The Street Van Man (Part 2)

Me with my van near Los Angeles, CA

Summer of 1977

Imagine a go anywhere, park anywhere, play anywhere private room. Like a study on wheels –no not a study. I carried no books and I read no books in my van that I can remember.  It was more like a very hip living room, bedroom combination where I sometimes entertained guests to the sound of cool music. My van was my only vehicle so naturally I drove it to work and everywhere else.  I considered it to be a truck –larger and roomier than any minivan used today for domestic errands. Of course it was not like a big eighteen wheeler either but on the highway, I did get their respect. The truckers probably thought, “Man, when I’m not hauling for work, I’d rather be in one of those party vans!”  Oh yeah some people thought it was just that, a party van.  I drove my street van like a truck too. Driving, parking and backing up using only my two door mounted rear view mirrors.  I followed trucker rules of the road too; I always used my turn signals, stayed to the right and at night I flashed my head lights to give the big rigs the all clear to change lanes. 

My van while air conditioned, was not equipped with any power accessories or with cruise control. But get me on the highway and I would cruise along just fine by using a method I developed that I call, “The Magic Foot.” The "Magic Foot" was what I called my unique ability to maintain a steady speed over a long stretch of highway -without mechanical help. Maybe I imagined that my ability to keep a steady speed is somehow unique. But I'm not so sure, people on the highway pass me all the time then slow up forcing me to have to go slower than I was going. That's so annoying, so then I have to pass them all over again do you know what I mean?

I loved driving that street van and I eventually took it coast to coast from the Jersey shore to Malibu beach California. I had one of the best times of my life on that cross country road trip and the experience, changed me forever. Maybe I'll do a latter post to share more about my road odyssey -stay tuned.

By the way, I met several Ford and Chevy van owners who also called their wheels a Street Van. The term therefore was not just limited to Dodge vans.

Three of my friends Victor, Debbie and Peg on a lunch break from work 

in East Orange, NJ sitting on the couch inside my van just prior to my road trip out west in 1977.