"Today's weather prediction...MAJOR Sunshine"

I couldn't help but to giggle as I read this wall post by L.F. on my Facebook page Thursday morning!  After only being back from the Gettysburg adventure for a few days, friends and family started arriving into town for my military promotion to MAJ.  It was a stressful few days as I tried to teach classes and fulfill work obligations in addition to preparing for house guests, a ceremony  and parties.  I've learned over the years though to just roll with it; it may not turn out perfect, but it will all be OK.  True to experience, the last several days turned out to be extraordinary!

Although not as big of a deal as advancing from E-6 to a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) in the Navy, there is a significant shift in  leadership focus when an Army officer advances from company grade (Captain) to a field grade officer (Major).  In the most basic terms, a Captain's concern is on executing  particular tasks and correcting/preventing specific problems in a unit.  A Major however, should be focused on the system in which those tasks and problems exist.  Instead of focusing on an individual event, the field grade officer is expected to view that event in the context of the bigger picture.  At my age and breadth of experience, I feel as though that shift in thinking occurred quite some time ago for me, but now I will be given more responsibility upon which to put it to use.

Nick, me and Doc

I cannot overstate the impact that several excellent mentors have had on my personal and professional development over the years.  I was honored when COL Russ Kotwal, one of those mentors, agreed to be the one to promote me to MAJ in an official ceremony even though his own retirement ceremony was a month ago (he's not officially "out" however, for a few more months)!  This humble, unassuming man is not only a legend in Army medicine (go ahead, google him!), he also has the uncanny ability to influence everyone around him to live up to his or her full potential.   Although some strong-arm tactics may have been involved, another one of COL Kotwal's mentees Nick, a friend and colleague whom I admire, consented to wear his dress uniform and to be the one to read the promotion orders.  Nick is currently pursuing his PhD in the civilian sector, so appearing in an Army dress uniform was an arduous request! 

Pyran, me and Dad

In the presence of what we estimated to be around 60 people, the two most significant veterans in my life, my dad and uncle, removed the CPT shoulder boards from my dress uniform and replaced them with those of MAJ.  These two men's military service not only acted as a catalyst for my enlistment in the Navy 25 years ago, but has continued to inspire my ongoing commitment to the Armed Services.




CVMA family did a group ride to the ceremony on post

Over tasty beverages at later get-togethers (more on that in future posts), my co-workers acknowledged that I probably win the award for the most diverse crowd at a military promotion; family, members from several military branches, civilian friends, coworkers, students and bikers!  It was hard to hold back the moisture forming in my eyes as I gazed out at the audience and saw so many of my "families" gathered to help me celebrate this milestone in my life.  Although I truly value and enjoy military traditions, I don't particularly feel comfortable with pomp and circumstance when it comes to events involving me.  So when COL Kotwal asked me what kind of ceremony I wanted, I emphasized that it should be official, yet short and sweet.  True to my request, he highlighted my strengths which contributed to this advancement in rank while graciously downplaying my shortcomings, delivered sage advice for my future role as a field grade officer, and promoted me all in the span of about 10 minutes!

I'm not very good at reciting written words verbatim, so I tried to paraphrase a quote in an effort to summarize my feelings about this promotion.  The quote is one that is included in the signature line of an officer for whom I have an immense amount of respect.  These words are by General Maxwell Taylor... "The badge of rank which an officer wears on his coat is really a symbol of servitude to his men."  I will do my best to live up to that sentiment.         

Never a dull moment...

A couple of concerns I had about starting the blog back up again was time and material.  As long as I'm in the work force, time will probably always be a limited commodity for me.  Now that I'm not on vacation anymore, I will likely drop back into a routine of posting once a week or when something interesting happens; which is my other  concern of having enough material to write about.  Most of us go through our daily lives with the same routine and often feel that nothing "interesting" or out of the ordinary occurs.  Perhaps it's because blogging has caused me to look at daily sites and events as potential stories to be told, but it's not often that I don't look at something around me and think "there's a story to tell there."  This morning I looked out my window and felt like this may be a story to start off your morning with a chuckle...

For some reason, the rental house I live in is a magnet for wildlife.  The house is older and has old screens over openings to ventilate the crawl space beneath the house.  It appears that the screens have been replaced several times throughout the years, but the ones on the house now are metal and are attached with glue and screws.  A couple of months ago, I was awakened in the early morning hours to what sounded like someone in my house.  It took me all of about one second to retrieve my 40 caliber Springfield and prepare myself mentally for engagement with a potential  intruder.  In a few more seconds, I realized that the sound was coming through the air conditioning ducting in the floor and echoing throughout the house from every vent.  After setting a trap provided by my landlord, we caught an adolescent raccoon.  My landlord had the screens reinstalled and all was well for a while.

