Rovers Magazine Summer - Rackspace Hosting

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
TelevisionMadeMeDoIt
text & photos: Bo Vilmos Widerberg
[Bo Vilmos Widerberg, Tampa, FL, is a program manager for an online education company; he also teaches online courses for two
universities. His wife and twin children take delight in this most recent addition to their family –ed.]
Blame this one squarely on the television set.
When I was little, travel and nature shows like
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom planted and
nurtured the romance of Land Rovers in me.
I sat cross-legged in front of the box, transfixed by the
animals and far off exotic locales. Something else was
there—strange, beautiful little boxes on wheels, going
anywhere and doing anything. I saw 109’s in safari trim,
crossing the African savannah or crawling through deep
ruts and mud "trails" in places like Borneo or the jungles
of Brazil. The Series Land Rover became, for me, the
archetypal vehicle of adventure, exploration, and escape.
They became not just the means to explore but the
embodiment of the very ideal of exploration. They came
to represent for me some pretty powerful, heady,
eye-misting stuff.
As I grew older, as usually happens, my interests
expanded and the Series Land Rovers drifted further from
my mind, replaced by grad school, work, marriage, and
kids. Although drifting away, the dreams never disappeared
entirely. Every few years, as I began to get reinterested in
cars, especially classic British cars, I'd try to get the lay of
the land, but would become dismayed at the prices asked
for Series Land Rovers. This cycle continued for years,
and eventually I grew to think that I'd never be able to
afford one.
To some extent, my interest in the vehicles and the
romance and allure of the Series Land Rover was satisfied—
though never really fully—by living vicariously through the
adventures of others. I read Barbara Toy's books, Tim
Slessor's "First Overland", Olle Strandberg's "Jambo Means
Hello" (in a 1956 first printing that was absolutely
mangled by a Post Office sorting machine before being
delivered, unapologetically, in a plastic bag), all the British
Land Rover magazines, websites, anything I could get my
hands on. Still, "never fully" left a deep, lasting hole.
Now, years later, circumstances (and a pretty significant
amount of luck or karma, depending on your outlook) has
finally brought me to this point: I'm the owner of a Series
Landy, a 1973 LHD 88" to be exact. Finally! She's not
mint, or anywhere near mint, for that matter; in fact, being
essentially a barn find, she's in a pretty sorry state. But,
she's mine and that's all that matters. She—my childhood
dreams, and the promise of adventure, exploration, and
escape—has finally arrived; every time I look into the
garage and see her, the completion of that vital circle
leaves me dizzy with euphoria and the anticipation of our
future together.
Interestingly, I stumbled upon the Landy completely by
accident one day. I was surfing the local Craigslist website,
looking for something entirely unrelated, and found a
listing entitled, "1973 Land Rover - $1." It certainly wasn't
$1, but the post grabbed my attention. The owner had
become disabled and could no longer complete a planned
restoration. The owner hoped to trade the Land Rover for
an ATV or a golf cart. After several dozen emails over the
span of nearly two months, we finally agreed to a cash
price and I had her towed the forty or so miles home.
rovers magazine / 56