Fellow SandBox Riders,
Today is a day that we all remember, that took the lives of thousands of Americans and changed the lives of so many who carried on. This horrendous attack sent our military into a wartime stance upon which many of our military members may have served an entire career. The abrupt and controversial end of in-country operations has left many of our recent SandBox Era warriors feeling lost and wandering in attempts to place value on their service.
At ceremonies held today at the Flight 93 National Memorial, former President George W. Bush made comments that I want to ensure you get a chance to see…
Let me speak directly to veterans and people in uniform: The cause you pursued at the call of duty is the noblest America has to offer. You have shielded your fellow citizens from danger. You have defended the beliefs of your country and advanced the rights of the downtrodden. You have been the face of hope and mercy in dark places. You have been a force for good in the world. Nothing that has followed — nothing — can tarnish your honor or diminish your accomplishments. To you, and to the honored dead, our country is forever grateful.
Former President George W. Bush, speaking at Flight 93 National Memorial, 11 SEP 2021
On my SandBox Supporter Run this year, I was honored to have a visit to that Flight 93 Memorial. President Bush made further comments that will forever change how I view that memorial, those 40 Americans who died there and what their sacrifice meant to our country…
Twenty years ago, terrorists chose a random group of Americans, on a routine flight, to be collateral damage in a spectacular act of terror. The 33 passengers and 7 crew of Flight 93 could have been any group of citizens selected by fate. In a sense, they stood in for us all.
The terrorists soon discovered that a random group of Americans is an exceptional group of people. Facing an impossible circumstance, they comforted their loved ones by phone, braced each other for action, and defeated the designs of evil.
These Americans were brave, strong, and united in ways that shocked the terrorists — but should not surprise any of us. This is the nation we know. And whenever we need hope and inspiration, we can look to the skies and remember.
Former President George W. Bush, speaking at Flight 93 National Memorial, 11 SEP 2021
The Mission of our SandBox Route is tied directly to this sentiment and will be brought to the forefront of our hearts and minds as we take to the road on our Wall 2 Wall mission next May. On Day 1, we will visit the Flight 93 Memorial to honor those 40 great Americans, lift up their families and reaffirm to each other that the “exceptional group of people” lives on in each of us. When we arrive there, I know that I will look to the skies and remember.
As SandBox Route Registration opened today, I must address a few issues that some folks have experienced and some other notes for everyone’s information…
First of all, on 10SEP2021 (yesterday) at about 5:50pm (Central) an e-mail was sent out to all previously Registered and StandBy Listed SandBox Route participants that were current on the day the 2021 Run was cancelled. That message contained the internet link and password to register for the 2022 SandBox Route. If you believe you fit into one of those categories and did not get that message, please do the following:
- Check your Junk and Spam folders. The message was sent to a large distribution list and may have been diverted by your system.
- Check your current e-mail address. Most people’s original registration was completed in late 2019. If you changed your e-mail since then, my message went to your old address.
- If neither of these work for you, contact me at sb-registration@rftw.us. I will confirm your status and send you the message directly if warranted. Please note, several folks believed they were registered when they in fact were not.
Next, some folks have told me that the system did not automatically direct them to fill out the on-line Liability Waiver. Your registration is not complete until that Liability Waiver is complete. The direct link to the Liability Waiver is on the e-mail message already sent to you.
For everyone’s info… This Registration Link and Password message was sent out to over 300 people who met the criteria for this registration period. If someone who does not meet the criteria uses that information to register, their registration will be cancelled when I scrub the final registration against the authorized list as described above. Beyond that I will sincerely appreciate the $10 donation. I’m depending on your honesty and integrity to prevent that from happening.
Finally, this limited Registration Period will end promptly at Midnight Pacific Time on 30 SEP 2021. The StandBy List process will kick off at 12:00am (Pacific Time) on 01 OCT 2021 for those authorized folks who failed to take advantage of this registration period and for anyone else who wishes to join me on the 2022 SandBox Route. The 2022 Standby List process will be presented on a separate RC Newsletter before that day.
This has been a long message, but we have been on a long journey together. This is our year, this is our Run and we will be brave, strong and united because we have such tremendous example to follow.
Stay strong, stay well, stay positive and get ready. The countdown has begun!
Remember, all roads lead to all roads so no matter where you go, TOGETHER WE RIDE!
WALL 2 WALL!
Bugs out!
