Today was another good day on The Run. Weather continued to be wonderful. We rode less than 300 miles total today, but had a wonderful time at the Jackson, MS Harley shop. The owner is a Viet Nam Vet. Each year he removes all the motorcycles from the shop, installs tables and chairs, lays out a delicious boxed lunch for all the riders, presents a wonderful, meaningful program, and cranks up the air conditioning so we can really cool off! The program included a Naval Band, “piping aboard” various dignitaries, (including a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, 2 WWII Navajo Code Talkers, a Pearl Harbor Survivor, a Bataan Death March Survivor, and a MS State Representative, among others). It was very impressive. Eileen Shaffer Bailey (daughter of Doris & Edwin Shaffer, grew up in Wytheville, now practicing law in Jackson) and her office staff (Rose and Cheryl) came out to meet us too. The riders were amazed that we had a “Wytheville girl” show up in Jackson.
But around the Harley shop was even more amazing. Two Huey helicopters met us as we crossed the LS- MS state border. There was also an Apache Attack chopper and a Chinook too. They all landed at the Harley shop. The Army Black Daggers parachute team jumped in just after we landed. There were weapons of all types from WWI to present day – tanks, amphioxus assault vehicles, etc. Guns blazed and “dummy rounds” rolled out as howitzers, cannons, machine guns, etc, were demonstrated, it was quite a racket. I imagine traffic passing on the interstate really did think war had broken out. There were rides in the Huey available for purchase. But the Trail Of Tears was the most moving part. There was a path thru the wooded area surrounding the store that was set up with re-enactors and camps, tents, battle field fox holes, etc. It started with the French & Indian Wars, and ended with Viet Nam. The Miniature Viet Nam Wall Exhibit was there near the end. Some more tears were shed there too. There was a Vietnamese prison cell – commonly called The Hanoi Hilton -that was painful for many. It basically is a metal box about the size of a small truck container. It had no ventilation, no light, and no toilet. 16 – 18 men would be crammed into it and left for days sometimes. But after time for reflection we headed to Meridian, MS.
It seemed that every overpass we encountered was lined with people waving flags and cheering. It was exciting. It’s also exciting to have a motorcycle police officer buzz by your elbow at 90 miles an hour as they closed down the road as we passed. It’s great not to have to worry about the traffic – only those flying cops! We rolled into Meridian, MS Agriculture Center where we were treated to a wonderful catfish dinner, including banana pudding. And we were offered a wonderful free service for someone who’s been on the road 5 days. The owner of a laundry mat had paired with the Christian Motorcyclists. They offered us large nylon sacks. We wrote our name and phone number on the sack and filled it with our dirty laundry. When we return for breakfast tomorrow our clean laundry will await us. All for free!
In earlier blogs I shared some of the pain and healing I’ve seen on The Run. So it’s only fair that I also tell you some of the better moments too. Here are 3 things that happened today that show the genuine care, concern, and love these folks exhibit for one another just like a family.
I had a helmet snap break today. I bought a replacement at Jackson Harley Shop. I went back to my bike to install it on the helmet. The temperature was above 100 degrees so I took my helmet to the shade of a gas station to work on it. I had been fiddling with the latch not more than 2 minutes when 3 people walked up and asked if I was having trouble. As I explained what I was doing, one of them picked up the parts, took the helmet from me, and installed the latch. With no help nor request by me.
There is a bike on the Run that has no windshield and the rider has a small “Brain Bucket” type helmet that covers only the top of his head above the ears. He wears goggles. The last couple of windy days have been a challenge for him. Several of the older riders in his platoon told him at the end of yesterday’s ride that they’d been watching him struggle and decided he needed a windshield. He told them he had reached the same conclusion and was going to buy one. They then told him that they’d called ahead to the Jackson Harley Shop, found one in stock, and had it waiting on him to arrive today to have it installed. He had a new windshield when we stopped for dinner tonight!
But by far the grandest “goody” happened at the Rider’s Meeting in Monroe, LA. Each day there is a 50/50 raffle for the money, tee shirts, etc. The first winning number called today was held by Laura Byrd of San Diego, a FNG. As she was being congratulated, her boyfriend, Active Duty Navy Medical Corpsman Scott Coffin came forward to. He explained that he was just back from his 6th Tour in Afghanistan, had made last year’s Run, found it to be very helpful to him, had talked about it nonstop, had been dating Laura 2 years , and told her the only way she’d ever understand it was to ride with him. So he had a question for her after she’d been around this bunch of military people/family for 5 days. He then dropped to one knee, produced a ring, and proposed. Laura said yes. But then she explained that they’d talked about marriage for some time, she was worried that Scott would redeploy, and they’d be apart. She understood how important The Run was to him. So she had told 2 of their friends on The Run that she also had a ring in her bag and planned to propose to Scott on the steps of the Lincoln memorial when The Run photo is taken at the conclusion. Since there are several real life ministers riding with us they are looking at the “paperwork” of being legally married before we reach DC! How’s that for good news!
Tomorrow it’s on to Chattanooga. And then we reach Wytheville on Wednesday afternoon. I urge everyone who can to come to Withers Park Wednesday about 4:00PM when they roll in, and again Thursday morning (they’ll group by 7:00 AM and leave about 9:45 AM) to tell this bunch of true American Heroes how much we appreciate what they do, have done, and who they are. Just say “Welcome Home” or “Thanks” and you’ll make them feel very good. Just line the street to wave, applaud them, or wave the flag. We owe them that much!
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