh well... Expect a wee blog entry about this tomorrow too... I've got something else to 'Fess Up about with all this...

The standard last note on the old blog... PLEASE SUPPORT THE DREAM!

This blog is here to help promote a dream that an entire family shares... that dream is to rescue an old London Double-Decker bus.

Please, if you have a few minutes, take some time to find out more about this bus and the kooky dream by clicking here.

This bus is VERY special to myself and the whole family, and any help any person can lend us would be most gratefully accepted.

If you or someone you know might be interested, there's our tiny banner site, HelpCoverTheBus.Com and a PayPal donation button (see the upper-right hand side of the blog) and, of course, a Cafe Press shop for T-Shirts and shtuff!
(...and who doesn't need some shtuff!)

Please help us make this dream a reality and save a piece of history!

We thank you for your support!

Please Note: We are also hoping for help from a public relations/marketing standpoint... If you might be able to assist OR know someone who might be willing to, please click here and read this entry...