Virginia Wind From Where I Sit April 2003

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Email Michelle at clooliss@hotmail.com.

Backseat - From Where I Sit

April 2003

*"It Was the Best of Times. It Was the Worst of Times."

After a long and tedious winter, spring finally burst on to the scene allowing for probably one of the best riding weekends of the whole year. The perfect weather sent Kent and I on a riding spree like we haven't had in months and months. From the early hours of the morning to as late as possible at night, we were out on the byways. Yet, somehow things were different. In addition to the reawakening of expected aches and pains that arise from working the kinks out of months of inactivity and getting our riding legs back from a season of neglect, I felt a twinge of pain in an unexpected place.

It hit me in the midst of a totally relaxing and joyous moment. We were riding along some of the most beautiful scenery in northern Virginia. I was thoroughly enjoying the cool mountain air brushing against my face. We were surrounded by budding trees and the first hint of vivid green grass that signals the beginning to springtime and the renewal of life. The earth was bursting into life all around us. The air was crisp and clean as we road past a clear rushing mountain stream. I was totally entranced when it struck me. It started in my ears and rapidly traveled to my heart. It was the sounds coming from my headset announcing that the first American POWs had been captured and were being paraded in front of the media. Suddenly the beauty of nature's song faded as the sounds of war filled my head.

From that moment on, I have struggled with that same constant nagging pain - The heartfelt sadness for the families who are waiting stateside for their loved ones to return, the fear for the soldiers bravely performing their duties so far from all that is familiar and comforting and for the people who must continue to try to survive in a war torn country. No matter how I tried I couldn't quiet the constant hunger for the days when red, orange, yellow, blue and green were merely colors of the rainbow and not codes of fear. My days were filled with a pain of mixed guilt and helplessness as to how I could contribute.

Needless to say, I was totally unmotivated to write anything humorous. It just didn't seem appropriate when there were so many raw emotions every where. Writing about travel destinations seemed so trivial and pointless when there were so many more important issues demanding our attention. Like so many other times in my life when I was searching for a ray of hope, I found it - in the most unlikely of times and unlikely of places…

It was early one morning, just before work. I had checked all the news sites for information on the latest war developments as had become my custom in the past couple of weeks. Just as a matter of habit, Kent decided to check the log books to see who was on Virginiawind.com. It was all of 5:00AM. He called out to me that there was just one reader. I responded that I wasn't surprised as everyone's attention was probably on the news. Then he said something that caught me totally off guard. He told me that the lone reader was from Kuwait.

It dawned on me at that moment, though we were world's apart, this lone reader and I were searching for the same thing. I was searching for hope in a world that seems to have turned upside down and this lone soldier was searching for hope in words from home - familiar words about riding, rallies and poker runs. Words that were reminders of the normalcy of life that continues and what will be waiting for him/her when they return.

Who ever you are, if you are reading this, please know that we are all hoping a praying for your safe and speedy return and are looking forward to the day when we can ride along beside you once again.

*Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities

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