In case you haven’t caught on yet, our days seem to be very much the same. We start with a morning meeting that includes the singing of our National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, recognition of our Active Duty and Reserve personnel, and our Blue Star and Gold Star Families. Then we have the daily briefings about safety, road and weather conditions, and go over our hand signals. We do this every day, because safety is our first and foremost goal during the riding portion of our Mission. We end each meeting with the reading of a biography about one of our MIA or KIA. It all might seem a bit repetitive to the casual reader, but trust me, it isn’t! There is always something new to pass along, or to learn.
That was very apparent this morning. As you know, the Route Coordinator chooses an Assistant Route Coordinator, who will take over the reigns next year. The RC is training the ARC each day. At the same time, the previous RC becomes a Mentor to the current RC. These three people work together to make sure that knowledge and experience is passed down through each successive year. Sometimes, that circle of Leadership is expanded, and that happened this morning.
Heidi “Blue” Hansing is the Route Coordinator for this years Sandbox Route. She did not have the luxury of having an ARC year or even a Mentor, as these positions were vacated back in January, due to personal reasons. So She just had to jump in and start learning. Truly, some On The Job training. So Don “10-a-see” King has been guiding “Blue” and training her in how to handle a large pack of Riders and all the various little duties that come along with this position. At the same time, Our Assistant Road Guard Captain, Michael “Pipes” Long, is learning and receiving guidance from our current Road Guard Captain. Both of these future Leaders will do a fantastic job in their upcoming roles, due to their own dedication, loyalty, experiences, and the mentoring that they are receiving.
This “passing along of knowledge” doesn’t stop with just these few roles. EVERY role in RFTW is vital, and each one comes with it’s own peculiar set of “rules” or “suggested ways of doing things.” Each person that volunteers for a Leadership role in RFTW gains a vast amount of prior knowledge gleaned from years of trial and error, that has lead to the success of that role. Each Volunteer also puts their own stamp of uniqueness on that same position, and often finds ways to improve the role. RFTW Leadership isn’t static, and neither are the ways we do things. We are always evolving and improving.
And with that, I want to urge ALL of you to volunteer for something! Find a position that you are interested in, and say “Hey! I want to help!” I can guarantee that you will be accepted into something. You may find out that you LIKE being on the Fuel Team, because they get to meet each and every Rider. You might like to be on the Advance Team, simply because you are a (very) early riser. (That is NOT me!) If you like to take pictures, come see me! I can always use the help, and you can probably teach me something new! Basically, it comes down to this, Run For The Wall cannot exist without volunteers. No one gets paid, for anything. We do it all because we believe in the Mission and want it to continue. Trust me, we can find a place for you!
Okay, back to our day. We enjoyed some fantastic riding up and down the mountains of North Carolina this morning. This afternoon, we wound our way through some of the rural, back roads of the State, passing through little towns, Civil War battlefields, crossing some of the most beautiful rivers that I have seen in a long time, and just smelling the sweet, fresh air. We made three stops today, two that fed our bodies and one that fed our souls.
First, the food! One of our favorite stops is in Siler City, NC. The Journey Pentecostal Holiness Church has been feeding us a STEAK LUNCH every year for ten years! And there are green beans, baked potatoes, rolls, and … HOMEMADE ICECREAM and PEACH COBBLER!!!! It is SO GOOD! But that isn’t the only reason we like stopping here. The people that serve us the food are some of the nicest people that I have ever met. They truly want to enjoy our company, and we want to enjoy theirs.
Our dinner was provided by the Bizzell Grove Pentecostal Church. Years ago, we dubbed this the “spaghetti Church” because they feed us the most amazing spaghetti that I have ever had. And they do it in such a great way, too. In order to keep all of that food warm, they serve it to us out of big white “drink coolers.” Who would have thought of that? It is such a great idea! And it is really something to see a huge “cooler” that holds about 40 gallons (or more) of spaghetti. And they have a BUNCH of them, filled to the brim! And the deserts! Oh My! One beautiful Lady brought around a tray full of cakes, brownies, pie, and other sugary wonders … AFTER I had already had more than I needed! I think I hurt her feelings when I had to decline a third brownie! These people, too, are so wonderful and gracious to us. We can never thank them enough, or repay their kindness and hospitality. All we can do is say Thank You, and they say that it is enough!
But let me tell you about our other stop for the day. Ten years ago, when the Midway Route first started, we adopted the Falcon Children’s Home in Falcon, North Carolina. This is a place that takes in children that, for one reason or another, have no other place to go. They give them an education, help them learn vocations, help them clear their minds of the issues that brought them there, and give them a loving and welcoming home. The Midway Route has been proud to offer scholarships and monetary donations every year to help the Falcon Children’s Home with their 
Mission. They make a difference in the lives of the kids that attend this school, and those kids go on to make a difference in the lives of everyone that they reach. We always feel so blessed when we visit Falcon, and are loath to leave there.
All in all, it was a very good day. Yes, the weather was a bit warm, but our hearts were warmer! Tomorrow, there will be a shift in the attitudes of our FNGs. Those of us that have been doing this for a few years know what is ahead, and we are already on the lookout for the reactions of our FNGs. You see, tomorrow, it is going to dawn on a lot of people that our Mission is almost over. There are going to be some sad moments ahead, but they are going to be tempered with joy and good memories, as those FNGs also realize that only the riding portion of the Mission is soon to end. Who and What RFTW is will continue in the hearts of us all.
But we will talk about that tomorrow.
Cheers!
Jim “Hoofer” McCrain
Midway Route Photographer and SITREP Author
