Bye, bye Bug

Deepa Bharath

BALBOA ISLAND -- The Bug’s been crushed, but it’s not dead yet, says

Allan Beek.

The local environmentalist’s beloved, canary yellow 1961 Volkswagen

Beetle -- the one that’s notoriously traveled more than 512,000 with its

owner -- was pronounced dead, or rather totaled, by the Auto Club this

week after Beek was rear-ended at a traffic light in Westchester over the

weekend.

The classic car, which still had its original steering wheel and

dashboard controls, was smashed in the rear and in the front as it hit

the car in front on impact.

All that’s left of it now is the middle.

But Beek says the car his dad gave him 40 years ago still has a little

something left. He’s going to get it fixed up at a local body shop.

“We’ve been together for so long -- 40 years,” Beek said Thursday, his

voice laced with love for his inanimate companion.

“These days marriages don’t last that long,” he added with a laugh.

Most memories and stories about the car are “unprintable,” Beek said.

But he does remember riding across the dike at Upper Newport Bay before

the floods washed it away in 1969.

The car was originally an off-white color when his father, Balboa

Island and ferry pioneer Joseph Beek, gave it to him.

The bright yellow color, which often amuses Beek, was something his

stepchildren did about 23 years ago, he said.

“They kidnapped it and painted it canary yellow,” Beek recalled,

laughing.

He never changed it, although he thought about it when it came time to

repaint. Then he had his choice: the inexpensive one or the one that

would last. If there was a third choice that said “everlasting,” Beek

would have taken it.

The car cost less than $2,000 brand new 40 years ago. Now it’ll cost

Beek three times as much to resuscitate it.

“But the good thing is it can be done,” he said. “It’s worth it. It’s

a real sentimental, personal thing for me.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .