I watched a clip on "you tube" this morning of the Run for the Wall segment in Jackson, MS. There is no background music provoking any feeling, just raw footage of the bikers making the trek across the country from California to D.C. to pay tribute to our veterans.

Pete Tyer, the director of the MS Chapter of Hog Owners, who enthusiastically accepted the cupcake mission to raise money for the Trail of Honor, shared a story with me one day.
He told me that he was working traffic for the event and a Vietnam veteran walked past him and Pete said "Thank you for serving our country." The Vet teared up and said that in the 40 years he had been home, no one had ever thanked him.

I openly admit I never thought to thank a person in uniform before I started working with Pete and my father on the cupcake mission on behalf of the Trail of Honor, and my father is a 2 star General in the Air National Guard. A friend of mine thanked him once and I thought he had just held the door open for her.

Cupcake mission or not, we have soldiers, men and women, who sacrifice their time with their friends and family, sacrifice their very lives, to protect ours. Whether you agree with war or not, the fact is, the sad fact is, is that it exists so the responsibility of protection falls on someone. If you see a man or woman in uniform, please go out of your way to thank him or her. They have fought, or are fighting, to protect us on our homefront.

I look at my dad with new eyes now. I see him as bigger than I ever imagined-and that's pretty big because I already held him up on a pedastal. My thank you is more heartfelt and I am proud of what he has done for our country, continues to do for our country, and I am proud for all the battles he has fought but not always won on the homefront, too. He has taught me "character" from a very early age whether I was ready to embrace it or not.

There were so many special moments at the cupcake mission in Jackson, MS on April 11th, and the one I will treasure most, is riding in on the back of my Dad's bike. It was a moment of pride, admiration, enthusiasm, and gratitude all wrapped up in one bundle, a moment shared between father and daughter, General and civilian, Harley owner and a Harley owner wanna be.

Of course other moments stand out as well: meeting the wonderful Pete Tyer himself and his lovely wife, Linda, embracing Savannah Triplett, gold medal mother of Andrew Triplett who I have not seen in almost nine years, and sitting on Big Sexy's bike. Some people are "in the know" and some will just have to leave that to their imagination.

If you are in the Jackson area, please go to the Trail of Honor event May 16-18th at the Harley Shop on I-55 South and not only support the people who are making the trail such a special place, but also pay tribute and respect to the people riding through on their Run for the Wall.

The sound of rolling thunder will forever change you...