--- id: 20180901_good_bye_sweet_beetle title: BLOG - Good - Bye Sweet Beetle category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: nostalgic-memory-to-prayerful-gratitude sentiment: Reflective emotions: - Nostalgic - Grateful - Tender keypoints: - Volkswagen's end of Beetle production sent Dean back to his 1957 college Beetle - The Beetle hauled laundry for pay and carried friends on road trips - Unique early turn-signal "stick" lights and a fabric moon roof marked the car - A St. Louis trip overheating on the interstate became a reckless-but-memorable story - The car deepened Dean's prayer life as he asked God to bring passengers home safely summary: > Dean Rush bids farewell to the Volkswagen Beetle after production ends, remembering his 1957 college car that stuffed laundry runs, hosted smelly moon-roof loading, and carried friends on road trips. He recalls overheating on a St. Louis interstate and walking across lanes to stop traffic, then closes with gratitude that the little Beetle taught him to pray earnestly for safe travel — good-bye, sweet Beetle. tags: - blog - human-resources - volkswagen-beetle - college-memories - prayer - travel - nostalgia - friendship - dean-rush - gratitude sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 8 entropy: 3 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: blog created: '2018-09-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: BLOG prefix: BLOG enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: BLOG_2018-09-01_good-bye-sweet-beetle.md source_kind: blog_article proposed_topic: Wisdom lane: Wisdom voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Wisdom content_status: active date: '2018-09-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/good-bye-sweet-beetle source_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/good-bye-sweet-beetle site_category: Human Resources archive_month: 2018-09 description: > Dean remembers his 1957 VW Beetle — laundry hauler, road-trip companion, and unexpected tutor in earnest prayer — as Volkswagen ends Beetle production. --- # Good - Bye Sweet Beetle **Author:** Dean Rush **Original post:** [deanrush.net/blog/good-bye-sweet-beetle](https://deanrush.net/blog/good-bye-sweet-beetle) **Archive month:** September 2018 · **Site category:** Human Resources > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's article** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned of HTML/image artifacts only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean turns a cultural farewell — the end of Beetle production — into thanksgiving for a car that carried friendship, work, risk, and prayer. The enrichment below does not invent a sermon he did not preach; it shows the biblical frame that makes gratitude, remembrance, and travel-prayer coherent for a first-time reader. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Ordinary objects can carry lasting memory and meaning | Remember the Lord's deeds (Psalm 77:11–12); stones of remembrance (Joshua 4:6–7) | | Friendship and shared work matter | Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10); bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2) | | Danger should drive us to prayer | Call on Me in the day of trouble (Psalm 50:15); cast anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7) | | Saying goodbye can be grateful, not bitter | Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18); every good gift is from above (James 1:17) | --- ## Dean's article ### Good-bye Sweet Beetle ![VW Beetle from Dean's original post](https://deanrush.net/Portals/0/images/article/1_Beetle.jpg) Good -bye sweet beetle. When Volkswagon announced yesterday that they were stopping production of the VW Beetle it caused my mind to storm back to college days when I had invested in a 1957 version and it was unique. I used it with another fraternity brother to haul dirty laundry to and from a local cleaner who paid us 30 cents per shirt and 40 cents per pair of pants for our effort. We could get at least 200 shirts and 100 pairs of pants stuffed into that car with enough room to maneuver the gear shift. There was a fabric moon roof so the dirty cloths could be stuffed in from the top. (It was sometimes a smelly ride to the laundry.) ### She Was Unique The auto had some very unique features. It was one of the first cars manufactured with turn signals. There were little stick looking lights that popped out when you pushed a button on the steering wheel the left or right. Good -bye sweet beetle. The car also gave me the freedom to travel a bit with special friends who didn't mind the less than comfortable accommodation. I especially remember the road trips from school to Chicago and other places with my friends. My prayer life increased because of that little Beetle because I prayed earnestly to the Lord to get my passengers back to school safely! My partner in the laundry business, Terry Etter, is now in heaven but we both expected to be there (in heaven) early because of the car. On a trip to his home in St. Louis our ride overheated and abruptly stopped on the inside lane of an interstate. Like any other less than rational college student, we both walked across the 4 lane highway stopping traffic by raising our hands. I am not sure that would work today? > **Scholar sidebar — Prayer on the road** > Dean's punch line is not automotive nostalgia alone; it is that the unreliable Beetle *increased* his prayer life. Scripture treats travel and danger as occasions for dependence: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you" (Psalm 50:15). Jesus' disciples cried out in the storm (Mark 4:38–39); Paul prayed through shipwreck risk (Acts 27). Dean's college prayer — get my passengers home safely — sits in that same pattern: ordinary roads, real fear, earnest asking. Good-bye sweet beetle! > **Scholar sidebar — Remembering people with the thing** > Dean names Terry Etter, now in heaven, and the shared expectation that the car might send them there early. Biblical remembrance often pairs place or object with persons: memorial stones (Joshua 4), the Lord's Supper "in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). Saying goodbye to the Beetle becomes a way of honoring a friend and the God who heard those roadside prayers. --- ## Takeaways 1. **News triggers memory.** A corporate announcement about ending Beetle production becomes Dean's doorway into college stories worth keeping. 2. **Work and friendship shared a small car.** Laundry runs and road trips show how ordinary economics and companionship rode together. 3. **Quirks become affection.** Pop-out turn signals and a fabric moon roof are remembered as uniqueness, not defects. 4. **Risk taught prayer.** The Beetle's unreliability pushed Dean to pray earnestly for passengers' safety. 5. **Farewell can be blessing.** "Good-bye sweet beetle" is gratitude, not bitterness — including for a partner now in heaven. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? I'm saying goodbye to the Beetle by thanking God for the college car that carried friends, work, close calls — and a deeper prayer life. ### Why does a car story belong in biblical counsel? Because Scripture cares about remembering God's help in ordinary life (Psalm 77:11–12) and about praying when we are not in control (Psalm 50:15). Dean's Beetle is a concrete memory of both. ### Key verses to read with this post - **Psalm 50:15** — Call on God in the day of trouble. - **1 Thessalonians 5:18** — Give thanks in all circumstances. - **James 1:17** — Every good gift is from above. - **Ecclesiastes 4:9–10** — Two are better than one. - **Psalm 77:11–12** — Remember the deeds of the Lord. ### A simple practice (Dean's memory made concrete) Name one ordinary object or vehicle tied to a season of friendship or risk. Thank God for one person who shared it, and pray once this week for safe travel for someone you love. ### How this feeds Ask Dean This post is seed material for questions such as: *How does Dean talk about prayer in ordinary life? What does gratitude look like when saying goodbye? How do college memories shape his faith?* Answers should keep Dean's voice primary and use the scholar notes only as supporting biblical scaffolding.