Onward They Rode.

I originally posted this on Face Book but decided to post it here too. This was my gut response to the Bikers who rode to DC to honor those who had fallen 12 years ago and the ones who died last year.

 
Onward They Rode.

And the ground trembled
Thunder filled the air,
As on they came.

From the West Coast
They rolled ever onward,
Across desert and mountain.

The Great Plains were alive,
Not with buffalo, but bikes,
Like great herds of old they gathered.

Out of the North they rolled,
Up from the South they came
From every state came the roar.

Citizens, every shape and color
On horses made of Iron
Rolling ever onward.

Bikes carrying Patriots
Bringing the message,
WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED.

And in the memory
Of those tragic days they cried
This is OUR COUNTRY.

Onward they rode
Defying the bureaucrats
Our permit is the Constitution.

Into the Capital they rode
People cheering them on
From the highways they cried out

Let Freedom Ring they thundered
And the ground shook
The air carried the rumble.

America saw her people,
Once more rise up in her name
As onward they rode.

Edd Voss 9/10/2013 revised 9/11/13
If you share this please keep my name with it. That is all I ask.

When you're going through hell.

There is a song out there by country artist Rodney Atkins titled "If You're Going Through Hell" that contains a great piece of advice for us all. The basic message of the song is, keep moving. Last trip out was a bit of a bear, lots of little annoyances and few larger ones, but by just pushing on a little farther I got through it. Usually that means the next trip will be better, but that is yet to be seen.

I am at home finishing up a week long vacation, that I almost missed, but the company stepped up and got it accomplished. It has been one of those really rejuvenating pauses. I did accomplish a couple of major tasks that needed to be done before winter sets in, but most of all I got to share some time with my oldest granddaughter and her boyfriend and my wife. Part of the fun was introducing this young man to the world of shooting sports.

The point of it all is, that even in the darkest times of my life, and there have been a few, the one thing that got me through them was the constant placing of one foot in front of the other. Everyone I know who is accomplished, and happy in life has learned that same lesson. Another old quote that has sustained me in the dark times reads "Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do" it is also the title of a book by Robert Schuller, the founder of the Chrystal Cathedral, and a song by Trace Atkins, another country singer. Like the allegory of the Forge we all go through tough times and have to find the will to take, just one more step.

So at o'dark thirty I will drag my butt out of bed and take the early morning flight to start the long, time wise at least, journey back to the truck and go back to doing what makes my living. Along the way I will find the time to finish the book I am working on and possibly start another one.