One unhappy possum!

Fast forward to yesterday morning, I again was awakened by what sounded like someone moving about in my house.  Armed and ready, it didn't take me long to figure out I had another critter living beneath my house.  So yesterday,  I reset the trap with the only food I was willing to sacrifice to the cause; frozen blackberries.  This morning I woke up and realized that I hadn't heard any shuffling around beneath the house and figured the trap may contain the culprit.  Sure enough, this time it is a possum!  As you can see by the double screening it worked its way through to get under the house, this is one determined animal.  I don't know what it is about the space under my house, but it appears to be very appealing to neighborhood wildlife.  I'm just hoping that there aren't any youngsters down there!  The morning scares have given me pretty good practice for a home invasion response, but I could certainly live without the early morning adrenalin rush they bring!

Gettysburg trip wrap-up!

2 wheels, 13 states, 14 days, 3750 miles, a dozen friends and hundreds of stories!

 

Jumpmaster, L.F. Kickstand and Big Bird on Cherohala Skyway

What an extraordinary trip!  When I was discharged from active duty in the Navy in 1997, I realized when I came back to the States that I had visited and explored more countries than I had states in my own native land.  I vowed back then to seize every opportunity to travel and see this great land I call home.  This outing certainly added to my US of A experience!  Even though Gettysburg was obviously oozing with history that was close to our hearts as veterans, there were numerous sites along the way that brought the history of the formation of this country to life.  We learned so much about the land and people who once inhabited it from little markers with nuggets of intriguing information.

Me and Chief sightseeing

Beyond discovering great locations, I also discovered some great friendships.  Most of the chapter members that rode out to Gettysburg for the CVMA National meeting all ride together back here in Texas, so we all knew each other already.  The beauty of travel is that you make new friendships and strengthen old ones.  I had many one-on-one conversations and off-the-bike experiences that helped me to see the uniqueness amongst the similarities of my CVMA family.

I've said many times that I consider myself a collector of experiences.  With that world view, I love hearing other people's stories...and does this group have some stories!  We spent a lot of time story telling, laughing and relating to each other's life experiences over plentiful eating and tasty beverages :-)

A little parking lot bike maintenance

Most of us are home safe and sound, so hopefully it won't jinx anyone  at this point to say that there were only minor bike and riding issues during this trip.  When I turned the ignition switch to run on my bike one morning, I discovered a battery with no juice.  With that being the second time the battery left me "stranded", I pulled it out of the bike and got a new one at the local Harley-Davidson dealer.  Just as last time, I wasn't really stranded since I was surrounded by CVMA family who quickly offered a helping hand.  I feel that if you ride a bike, you should know how to do basic maintenance (like swapping out a battery), but I'm certainly not opposed to a ride to the dealership or some help push-starting my scoot (thank goodness we didn't have to resort to that this go-around!).  All in all, everyone's rides performed well and did nothing to detract from the great riding in which we found ourselves surrounded.



Mom and her great grand-daughter

As much as I love to travel and explore, no place tugs at my heart like home on the bayou.  As great as all these sights and experiences have been, the highlight was certainly hanging out and being a part of my blood family again.  I've lived more than one day's travel away from them for most of my adult life, so I savor the times I can share their lives in person.  On this trip, I got to meet my great-niece for the first time as well as see my nephew and wife's new house on family land.  They have a beautiful family and seem to fit right into life on the property.  As hectic as my brother and his children's lives are, they all made an effort to stop by and see me between prior obligations.  My parents  and sister spent a whole day hanging out with us.  My aunt and uncle, cousins and family friends all stopped by just to visit and catch up.  I do not take these efforts lightly; I fully recognize that they have lives that they attempt to rearrange whenever I'm in town to accommodate my visits. 

Monica enjoying her grand-daughter with Andy

Seeing my family live so close to each other and sharing meals together makes the homesickness of living so far away a little easier to bear.  Although I'm sad to not be there to share in their daily experiences, they're making memories and adding to the collective history of our family, and for that I am grateful and honored to be a part of every now and then.  My family epitomizes Southern hospitality, so it's always cool to see out-of-state friends experience a bit of Cajun life through their obvious love of South Louisiana.  As always, they made me proud of where I come from; both geographically and genetically.

Me on the move :-)

And so this journey has come to an end.  I consider these experiences as money in the bank.  Someday I may have to slow down and will need to withdraw from this memory bank to remind me what a charmed life I've lived.  If you're interested, stay tuned, there is already more shenanigans planned on which to post in the next week or so....

