Walks

I've taken some good walks so far in life, and lots of them had significant impacts on how I saw things, how I viewed future challenges, and how life impacted me.

I guess the high school graduation walk across the stage is a big deal, as is graduation from college, but bigger walks for me were the time I left home and got on a bus to go to Basic Training, and the time I walked down the sidewalk and took my first salute as an Officer from a good friend. Those meant more to me than a diploma, and those experiences came with their own educations not available in any classroom.

Walking in the front door of your new house is a good walk. Interesting to think of its newness, and you can't help but wonder what it will look like in 20 years, or what memories will come with it. We're on our third, and each has been a great home.

The Manchu Mile is a 25 mile roadmarch in Korea-- If you aren't going up, you are going down. Walked that one twice. I thought a lot about all those guys in Korea from 1950-1953 and how miserable that war must have been. Humbling what they went through so we could live a good life.

My Spur Ride. Don't know why they call it a ride, I walked an awful lot, and it was a fairly miserable experience. Crawled a good bit of it too. But it was neat to be 'in the club' after it was over with.

I walked through a swamp once, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Ick. I threw away my boots after that exercise, as they smelled so bad. Walked across a couple of deserts, too, in both hot and cold. I'd prefer to walk in the mountains, and someday I'm going to walk the Appalacian Trail. Even walked on a glacier once.

I walked up to a lady and presented the flag from her son's coffin to her and told her thanks for her son's service to the nation. Her son was the loader on my tank.

I ran most of the Austin Marathon in 2006. I did in fact see Jesus Christ at the corner of I think MLK and Congress, it was by the Bob Bullock Museum. I can say I ran a pretty good chunk of that one, but the cool part was when my at-the-time 9-year old daughter jumped out from the crowd and ran the last 200 meters with me. That part was pretty cool.

The last few steps through an airport or coming home from a deployment are pretty neat. Good chance to reflect on what you did, but there's some worries of how you'll be able to get back to normal. This one comes with its own anxieties, but you are happy to get home and restart whatever normal is. The hugs are always the best.

But probably the walk that most influenced me in the long term was one I didn't take, but watched instead, and that was the day Shannon walked down the aisle and married me, and she did it 15 years ago today (October 12th). Although I've only been home for about a third of it, and every marriage has its ups and downs, I'm sure glad she took that walk. I'm looking forward to talking a walk with her again soon, once this trip is done.

Happy anniversary to the wife-- thanks for sticking by me, for enduring some of the walks I wanted and needed to take, and thanks in advance for the walks we have ahead of us.

Love ya.

Ron