It May Be Bleeding And Battered, But Patriotism Is Very Much Alive

Schneider Operating Center, Edwardsville, Illinois. Monday, May 20, 2013, three am central time. I awoke to the sound of some serious rain and wind hitting my truck. Just what I need, more bad weather. It seems that's all I've had the past few weeks. I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep knowing I had to be up and out of there in a couple of hours. I finally got up the nerve to roll out of bed about five-thirty and attempted to get myself together for what I knew would be a long day. I needed to be in Topeka, Kansas before noon to drop my loaded trailer and then head to a small town outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick up in the afternoon. I don't know why but I woke up with this terrible feeling of dread. There was an eerie feeling in my head and I couldn't seem to figure it out. It must be the horrible weather.

As soon as I pulled onto interstate 270 headed west I knew my misgivings were going to be accurate. A car cut between me and another truck, almost clipping both of us. The rain was still falling, but not a hard as when I first got out of bed. As I approached the Mississippi Bridge I started seeing signs that the two right lanes were closed due to construction. Great. Traffic is always bad along this stretch and now they're going to cut it off. The traffic was already heavy and as I approached the closed area I was driving in the last right lane that was open. At this time I noticed a set of headlights headed up the right side of me. The idiot is trying to beat me to the start of the construction. We're way too close. I turned on the emergency flashers and hit the brakes. There was traffic on the left of me, which he knew, and nowhere for me to go. I knew he couldn't make it and hoped that vehicles behind me saw my flashers and saw what was happening. Instead of trying to stop, he accelerated hard and took out two of the construction barrels. One went to the right and the other went across in front of my truck and into the left lanes. I didn't hit it but the other vehicles started bouncing it all over the interstate. Bumper pool with construction barrels. The driver that caused all this never even looked back.

I just looked up at the sky and asked the Lord to please get me through this day. In the distance I could see emergency flashers in the rain and they appeared to be in right lane. I moved over one more lane to the left. As I got closer it appeared to me I could also see....white lights? What the....? I know that no one in their right mind would be trying to back up in this weather and traffic. Sure enough, another idiot, this one backing up on the bridge which was about a mile long. I do hope they made it, but I don't know. Twenty miles and three near misses. Yep, this is going to be one hell-of-a day. I kept my speed down considerably until I was about ten miles west of O'Fallon. Even then the rain was still bad enough I kept the speed down around 60 even though it's a 70 mph speed zone. Thankfully most people by now had realized this was nothing to play with. Occasionally some crazy would pass like he had somewhere to be yesterday, but for the most part everyone was driving like they had some sense.

As I got just west of Columbia, Missouri I noticed a single headlight headed eastbound. That's got to be a car with a headlight out. Nobody would be riding a motorcycle in this weather. Wrong again, it was a bike. I looked closer thinking I recognized the banner across the windshield. For the first time today a smile came across my face. The banner was definitely one I recognized. "Patriot Guard Rider, Standing For Those Who Stood For Us." He's dedicated. He was bundled in leather from head to toe, probably riding about 45 to 50 mph but still moving. I continued to smile thinking about him and wondering where he was headed. About five miles further I passed three more PGR bikes headed east. I couldn't help but thinking of the old post office motto, "Neither rain nor hail, sleet nor snow..." The rain was extremely hard off and on and there were lightening strikes all around. Once the lightening flashed and thunder struck so close to me it caused me to jump in my seat. The weather app on my phone had started before I left Edwardsville and hadn't stopped. There were flash flood warnings and severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. I didn't want to be out in this mess in a my truck. I could only imagine how these guys felt riding bikes. But they had a "mission" and nothing was going to stop them.

I stopped in Booneville, Missouri to fuel and by the time I got back on the interstate the weather had eased. The wind was still blowing but the rain had turned to a fine mist. The lightening was all but gone. After getting back underway again I started passing more and more bikes. Some were one or two lone riders and then some were groups of as many as twenty. This continued for the next hundred miles. The farther west I drove, the better the weather became. Just west of Kansas City I hit the Kansas turnpike and about twenty miles out I saw about thirty people standing on an overpass facing west and holding large American flags as more an more riders were headed east. I had to make a quick pit stop and called Diane and told her, "You're not going to believe what I'm seeing." It was really hard to speak as so many bikes went by flying the American flag. I was only there a minute or two and I pulled back out to continue my run. As soon as I got back on the interstate another overpass that was just covered with people waving flags and cheering at the bikes passing underneath. Then I saw it. Police had every entrance to the turnpike blocked and there were what seemed to be thousands of bikes. This is what the people were cheering for: ROLLING THUNDER, THE RUN FOR THE WALL. The sight of all these patriotic Americans, both those on bikes and those on the overpasses and sides of the highways supporting them, was completely overwhelming. Those who couldn't join them enroute to DC were coming out by the thousands across America to cheer them on and show their support. I got choked up at the sight of all this and couldn't even speak. I thought I would have to pull to the side just to compose myself. I had a lump in my throat and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I knew I was going to have to write about this. In a period of about 4 hours my day had gone from horrific to awesome.

Little did I know my emotional roller coaster was running away and wouldn't let me off for a couple of days.

I continued on the last thirty miles to Topeka and dropped my loaded trailer. I picked up an empty and headed toward Tulsa, Oklahoma. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Every one knows my involvement with the Patriot Guard Riders and the American Legion Riders.