Final Leg

Ouachita National Forest

The weather continued to threaten for the last two days of riding, but we only encountered a couple of little sprinkles for the remainder of our time in Arkansas and back into Texas. 

I shot an unbelievable amount of photos in the Ozarks and Ouachita National Forest, but the images just cannot do justice to the majesty of this part of the country.  The rolling hills and curves just went on for seemingly forever.

Big Bird and L.F. making the turns look easy

"If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand."  That cliche' phrase has been overused in the marketing of so many past times, but it really does hold true for riding a motorcycle.  Each day of riding typically ended with a hearty meal, a beer or two and lots of recounting of the day's ride.  As I was trying to articulate how perfect the riding was in Arkansas, it dawned on me that it really is true- if I have to explain it to you, you truly wouldn't understand.  I've taken this as a challenge to my writing ability though, so I will try anyway! 

One of the foundational concepts of riding is counter-steering.  If you want to  turn right, you press and push forward on the right handgrip and vice verse for left.  This causes the bike to lean toward whatever side you pressed  and the bike starts turning to that side.  This seems counterintuitive since steering requires you to push the opposite handgrip in the direction you want to turn.  The big difference is that counter-steering requires momentum, meaning you must be at some minimum speed for it to work.  You may have experienced this concept with bicycling at some point in your life.  Think about pedaling slowly and you want to turn right, so you push the left handgrip out and forward  to make the wheel turn to the right.  You don't really press the handlebars downward since it would throw you off balance so you just push the handgrip out.  Now imagine pedaling fast and going into a turn.  Your body leans and your hand pushes, and presses, the handgrip to the side you're  turning.  I chuckle anytime I see bikers awkwardly maneuvering their motorcycles in confined areas where they don't have momentum to use counter-steering.  For the most part, we don't steer and balance well at very low speeds!

Riding Tail of the Dragon.  Photo by US129photos.com

I can't speak for other riders, but when I first learned how to ride, I'd have to think about "pressing" every  time I'd go into a turn.  With experience, it just kind of happens.  Now, when I start to go into  a fairly sharp turn at speed,  the bike just seems to know what to do.  My body weight automatically  shifts to adjust to the changing center of gravity of the bike and the handlebars just kind of descend on the turning side so my hand presses to stay in contact with it.  When I reach the sweet spot in the turn where momentum is slowing down enough to cause me to roll the throttle to accelerate in response and I'm pushed back into my seat and the bank of the turn, I can't help but to feel giddy with how awesome the whole process feels :-)  This doesn't really explain the whole experience of riding, but hopefully it gives you just a little sampling of the many reasons why riding can be so therapeutic.  In fact, many of us refer to our rides as "wind therapy"!

Big Bird and L.F. at Stokers Dallas

Well, if I haven't lost you yet with my whole description of turning, here's a little side trip we took once we got into Texas.  I don't watch TV, so when Mylissa mentioned that she wanted to stop by a place called Strokers when we passed through Dallas, I didn't really realize that it was more than just a bike shop.  It turns out that Strokers is practically a biker empire in Dallas owned by Rick Fairless.

Love the sunshine wheel at Strokers!

In 1996, he opened a motorcycle shop that has now morphed into a dealership for Victory and Royal Enfield motorcycles as well as used Harleys and had its own reality TV show ("Texas Hardtails" on the SPEED channel).  The shop also custom builds bikes and parts.  There were some really cool parts I wanted to get to customize my Streetglide, but unfortunately, all the parts  were  made for Victory bikes :-(

We had lunch at Strokers Ice House next door to the shop (which also had it's own reality show called "Ma's Roadhouse" on TRU TV) and got to tour the back garage and see dozens of custom bikes and parts.  All in all, it was an interesting stop that included good food and cool bikes!

The final bag drag

This morning we made the final push home in winds gusting up to 30 mph.  Although windy, our weather karma held for another day and we made it home on dry roads.  I'm writing this post from the comfort of my own home!  Even though it's nice to not have to pack up our belongings and load them up on the bikes every morning, I'm sad that it's already time for this trip to come to an end.  I will do one more post with a summary once the laundry is done and I have some groceries in my house!

I'm just a girl

...I'm just a girl in the world...that's all you'll let me be...

...they won't let me drive late at night...

...this world is forcing me to hold your hand...

