Before I can tell you about our riding today, I need to finish telling you about yesterday evening. The Midway Route had the pleasure to work together with the Combat Hero Bike Build. The CHBB presented a beautiful Harley Davidson Trike to US Army SP4 Harry Stokes. He hadn’t ridden a bike in 12 years. Let me tell you, the smile on his face as he took that new bike around the block for the first time was priceless! As happy as he was to receive this gift, we were just as happy to be there when it was presented to him! Harry, here is to many happy miles of the wind in your face! Please go back to yesterdays SITREP and follow the link for the photo page. There are a lot of pictures from last nights event!
This morning dawned cool and clear, but with a promise of warmer weather as we went “over the mountain” and then down into North Carolina. To warm our hearts this morning, “Siren” lead us in our National Anthem, and then sang the Canadian National Anthem in honor of our 23 “Canadian Cobra Chickens” who are Riding with us. Okay, I will admit that I don’t really know what a “Cobra Chicken” is, but that is what this group of Canadian Patriots calls themselves. WE are extremely proud to have them ride with us each year, and one of these days, I hope to join them in Canada for their version of RFTW, called the Rolling Barrage. They start on the east coast of Canada with a “dipping of the tires” in the Atlantic Ocean. 20 days later, they do the same ritual at the Pacific Ocean. Check out “therollingbarrage.com” and support these great Patriots. We are all Brothers and Sisters here!
We then immediately set out for Wilson Elementary School in Crawford, Tennessee. We “adopted” this school last year as one of our Outreach destinations. This is a small, rural community that doesn’t have a lot of resources available to its citizens. Some of these children live in homes with dirt floors. Some do not have running water in their homes. They don’t have a lot of the things that we generally take for granted. But what they DO have, and in abundance, is a love for their Country, Their Community, and a respect for their Elders. This is the type of America that I grew up in, and I am immensely proud to help support these kids. In addition to a donation made on behalf of the Midway Route Riders, we took up an additional collection this morning as well. We were able to donate over $5000 to these kids! And remember those “Cobra Chickens”? THEY made a donation of a huge duffle bag full of school supplies! They don’t even live in this country, and they want to help out!
As a token of appreciation for these gifts, the students put on a few wonderful patriotic performances for us. One in particular was so cute that even I got excited about it. Imagine if you will, six dance couples out on the gymnasium floor, dancing to “Boogy-Woogy Bugle Boy of Company B!” These kids could really move! AND there was even a “Bugle Boy!” We all laughed and cried, and clapped our hands for this and the other performances. Folks, it is at places like this, when I can see the determination, pride, and sheer exuberance of a group of children, that I have faith in our countries future. This one school does not stand alone against the rage, violence, and apathy that we see in so many of the larger cities. These kids are being “raised” and not just being allowed to “grow up.” They are being taught traditional American values, and they are taking tose lessons to heart. So for all of the “Wilson Elementary Schools” out there, please keep doing what you do best, and tach these Young Men and Women what America is truly all about! “Firecracker”, we will see you again next year!
From Crawford, we made our way down the interstate to Knoxville, Tennessee for our lunch break and to lay a wreath at their wonderful memorial to EVERY Service Member from the County, since the Civil War. It is an amazing memorial, and it is well worth visiting.
There is another tradition that Midway has, similar to the Road Guards jumping into the “blue Hole” like we did a few days ago. This one was also started by Peter Green (Gear Shift) and Ray “CornMan” Cornmesser. Ten years ago, these two linked arms and walked through the public fountain to cool off. They did it again the next year. But these two amazing Patriots wanted to make this more than just a way to cool off after a hard day of hot riding. So the came up with an idea: for each group that links arms and walks through, whether it be a group of three or twenty, one person stays behind. They do not come out with the group. This is basically a walking Missing Man Formation. Once the group gets across the grounds, they turn and wait for that lone Rider to walk across and join them. This signifies the return of our MIA. I am proud to report that with every group that walked across the fountain, each one had a Missing Man Formation.
And I want to talk about that Missing Man. It doesn’t only mean that someone went missing in a combat situation. On an average day, twenty-two Veterans take their own life, because they just can’t handle what they have been through, and haven’t been given the recuperation that they need. This is not a condemnation of either our Government or our Service Men. It is just the simple truth that our Soldiers go through Hell, and it is hard to cope with that. At out morning meeting today, we reminded each of our Riders that they need to be there for their new RFTW Brothers and Sisters. If the phone rings and the person on the other end is hearing voices telling them to do something bad to themselves, WE need to reach out to them and let them know that we care, and that we will help them get through this. The words to a song come to mind whenever I think of “The 22”: “Lean on Me when you’re not strong. I’ll share your load; I’ll help you carry on. For it won’t be long till I’m going to need somebody to lean on.” We are a Family, and we are here to help. (If you or anyone that you know is having a hard time coping with any issue, PLEASE reach out for help, or lend a hand to help someone in need. We need to stop “The 22.”)
I didn’t mean to bring everyone down with that last little bit, but this is one of the reasons that we ride. It’s just what we do! After eight days of intense riding and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with this healing process, we NEED a little fun, and that is what today provides for us. We got to see the joy on the faces of those little kids. We got to cool down in a public fountain, even if it did have an underlying purpose. And then we got to wind our way “down the mountain” into North Carolina. The roads here are superb for riding a motorcycle. The pavement Is smooth, the curves are wide and sweeping, and the temperatures are “just right.” We couldn’t have had better, or more perfect weather to end our day.
And we needed the merriment today, because tomorrow is Day 09 of our Mission. That means it is getting close to the end. And THAT means that we will be getting more serious as each of the next three days pass. But we are up to the task: This is what we have been preparing for. This is why we Ride.
Jim “Hoofer” McCrain
Midway Route Photographer and SITREP Author
Please follow this link to see more photos from todays adventure. Be sure to check back in about a month to see hundreds more photos. (I will need a few weeks to sort through them all!)