As I got farther south the weather started turning again. My phone started with the weather alerts. Severe thunderstorm warnings and flood warnings were coming two or three every five to ten minutes. The wind started picking up dramatically, blowing my empty trailer all over the road. I was listening to Fox News on the satellite and they were doing a pretty good job of staying with the weather. They discontinued normal broadcasting. I got an alert on the phone of a tornado on the ground near Tulsa and at the same time Fox told of a massive tornado on the ground in Moore, Oklahoma. I didn't know where Moore was off hand and grabbed my map. I was figuring it was close to Tulsa. I found it pretty quick and realized it was about 80 miles from me.

Weather as I was headed toward Jenks, Oklahoma from my Dash Cam.

I continued on just wanting to get to Jenks, Oklahoma where I would get rid of this empty trailer and find a place to hunker down. I was able to do just that before the weather got really bad where I was. As I got parked the news was becoming more dramatic with the unfolding events in Moore. I was glued to the satellite radio. Storms came through where I was parked and it seemed for a short while we would suffer the same fate as Moore but it passed quickly.

While the tornado was on the ground, news we were hearing was devastating. Multiple deaths and the destruction of an entire town and two schools.

At the same time news was also coming in of heroes. People were flooding the scene trying to look for those missing and in need of help. Neighbors were helping neighbors. They were going door to door. We heard of teachers covering children with their own bodies to protect them. We heard of Police, Firefighters, and Emergency Medical personnel doing what they always do when needed. We started hearing of everyday citizens doing whatever was asked of them.

Bloodied teachers helping children in Moore, Oklahoma

This is patriotism in the truest sense. Love and Devotion to country. This is what America is all about. During times of adversity we pull ourselves up by the boot straps and do what is needed. Moore, Oklahoma is a suburb of Oklahoma City and has seen more adversity than most of us will ever know. On April 19th, 1995 they lost friends and family in the Oklahoma City bombing. Many residents of Moore worked there. On May 3rd, 1999 a tornado with the highest winds ever recorded, 302 mph, touched down in Moore killing 24 and doing over 2 billion dollars in damage. The residents of this area will once again pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start again. While under this tremendous stress they are still looking out for and helping each other. The citizens of this country will help and stand with them. They are not alone and we have let them know that we are here. People and money is pouring in from everywhere. If that's not Patriotism, I don't know what is.

When our servicemen and women returned from Vietnam they were discharged and released into the world without help to readjust and for the most part were despised and avoided. They weren't told where to seek the help many needed and employers refused to hire them. I was in from early 1972 through the end of 1979. Almost eight years of service to my country and was not even told so much as goodbye. I received my honorable discharge in the mail since I had taken terminal leave and was home on my actual discharge date. I never received any information on benefits I was due or anything else. Thank goodness I had plenty of support from family and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Today the government may not be doing what they should for our vets, but by God, the citizens are. There are numerous foundations to help those in need and today our citizens aren't afraid to extend a helping hand and even just say, "Thank You."

Funeral for Deputy Alton Creech, RCSO

 I received a couple of photos on Tuesday showing the Patriot Guard Riders at the funeral of Deputy Alton Creech. I didn't really know Deputy Creech well but I knew he was a motorcycle officer with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and a ET3 in the U.S. Naval reserve. He was serving his community and the country he believed in and we shared a love of Law Enforcement, the Navy, and our motorcycles. The funeral was attended by a contingent of Patriot Guard Riders and the population of Augusta, Ga turned out in droves. Again, that is what patriotism is all about. Love and Devotion to country and those who protect us.

This is the second Motor Officer Richmond County has lost in just over a year. I know how heartbreaking it is to lose a brother or sister officer and how hard it is to recover. They will move on in spite of the hurt. They are a dedicated group of officers and they have a wonderful backing from the population to help them through.

Graveside Service for Deputy Alton Creech, RCSO

I guess I'm starting to just ramble now. The past few days, as I said earlier, has been an emotional roller coaster. It's now Memorial Day and I'm sitting at the Operating Center in West Memphis where I've been since yesterday about noon. I still can't deliver until tomorrow afternoon so I have way too much time to sit and think and that's never a good thing.

Schneider "Ride Of Pride" Truck for 2013

On this Memorial Day I'm sitting here looking out over a sea of orange trucks and trailers. I am proud to be associated with a company that believes in, and supports, our service men and women. They actively recruit veterans, knowing they have the discipline and drive to accomplish the task at hand. They also honor those who've fallen as witnessed by the "Ride of Pride" trucks they put on the road each year with a deserving veteran driving them. They do one a year with this year's being pictured. Again patriotism up front and in your face.

Patriotism is still alive and well with most of America. There are still pockets who don't care. As I sat thinking about who are those people that don't think about anything past today and the first group that came to mind was our young people, teenagers. Almost like she was reading my mind, a post came up on Facebook from my granddaughter. It read, "I love having my FREEDOM!!! Happy Memorial Day to all the women and men, who have served and are serving our country! Thank you! :)" 

Thank you Haley for helping make an old man believe there is hope in our young people.
Love You,
Papa

To all my friends, family, and readers: Have a great Memorial Day and when you say grace over that Bar-B-Que, say an extra prayer for the families and friends of those who died protecting our right to live in a free and wonderful country.