May 24, 2011 - Closer and Closer

      Man, are we excited to be almost to Wytheville, VA! Tomorrow we’ll reach Withers Park about 4:00 PM. Hope to see you there! Pray for good weather!

                Today was another awesome day on The Run. We had a great breakfast at the Meridian, MS Agriculture Center. Our dirty laundry magically appeared, washed and folded, on the table where we left it dirty last night! We then rode 92 miles to the first gas stop, which was donated! Then we rode100 miles to Ashville, Al for the next gas stop. This is truly an amazing stop, It’s an extremely small town miles from anywhere. We stop because it’s a gas tank away from the last stop.  The town shows up with cold drinks, snacks, and hot dogs all spread out under the shade trees next to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store where we buy gas. It’s amazing and greatly appreciated!  And while I was there I was sought out by a gentleman who lives there, had been a part of the festivities there for several years, and has a grandson who attends George Wythe High School in Wytheville, VA.  It is indeed a small world!

                We were able to have lunch with the Veterans at the Tuscaloosa VA Center. It’s always a moving experience. Some of these brave men and women who have given so much have neither family nor friends to visit them. Thus they receive but one visit a year – from The Run.  We rolled in about 500 strong, descended on every ward and room we could, handed out greeting cards from various school groups, pins, flags, buttons, pencils, etc. just to let them know they were not forgotten.  I met an employee there from Virginia Beach, VA and a resident from Arlington, VA.  They were most appreciative of our visit.

  I also had the chance to be with a rider who made the trek all the way from CA to see a Vet he’d visited every year and written to frequently, only to learn today that the gentleman had passed away a few weeks ago.  It was a blow from which he didn’t rapidly recover.  He lost another friend and didn’t know until today.  The rider took it very hard. But the RFTW family took him aside, hugged him, propped him up, got him through it, and took him down the hall to form a new friendship with a new Vet.  And so the healing continues.

I also shared lunch with a rider who shared a story about being a FNG in 2009 who was allowed the privilege of riding into Arlington National Cemetery. (RFTW is the only motorized group allowed to do so.  They select 150 FNG’s from each Route to ride into Arlington Cemetery and up to the Tomb of the Unknowns where RFTW lays a wreath.)  When he did so, he encountered a woman whose son had been buried there two days earlier. It was a trying encounter for the rider as she was asking him things about her son’s death of which he had no clue, but in true RFTW fashion, tried to comfort her. He also shared with me the fact that he still feels guilt 35 plus years later for the fact that he was shipped home from his unit in Viet Nam three days before they were ambushed and most of the unit killed.  I know enough to know this is a common trait among combat troops and is called “Survivor’s Guilt”. I didn’t know what to say nor do, but put my arm around the rider, told him God obviously had something else for him to do, and comforted him the best I could.  At least it got him better to where he went into the wards to see the patients there.

 You never know when The Run will rise up to bite you.  Each rider is different. Each gets bitten at different times and places.  What leaves one rider unaffected can upset another for hours – or longer.  The baggage goes back 40 years for some.  It is not discarded lightly. But The Run can heal.  Just today I had a long time rider tell me he had to make The Run this year because he “needed what the ride gives” him. I am amazed by the number of times every day somebody comes to me, hugs me, and checks to see if I am ok.  It’s very emotional. But The Family is there to support. That’s why we ride. . You’ll see The Family greet one another by hugs, not handshakes.  They all have “Road Names” and may not even know one another’s real names. It matters not. They are Family.  And Family looks out for Family. That’s why we ride.

So look out Wytheville here we come!  I’ve now ridden 5447 miles since I left. I expect us to be 500 strong when we roll in to Town tomorrow. Do everything you can to let these American Heroes know you love them, thank them, appreciate them, and are there to help them in any way you can.  I can personally promise you that your investment will be repaid 100 times over! They deserve nothing less!