I have now been on the road for several days and am overwhelmed with the many stories that I am hearing and how our trip is flowing. There is a reverence to our travels, some of our own creation and some brought to us by others. Each morning and each meal, we begin with a prayer or blessing.
I will share a few snippets of the stories I have heard. Keep in mind that, as a whole, these Veterans are a humble group and do not want attention brought to what they did. It was their job and they did it, they do not seek glory. That is why I will not be mentioning many by name.
Several of these guys traveled on Diplomatic Passports. They basically could go anywhere they wanted to in most any foreign country and do things others couldn’t. They talk about how petty some of the “big shots” they ferried around the world were and the things they demanded of the crew. They spent time just chatting with Jimmy Carter’s Mom, among others, and said how she was really nice. They talked about how bad the press behaves, and how deceptive they can be in an attempt to get inside information.
One man I met was a victim of Agent Orange in Nam. He has serious health issues and, after multiple appeals, has finally won a disability award. But, he also has a totally disabled daughter who has had brain tumors and intestinal tumors, and has had to undergo chemo, radiation, multiple surgeries, etc. They think this is all do to his exposure to the Agent Orange.
During previous years that I have ridden on the days prior to the group reaching Wytheville, I have had some exposure to the strict order that goes on during The Run. I am now hearing some of the many stories of how they must “straighten out” some riders who get out of line. Like the guy several years ago who’d never ridden a motorcycle until he headed out for the Run. Guys on The Run straightened him out and taught him how to ride before they got to California. Or the story of a gas crewmember who was too bossy and expected to go to the front of the chow line, he was taken aside and told that there was no rank in The Run and he would take his place in line like everybody else.
The actual ride is still over a week away, I just can’t imagine all the stories I will have to tell once that begins.
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