These lyrics to the song I'm just a Girl written by Gwen Stefani and performed by the band No Doubt swirled around my brain during the ride today.  Sometimes I'll hear a song and I'll sing it to myself in my head (or out loud!) or hum it for hours after it's done playing.  But several comments made to  Mylissa and I this trip have caused these lyrics to ring true and  have prompted me to write about them and not just hum the tune.  Here's a sampling of the highly intelligent comments, always  spoken  in a condescending tone, that we frequently get from  men when we are stopped for gas or traffic:

"That's a mighty big bike for a girl!"
Really?   I hadn't noticed that the 850 lb, 103 cubic inch piece of machinery I was sitting on was big, thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Oh, and thanks for reminding me that I'm a girl because there's not at least one arrogant, chauvinistic man like you making a comment about my  looks, my bike, my clothes, my walk, hell, just the way I  exist on this earth, at least once a day, to remind me.

"Can you handle that thing?"
Funny you should ask me that question here in Missouri while you're looking at my Texas license plate.  Exactly how do you think this bike got here in this parking lot with me sitting on it?

"Is that your husband's bike?"  Usually followed by "Oh, you must've gotten it in the divorce then."
If I had a husband and it was his bike, he would likely be riding it.  As for getting it in a divorce, the only thing my divorce 20 years ago got me was a lot of debt and my maiden name back.  What I do have, however is a J.O.B!

"What would you do if that thing fell over?"
As I eyed up the morbidly obese, middle-aged man wearing coveralls with no shirt and in obvious need of a bra, I said "the same thing you would do, I would ask someone to help me pick it up."

"Nice bike; I would love to have one, but my wife won't let me".
I was waiting at a red light in Coronado, CA the first time I heard this one.  I just smirked and replied "that's why I don't have a wife", then winked and rolled away on the green light ;-)

Here's a sampling of comments I usually get from women:

"That's so awesome that you have your own bike."
Why, yes it is, thank you!

"Aren't you scared to ride that thing by yourself?"
Cautious, but not scared.  Anyone who rides a motorcycle should feel hyper-vigilant anytime they ride since other drivers are not usually looking out for motorcycles.  As for the "by myself" part, I would be way more stressed if I had someone on the back!

"You're inspiring me to get one of my own!"
If you can afford a second vehicle, go for it!  But take a class first.  Don't let a loved one teach you (that never works out well), take a no-kidding riding class, then start riding.  I swear to you, it'll change your life.

One of the most frequent gestures I get from women though is a thumbs up sign and a big grin!

Of course, not every man that makes a comment makes a chauvinistic one.  Sometimes  guys will comment how great it is to see women on their own bikes or how attractive a woman with enough self-confidence to ride her own bike is.  Whether it's from a male or female though, hearing "that's a really nice bike" is always appreciated :-) 

Westward bound

Big Bird riding over Eleven Point River in Alton, MO

Back in San Antonio when L.F., Big Bird and I had discussed the return route from Nationals, we had pretty much agreed to a journey that would include riding through the Ozarks in Arkansas.  We purposely didn't make hard plans however, so that we could remain flexible based on weather and suggestions by fellow riders.  After riding the Tail of the Dragon on the trip up to PA, it was unanimous that at the end of Nationals,  we would head south from Gettysburg and spend a couple more days riding in the NC/TN area.  There are so many great rides in the vicinity of Deals Gap and Talico Plains that we wanted a few days to explore those roadways more.

View from under the Eleven Point River bridge

"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."  Although Dwight D. Eisenhower made that statement about planning for battle, the same can be said for any endeavor.  There's no doubt that having a scheduled timeline is valuable and can help get you to your destination on time, but remaining slave to a plan instead of flexing with current circumstances and opportunities may result in seeing the roses, but often takes away the opportunity to actually smell them.  So after watching weather forecasts calling for thunderstorms over most of the mountainous area of NC/TN, we made the call to adjust and blaze a path straight west from Gettysburg towards the Ozarks.  What a great call that turned out to be!

Although there were a few times during the last couple of days we felt sure we were going to get wet, we've managed to remain dry since leaving Gettysburg with only a couple of weather delays.  We've enjoyed dry roads and clear skies for most of the return trip so far.

I had been to West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri before, but I had never driven through what has turned out to be some amazing scenery.  Even though we took the interstate instead of back roads through West Virginia, it took us through the mountains and offered up some pretty spectacular views and curvy roads.  Once in Kentucky, we jumped onto the Bluegrass Parkway and spied lush green, meticulously manicured land  surrounded by white fences marking beautiful horse farms. 

Yesterday, we made it into Arkansas via the Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri and rode nothing but curvy, mostly newly paved roads winding through the Ozarks National Forest.  We've been sticking to roads identified as "scenic" rides in my Harley-Davidson road atlas and we have not been disappointed.  At about 300 miles, yesterday's ride was relatively short compared to some of the rides we have done since leaving San Antonio over a week ago, but we were satisfyingly exhausted at the end of our 8 hour riding day.  There were areas that ran for dozens of miles that rivaled the curves offered up in the 11 miles of Tail of the Dragon!

