CLAREMORE, OK — When Ken Broostin drives down the highway, other drivers stare.
Some point, while others laugh and wave.
But, when you’re driving a motorhome that looks like an enormous Tweety Bird, attracting attention is to be expected.
“This is ‘Tweety’,” said Broostin, of Foyil, sliding the side door open on the bright yellow motor home. “Come on in.”
From the outside, yellow and aluminum, Tweety looks just like its namesake with wheels. From the inside, it has all the comforts of home — stove, sink, bed — with a few Tweety Bird throw pillows, just to make sure you don’t forget where you are.
There are Tweety Bird dolls, mugs, and even a Tweety Bird keychain to help start the classic motor home.
But it was hardly love at first sight for Broostin.
“My wife, Doree, and I were looking to buy a motor vehicle a few years ago, when we saw ‘Tweety’ at a lot in Catoosa,” he recalled. “At the time, we both saw it and kind of went ‘ Ugh! We don’t know about this ...’ but it eventually grew on us, and now, Doree doesn’t want us to ever get another one — she says ‘Tweety’ is her favorite.”
Doree isn’t the only one who’s taken a liking to “Tweety” — the family dog, Grizzly, accompanies the Broostins on every roadtrip and “Tweety” isn’t the kind of vehicle that blends into a crowd.
“Wherever we go, it always attracts attention,” Broostin said, a smile crossing his face. “We get a lot of people giving us thumbs up and honking at us — we’ve had people follow us for miles on the road to get a picture of ‘Tweety’ before. It’s a lot of fun to drive.”
As “Tweety’s” owner, Broostin belongs to several motor home organizations — the Family Motor Coach Association and the GMC Lunch Bunch of Tulsa among them — many members of which he sees on the road.
“We recently went to Natural Falls by the Arkansas border, and there were about 10 local coaches there,” he said. “We love to go to Padre and Aransas Pass in Texas, but wherever we go, we always enjoy running into other people with motor homes. There’s a real kinship among them.”
Broostin also had sentimental reasons for purchasing “Tweety.”
“Back in the late 1960s, I was employed at Oren-GMC, and designed the generator for these motorhomes,” he said, “so, I remembered working on these (motor homes) when I was younger.”
Broostin and Doree are “semi-retired” from Stonebridge Garden Center, and he’s looking forward to being fully retired so he can spend more time behind “Tweety’s” wheel.
“We’ve got (grown) kids all across the country — a son in Minnesota, a daughter in Kentucky, and two sons in Tulsa, so when we go see them, we don’t have to worry about putting them out or getting a hotel — we bring one with us,” he said. “Plus, the grandkids love ‘Tweety’.”
So, if you’re on the road and happen to see a canary yellow motor home with the distinctness of Tweety Bird, after you do a double take, wave and know that Broostin, his wife and his dog are taking another road trip.
“You know, I suppose we could get another motor home, a bigger one, if we really wanted to, but this one’s got everything we need,” he said, “and I’m sure another one wouldn’t have the character that this one does.”
Tom Fink writes for Claremore (Okla.) Progress.
Community
Life should be so ‘TWEET’
Don't call him yellow
- Community
-
-
A dream cabin in the woods
Phil Hatter regularly told his children that once they were all grown, he would build a log cabin in the country. They didn’t believe him. “I think log homes are really neat, but they have to be put in the right place,” he said.
-
Jim Bailey: Jim Carter made football a respectable sport at AHS
When I first came to Anderson in 1951, Jim Carter had been named head football coach at Anderson High School. At that time, football at AHS was little more than an activity to get out of the way to make room for basketball season. The Indians were known to play two games in the same week to shorten the season.
-
Community Briefs: May 27
A compilation of community news as published in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Remember When: May 27
The slide was one of the more popular attractions at the Falls Park swimming area in Pendleton as evidenced by the number of people waiting their turn on the slide’s steps and its top platform.
-
Champions League makes everyone a winner
The Champions League — in its 12th season — is sponsored by the Pendleton Junior Baseball Association and is open to anyone 5 to 18 with physical and developmental disabilities.
-
History: Lapel Telephone Co. was talk of town
In November 1962, when the Lapel Telephone Co. was sold to United Utilities by the children of founder Earl Tull, a Madison County era ended.
-
Back in the News: May 27
The Herald Bulletin looks back at stories from the Anderson Daily Bulletin and The Anderson Herald newspapers.
-
Howard Hewitt: 'Pink' wines growing in popularity
Those silly looking pink wines in your favorite wine shop or liquor store are gaining respect through robust sales.
-
Nancy Vaughan: Tomorrow starts today
The United Way of Madison County's 2011 annual report seeks to recognize the individuals and organizations that contribute their resources to support investments and activities to increase the education, income and health of all who call Madison County home.
-
Births: May 27
Local birth listings are published each Sunday in The Herald Bulletin. Birth announcements with a photo are available for a fee. Call The Herald Bulletin at 640-4800 for more information.
- More Community Headlines
-
