September 2, 2011
EV Grieve has written about a guy in the East Village who parks an RV outside of his apartment building, check out the post here. EV Grieve commenter Larry Slade left a comment within the post saying that the Daily News recently did an article featuring the owner and the RV. I followed the link and it turns out the guy who owns it lives nearby where he parks it and treats it like a living room on the street. His name is Ron Britt and he’s quoted as saying he wants the interior to feel like a Texas whoreshouse. It also says he’s a singer in a disco/blues band. Okay, I’m intrigued and would like to meet this guy and maybe hang out in the RV and have a few beers. If he’s not inside, maybe we can find his apartment. At the very least, it’s near the Chillmaster Lair, so if all else fails, maybe we can roust The Chillmaster. Only one way to find out and that’s to get going to the East Village.
Off we go, into the wild dark yonder.
And down into the bowels of the subway system.
Ha! Check out the sign. "The Fun Is Back In Coney Island." That's true for this weekend, but the fun will be long gone next year as the Boardwalk gets turned into a land of sports bars and coffee shops.
Anybody else see the irony here? Anybody? Anyone? Bueller ... Bueller... Bueller...
Okay, here we are, the East Village, off to find the Free Willie RV!
There's a band playing at Boca Chica tonight. They've got a full house here.
And look, it's an RV, this doesn't look like the Free Willie one though.
This isn't the Free Willie, I read that Ron has two RV's and this is his secondary one, "Old Flat Top." Two RV's in New York City, that's pretty nuts!
Ha! There's a giraffe behind the wheel. I'd really like to meet this guy!
I walked up and down the block and can't find the Free Willie RV. I wonder if he's out on a road trip for the Labor Day weekend?
Another crazy thing is he's got his phone number on the RV. I blocked a few numbers out. Hey, you want to call him, you make the trip here, I'm not a walking white pages here!
So I called him and sure as shit on a shingle, it's his number. I got his answering machine and left a message. I sounded real pathetic on the message, for some reason I can't memorize my cell phone number, so I always leave messages saying, "I don't know what my cell phone number is, but hopefully you've got it and will call me back." I don't get a lot of return calls. But that's okay with me.
On the message I told him I'd wait at the corner for a while, so I got four beers to drink while waiting.
They forgot to put a brown bag in with the beer, so I decided fuck it, I'm drinking them bareback style on the sidewalk. Breakin' the law!
Well, I waited twenty minutes and never heard anything, so I thought I'd mosey down to the Chillmaster Lair and see what's shaking.
Ahh, the window is closed. Oh well, I'm down to my last beer anyway...hey, let's go drink it at the Mars Bar while it's still there.
It's just a couple blocks away.
It's still here. It'll be a sad day when it's not on this corner.
To the Mars Bar! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Further reading: EV Grieve, Celeb Stoner, NY Press and Mish Mosh New York.
You Might Also Like: Animal Crackers, Animal House and Manimal.
Four Campers
Camper Van Beethoven
Happy Campers
Larry Camper
Shari Camper
You know my name,
Look up the number!
(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)
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Bonus Linkage From Paul Scanlon!
MAD pal, Paul Scanlon sent in this link yesterday...Aaaaahhh!
16 Comments
Reader Comments (16)
I don't want to stick my neck out here, but isn't it illegal for giraffes to drive RVs? Anyhoo, sorry you didn't find the Free Willie RV. At least it seemed like a nice night for drinking outside. And speaking of drinking, that bicycle dude probably could've used an illegal brew. He looks exhausted!
If only you could fasten a small toy train to the bicycle, the irony circle would be complete.
The perfect song by the Beatles to go with these pictures. I like those desolate streets,,,,particularly the one that has the caption "wild dark yonder". This type of pictures,,,of just streets in NY, at night, would make an excellent coffee table book,,,,and you already thought of the title!
Those "fun is back in Coney Island" ads make me so angry!! Fun!? They are destroying it! Ok...sigh, rant over.
Crossing my fingers you find Ron! It'll certainly be one interesting story!
Damn, Marty, this post is hilariously sad! I can't believe Willie, the Chillmaster and the Mars Bar all failed you! It's good to know we can still drink at Mars, though. :)
Where does the Chillmaster go when he's not in the window? One of life's mysteries, I guess...and I feel so vulnerable knowing he's not there guarding the neighborhood.
I didn't know the two RVs were owned by the same person, and that he lives in the area - that explains why they're always parked together on the same block. That giraffe has a lot of explaining to do...
@Biff: I thought the same thing about the bicycle guy, I guess that's why he wasn't riding his bike. Thanks again for the cabbie information! I'm trying to schedule a meeting, but he doesn't speak English very well and keeps calling me, Molly.
@csp: I need to get a small train for the next time irony slaps me in the face.
@Al: I've always loved, "You Know My Name" and that's Brian Jones playing sax at the end! I'll have to think about that coffee table book idea.
@Lindsay: I agree, those signs suck! Maybe Ron has called, I left my phone in a cab last night and the cabbie called Biff...well, let's just say it's been a trying day. And it's nuts here at work.
@Goggla: Yes, kind of a night of striking out! From what I read, Ron uses the RV's as an extension of his apartment, I guess he lives nearby. If you want to call him, his number's right there on the RV!
You don't know your own phone number ?
UFB !
Try using it as a password to enter your computer -- you'll remember it after you punch it in a few hundred times !
@GENE: It is kind of ironic considering Marty's number is written on quite a few bathroom walls.
@GENE: I know it's crazy, but I can't seem to remember it!
@csp: You should know, you're the guy that wrote them there!
"54-46 (That's My Number)"....the start of another quest...now that the chillmaster has been sorta immortalized on "streetview"...hope mr. britt gets back to MAD...never seen the inside of a "texas whorehouse"...back in the late 60's visited a cat house or two...folk in the military were kinda shunned...whatcha goona do?...
I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed; and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying.
~Tom Hopkins
rr
damn almost forgot...the 2 4 6 8 ...nice touch...
I photographed that same "fun" in Coney Island sign on an F train today, plus a Guggenheim Lab one right next to it. Aagh! I have only recently learned my phone number - it's quite helpful - but still don't know my work number & I've been there for quite a few years ... Not impressive, really.
Sorry your mission didn't work out. You should definitely try the RV again - I bet you'd make a new friend with that guy. He should come to the next Chillmaster party!
@rr: I didn't even notice the 2-4-6-8 numbers, a happy accident, like so many others that go on here at MAD! Great quote, as always!
@onemorefoldedsunset: I'll definitely get to know Ron, as you know from firsthand Chillmaster experience, I don't quit!
Like @rr I really want to see the inside of a Texas Whorehouse, so really pulling for this meetup to happen! We all know that if you put it on your list, it will happen. Or you'll wear yourself out trying! And I have your number if you need me to pass it along to him :)
@kari: Thanks, but I'm writing the number down and sticking it in my pocket from here on in! I think eventually I'll get in that whorehouse RV! Stay tuned!
My mother-in-law wrote her number on a small piece of paper and taped it to the back of her phone. :)
@Britta: That's not a bad idea!