8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS BOOBER TOURS MARCH 10, 2023 Boober seeds bearing fruit — Kevin helped me and so many others I hadn't spoken with Kevin Spangler in quite some time. I met him when I was homeless. He gave me a job, gave me some inspiration, gave me some hope. He taught me some valuable, memorable lessons (mix LSD, pedicabs, foreign exchange students, Buddha, swimming, nakedness, Barton Pond, but that's another story...). The night we spoke five months ago, he was tired. To be a Boober driver is not the easiest job, if only because of the schedule — awake when bar nightlife begins (around 9 p.m.), cabbing through this time till usually 3 or 4 a.m., and then the wind-down takes an hour or two simply from the exercise and the excitement. Then up for the games, or campus events, catching naps in between. When you’re in rehabilitation (as anyone who has been through addiction knows), sleep time is treasured moments whenever you get them. Most of the employees when I worked for Spangler were either just out of jail, had felonies, were homeless or were trying to get clean. Besides this, employees would try to keep the enthusiasm that the owner held and expected. “Boober Tours, the only way!” was the common greeting. He was the example. On each cab read “Boober Tours, the only way!” He asked his employees before being hired to do one thing: “Give me two lists, 1) one hundred reasons to stay sober and 2) one hundred reasons why drugs screwed up your life.” I personally only got to 40 or so on each list. He still hired me. Seeing him tired was rare for me. This Kevin was a bit different. The glow behind the eyes was still there, simply dimmed. I know this was the same man who with a conscious mind tried to better himself in some way each day while determined to possibly inspire any of the many individuals he came into contact with on a daily basis, direct reflections of his Buddhist practices. “Advertising,” he said. His eye had a different spark which, good or bad, was there. His new book was “Rising Out of Depression and Going up the Royal Road.” I asked about the telling of his story and sharing this with customers. Most of the sayings that were printed on the middle compartment of the pedicab for any passenger to see were now taped or painted over — his business being just that, a business. He had a number of drivers, people who wanted to work, who loved to earn that money and now had Boober DAVID WINEY Groundcover contributor as a job not just to get by or to start over, but as their main income. I asked him about the new bike lanes, his current employees, his thoughts on the growth in Ann Arbor. He now has 15 regular employees. Two years ago, kids would line up to drive for him during a football game. All his vehicles are now electric! I love this as I was a bit lazy and loved the electric bikes, always vying for them. I bet he would love them humanly operated, but the physical prowess to do such takes an athlete, and to keep employees with the enthusiasm he does, the electrics make it easier. And of course, the environment, another main reason for his business. Residents rent his cabs (groups, family or friends or students, 6+ seaters) to shop at the local stores, all on a cab (electric) to cover greater distances than one would do in a car. It is simply smart. It's taken me five months to write this, simply because Boober Tours was in the middle of changing their shop location again. Any small business person knows the difficulties of renting a place in any city; with the growth of downtown Ann Arbor in the last few years, renting as a human for personal use or renting space as a business, is still very difficult. This is Boober's Tours' third location. The business and Kevin have outgrown the previous two locations. He must be doing something right. Right? I questioned a volunteer at one of the University of Michigan museums and asked her if she had ever been on one of the rickshaw cabs, the people who ride around on bicycles with a cab on back. She laughed. She had some friends visit from out of town, a bit of money in their pockets, and she convinced them to ride a “Boober Cab” — they thought it would be a waste. Similar to every ride I had as a driver, the passengers always loved the experience. She said the same! They probably could have taken a limo or something; they took a “Boober Cab" and loved it! Illustration by Jeanelle Mapili I would guess every business has its growing pains and tries to remain true to its ideals. Those who know where Kevin came from, where he is today, and how many people he helped — giving them a job when no one else would — would be proud of him. In this short history of Ann Arbor, not a blink in anything (his Buddhist teachings affecting me?) and to have Boober Tours be a current landmark in my time with Ann Arbor and U-M in itself is a great accomplishment. I know he helped me and many others during our time in recovery. Those people will be affected for the rest of their lives. I also know that anyone and everyone who does take a ride from Boober loves it! I asked him, “Kevin, what is your current goal?” “A moral self-governing society in the next 50 years.” That sounded pretty f-ing great to me. To quote Joni Mitchell and her words from her song “California:” Reading the news and it sure looks bad They won't give peace a chance That was just a dream some of us had It — Boober Tours — was just a dream Kevin had. I believe Joni was talking of a bigger picture. Those 1960s-1970s hippie activists took on the whole pie, knowing it would take years, but still they planted seeds in us that have been growing for years. Seven years sober he has now! Congrats Kevin! CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNITY MEMBER EDITION This April Groundcover News will be publishing a special edition magazine that will highlight exceptional people in our community ... however you choose to define exceptional! Choose someone and either interview them, write a biography or discuss with them what it means to be an active member of our community. Be creative in your methods to convey their story or message! Like all of Groundcover News publications, everyone is invited to submit! DEADLINE: MARCH 20TH, 12PM EMAIL SUBMISSIONS@GROUNDCOVERNEWS.COM
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