Kind of like call signs for fliers, bikers get assigned road names.  In both aviation and motorcycling, you don't usually get to choose your own name; your personality or an event will usually result in one being assigned to you.  Fortunately for me, my Navy aircrew call sign of "Sunshine" followed me into my biker world.  Although I think it reflects my typically cheery disposition in the morning, I'm told it describes the  ever-present smile on my face :-)  Sometimes you look around at the name patches on vests and wonder how in the world that individual earned his or her road name.  Big Bird is one of those cases.  A couple of folks we ride with relayed stories of Vic riding down the road and randomly being dive bombed by huge birds.  I thought it must be an exaggeration and they were just looking for a name to stick on him.  I have now seen it with my own eyes!  Yesterday, we were rolling merrily along when out of the blue, two huge birds flew right out in front of Vic!  Not just randomly got in his path, I mean flew straight at him at a high rate of speed!!  Although muffled by the sound of my pipes, I laughed out loud when I realized I had just witnessed his road name in action.  Big Bird it is!

We're not sure how much longer our good weather karma will hold out, but we plan on riding some more of the twisting roads of the Ozarks today and explore the sites that await. 

Hallowed Ground

View from Little Roundtop

History.  I rolled my eyes and fell asleep while it was being taught during my  middle and high school days.  Oh how a teacher can bring a subject to life or cloak it in lifeless narrative.  Perhaps it's unfair to blame my history teachers, but it wasn't until much later in life that I started to take interest in the events that led up to where the world, and particularly our country, is today.  I'm no civil war expert, but I will try to put these photos in perspective for you as I share a couple of days of battlefield touring with you.

Little Roundtop (hill on left) and Big Roundtop (hill on Right)

The first photo is the Union view down the barrel of a cannon from Little Roundtop.  The second photo is the Confederate view of Little Roundtop.  All that space in between is battlefield.  I'm not knowledgeable enough about the battle to narrate troop movement and strategy, so go to the map at this link to get a perspective of locations shown in these photos.  It took several rides and a bus tour of the roads and battlefields to get the lay of the land and begin to understand what happened on 1-3 July 1863.

One of numerous unit memorials scattered around battle field

One of the interesting facts our tour guide gave us was  that the majority of the dozens of monuments and memorials commemorating the different units that participated in the battle of Gettysburg were actually financed and placed by the units they represent.  Everywhere you look, there is some type of stone structure marking the location of a unit and commemorating those who died during the battle.

Site of the 20th Maine during the battle at Little Roundtop

During an advanced officer course I attended when I first arrived at Fort Sam Houston, we watched several clips from the movie Gettysburg as examples of good and bad leadership.  If you have not seen the movie based on the book The Killer Angels, it is a great movie filmed on the actual battle sites in Gettysburg.  One of the more poignant speeches relayed in the film is the one given by Union LTC Joshua Chamberlain during the Battle of Little Roundtop to his men.  LTC Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Regiment were posted on the south flank of Little Round Top and commanded to hold it at all costs.  If they failed, the Confederates would flank and surround the Union armies on the hill.  After defending against numerous charges, LTC Chamberlain's men were out of ammunition and exhausted.  Through his leadership, he rallied his men to fix bayonets and held their position.

Gettysburg vulture atop Little Roundtop

There's hardly a piece of land on which to walk in this town that does not have a story or hold you captive to the scene that played out in those bloody 3 days of American history.  It's hard to reconcile the beauty and peacefulness of this place today with the violence and carnage that occurred 150 years ago.  Everyday, we rolled down a road at the edge of the battlefields to get from our hotel to downtown Gettysburg.  Red barns, manicured lawns, lush pastures flanked by wooden fences similar to those during the battle and canons make for a surreal scene.

We stopped along the road to admire some of the canons and discovered a bird nest and an egg in one of them.  A reminder of the fragility of life and the passing of time and life cycles.  Another siting that connected the past to the present is the ever present vultures.  It's a little unsettling how these birds are constantly circling above the now serene battlefield and cemetery.  As our tour guide was talking us through the battle timeline atop Little Roundtop, two vultures circled overhead and I captured this photo.

Bird nest and egg in canon.

It's been a great trip to Gettysburg seeing the sights, learning about American history and hanging out with over 1200 bikers, but it is now time for us to start moving west.  In typical fashion, I have no set itinerary and the two folks travelling with me don't seem to mind, so we will meander our way back to Texas and see what interesting adventures and sties await.   

Sunshine, Kickstand, Sassy, McGyver, L.F. and Big Bird