I think anal gets a bad rap. I make that statement because I am trying to justify my behavior with lists. I have lists for day-to-day things, lists for the weekend stuff to do (which, of course, includes my honey's Honey-Do's), and I have a big old giant spread sheet to keep track of what we need to do before we leave for our trip: Sorta Run For The Wall.
I create the lists and John and I hover over them to Pow-Wow and add to them or take items off, but lists rule at our house. I think lists give me a sense of accomplishment in my hectic and busy life. I've been known to do something not on the list, add it to the list and then cross it off and smile. So, today and perhaps for ever more, I'm declaring it perfectly alright to be anal.
This is the countdown list for our motorcycle trip. We leave within the week and without this list - I'd feel somehow undressed....unprepared to ride down the driveway. The list started out bigger and more complicated when we first began planning. I feel pretty good about it now...only 1 Excel page and not an entire workbook!
There are things we will miss on this year's Run because we are only going as far as Odessa, TX. I will miss the incredible reinactors in Mississippi on the Trail of Honor. The Harley Davidson dealership in Jackson, MS takes one week out of the year and transforms his dealership and property into an amazing tribute to our country and our veterans who so produly served. The Trail of Honor is tucked away on a winding dirt trail with stops along the route. From the beginning to the end of the trail is depicted every conflict America has been in since the French Indian Wars. Simply amazing.
Although the Trail of Honor is amazing, what I will miss most of all is the opportunity to once again have my life touched by greatness: shaking hands with WW2 and the Korean War heros: survivors of the Bataan Death March, The Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskeegee Airmen, and Medal of Honor recipient.
The Run is more than a sum of it's parts. It's the people. I will miss our 4th Platoon leader, Duct Tape and his wife, Sweetness. Duct Tape is recouperating from an accident on his Goldwing - he was T-Boned by a driver running a red light. Thank you for my road name, Duct Tape - you will be missed by Bubblegum!
The Sorta Run will give us an opportunity to connect with folk who were so important to us on the Run last year. My personal heroes: The Road Guards. When I grow up I want to be a Road Guard. These guys and gals can ride! Everyday for 10 days they have our backs...LITERALLY. They block freeway entrances and exits to insure our safety, they make cars and big trucks move and they keep us moving forward safely.
People. Yup...good people who care about our military and the men and women who are a part of it. There was the lady Sgt. just home from Iraq...a medic assigned to the bomb squad. She found me in a crowd and said, "Hey, Sister, I love your boots!"
My feet wear the camo and hers the Ostrich!
...and Too Tall and Too Small. Ray and Kay McDowell. Two people, who like a bolt of lightening, came into our lives and have become friends. I will miss riding all the way with them, but look forward to spending time with them while we can before we leave them in their hometown of Odessa, TX. I won't want to say goodbye and at that very moment, for I know me best of all, I will wish with all my heart we were going all the way to The Wall.
We get to experience the early morning jitters of lining up our bike into the platton we want to ride, waiting for morning raffles, speeches, meetings and prayers and once done, we will be able to swing our legs over the bike and ride.
John and me right before the 10 minute call to ride. We are in the staging area in Los Angeles, CA. Day 1 of our Run For The Wall adventure.
But...even though our Sorta Run falls short of going all the way to The Wall in DC, we get to share it with our good friends, Lee and Palma. They will leave before us and have adventures of their own before meeting us in Bakersfield, CA to ride into Rancho with us on Monday May 16.
Our departure is getting close...close enough to feel it in my riding bones. I want to be on the road. I want to feel the excitement of knowing that the road is stretching out before John and me and that we can once again be a part, even if it is a shorter time, of something very special. The lists are almost complete-bags are packed, there is a dreamy smile on my face and the hope that when we leave our home in the northwest mountains there will be sunshine, clear roads and good friends. Let's Ride!
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