Breaking the Stereotype

Oh crazy life. Well I'm mostly moved in. Oh, did you all know that I moved in with L7? Well I did. It's fun. L7 even gave me a super cute cuddly welcome present. I love sisters! I took a break from my unpacking to go to a special lunch.

There is a family in the valley who lost a son fighting in the war about five years ago. Now, every year they have a Ride for the Fallen. It's a fund raiser of sorts to raise money for scholarships. It's a really neat thing. I know many members of this family so I decided to be supportive. I don't have a motorcycle, so I couldn't join the 300 riders, but I could go and pay for lunch! I went at about 2:00 because that is when they start lunch, and they were expecting the riders any minute. It took all of the bikers quite a while to get there, but what a sight!

It was amazing to see these 300 people riding for a good cause. And it got me thinking. Bikers really get a bad rap. We tend to see them as selfish, mean, dirty, and just not nice people. But today I saw 300 of them. All of them paid money so they could pay for gas so they could ride four hours. They didn't have to. They really got nothing out of it, except for some wear and tear on their bikes. They did it because they care. As they all pulled into the parking lot, they were all smiling. They were very organized to make sure they could fit all of the bikes in. Sure some of them looked rough and I wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley, but they were there. They did this to serve. They broke the stereotype. It was actually almost an emotional thing for me. There was some beautiful music playing as a tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces, there were hundreds of flags lining the parking lot and sidewalks, the sun was shining... I can't really describe it. I'm glad I went.

I'm glad for people who serve. Whether it's riding a motorcycle 4 hours, or going to boot camp, I'm grateful for them. I heard some horrible stories about protesters who say horrible things because they don't agree with the war. There is a group of people who go to funerals for the fallen and have signs saying things like, "The only good soldier is a dead soldier". That makes me SOO mad! So I just want to say thanks. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for serving when there is opposition. Thank you for risking your life. Thank you for leaving your loved ones to help keep me safe. Thank you.