Run for the Wall - Day 5

Well, we are now officially half the way completed with Run for the Wall. We completed Day 5 of a 10 day trip across the country. It is amazing, we wait for a year for this event, and in the blink of an eye, we are already half-way done. Where did the time go? This is when you want to slow down time and try to enjoy more of those moments in time. The last 4 days are already starting to get blurry for me. If I didn't have the daily reports to refer back to, I would not remember which day we did stuff in.

Today we left Weatherford, TX under wonderfully cloudy skies. For those of you that are outdoors enough, you know that a warm day is much nicer when there are clouds in the sky. It doesn't get as hot as it could. At is was, I am learning how much I forgot what humidity feels like. I have lived in Arizona for almost 8 years and very easily adapted to the single digit humidity. Out here in Texas, it is HUMID. My clothes are sticking to me...yuch... Makes me really appreciate where I live... That is not to say I don't like Texas, I love the green grass, green trees, pretty much anything green. What I don't care for is the clothes sticking to you. The wonderful people here in Texas and Louisiana more than make up for the uncomfortable humidity though.

From Weatherford, TX we went to Terrell, Texas where we picked up a ton of riders. Actually, I don't know for a fact they were a "ton", but there were quite a few riders waiting for us when we got there. These riders traditionally meet us here in Terrell and then either ride the rest of the way to Washington, D.C. with us or turn back before Monroe. Terrell had another wonderful welcome for the Run for the Wall riders. We had all kinds of home made snacks, fresh fruit, drinks, water, munchies, etc. It seemed like the whole town of Terrell turned out to wish the riders well also. After gassing and munching and participating in a brief awards ceremony, it was off to Longview, TX for our lunch stop.

In Longview, we got to meet some of our old friends. It is so much fun for me to go to a city once a year and have people remember me from the prior year. Not only do they remember, but they end up giving you a bone-crunching hug too. This is the best therapy anybody can receive. The emotions are not held back, it is OK to be happy, it is OK to hug people when you are glad to see them, it is even OK to cry during speeches and some songs. Everyone on the run is going through similar types of emotions. That is what makes this run so healing for everybody. It is OK to show your emotions, you are among family, and that family wants to help and support you. You are not alone either emotionally or physically when you are on Run for the Wall. People respect your space, but they are right there when you need them the most. Can you imagine how much nicer the world would be if we all treated each other like this ALL the time?

We were well fed in Longview, TX and had time to visit with friends before we had to climb back on the motorcycles and head for a quick gas-and-go in Minden, LA. After two and a half days we finally got out of Texas. Not that I don't like Texas, but as you are riding your motorcycle along the highway, you wonder if you are ever going to leave the state.

After Minden, LA we headed for our much anticipated evening and dinner stop in Monroe, LA. I love coming here, it is the first time I can really fill my belly up with good southern style cooking. My mother is from Louisiana, and I really miss her cooking. I make up for all that, when we come to Monroe. I make sure to get some home made gumbo, rice and beans, pecan pie, fried catfish, fried fish, hush puppies...(one of these days I may tell you the origins of the 'hush puppies') and then tables upon tables of other desserts... I even got to get a huge cup of my favorite, Sweet Tea. It seems the South is the only place that can make Sweet Tea. Once you leave Texas and head west, the western version of sweet tea is to get regular tea and pour sugar in it. That is NOT how sweet tea works. I don't quite know how they make the tea taste so good, but boy, is it great. You can easily get addicted to Sweet Tea.

After we all gorged ourselves on some real down-home Louisiana cooking we were treated to an awards ceremony and then some singing by this absolutely amazing 9-year old girl. The way she sang the Star Spangled Banner, with such feeling and meaning, it really made you cry. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house when she finished singing. After that, she sang Amazing Grace, and for those guys that didn't cry during the National Anthem, they went over the edge for Amazing Grace. This young woman had an amazing stage presence and acted more mature than many adults I know.... If she continues her singing career, she will go very far.

After dinner, the riders, now completely stuffed to the gills, tried to climb back onto their bikes (some of us had our bellies so big, only the belly got on the bike, the rest of the body couldn't quite get up in the saddle...) and head off to our respective hotel rooms for some well-earned rest. Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day, we head to Jackson, Mississippi, and you know that Earl of Jackson Harley-Davidson will have something very special for us there.

If you want to read specific information on our ride, please go to www.rftwsr-2010.us . Our daily "Sit Reps" and pictures are located there.

Until tomorrow...