The Gods that oversee memorial runs must have been looking favorably upon us, for as the week progressed, the threat of impending precipitation began to fade away. Friday morning brought us nothing but cloudy grey skies which lasted long into the night, and while the forecast for Sunday called for heavy rain, the all-important day in between, was going to be beautiful.
Saturday, September 26th, dawned bright and clear, if not rather chilly. There was anticipation in the air and folks were ready. Today would be the 4th annual memorial run for Lance Corporal Shayne Cabino who gave his life for our freedoms on October 6th, 2005, during combat operations near Karmah, Iraq.
Our contribution to the attendee tally would be decent sized this year; about 14 of us, although many folks had various obligations to take care of beforehand, so they were going to meet us at the run’s starting/ending location; the Sharon American Legion, Post #106.
11am approached and one by one, those that were riding over from the house began to arrive. Flags were checked, jackets; zipped, and out we rolled for the short ride to the Post. Pulling in, we parked as instructed and then split apart, each in our own directions to say hello to friends, say hello to the bathrooms, and say hello to the bar – but not always in that order.
I located Danno and inquired if blocking would still be needed and the response was; definitely. That meant we’d need to pull our bikes out of the ranks and line them up towards the beginning. Getting back to the bikes, we found that; Damn – we were blocked in. We waited for the announcements to be made, TAPS was played, then the owners of the bikes in front of us showed up and we began to force our way to the front of this cluster-F, only to find the bikes from the other side of the parking lot were being told to roll out. Double-damn, now we’re going nowhere. Oh well, no choice now but to settle into the middle of the pack and see how things go. And surprisingly, the police representation did an outstanding job with the blocking, meaning no additional help from us meatheads wound up being needed. That meant we were able to just kick back and enjoy the ride – which is always nice and all, but there’s something to be said about the adrenaline rush that comes from blasting up the side of the column, time and time again…
Pics from the run;
Of course, there’s always a bit of congestion through town centers…
How great is it when you can’t see the beginning of the column in front of you…
and at the same time, you can’t see the end of the column behind you.
Shayne’s memorial bridge, which we pass over each year. His family always waits on the other side, with flags waving proudly as we proceed by them, one at a time. Very emotional.
We passed plenty of folks along the route, some standing respectfully, some waving and clapping. Thumb’s-up were extended out of some car windows, cheers and smiles were seen and heard out of others. Whenever we passed a veteran that had come out to stand at attention, our horns blared in a symphony of appreciation and pride.
Back at the Post:
Once settled in, we celebrated with food, frosties, and friends. The music blared and stories were shared, and the afternoon passed gently by. And before long? It was time for the raffles! An amazing assortment of donated items awaited those whose tickets would be called, so we all gathered together and prepared to claim our booty.
Unfortunately, and as usual, we’d all managed to purchase defective raffle tickets once again. Folks to our left, to our right, and all around us, made trip after trip to the proffered prizes, but our behinds never left our seats at all. Oh, the sadness. (Good thing the beer tickets were once again all winners.)
Speaking of beer tickets, I had purchased 10 tickets to start with, but after having redeemed several of them, I came to find that I somehow had 11 tickets left in my pocket. I guess the ticket dispensing person had been sampling some of their wares before they counted out my 10 tix? And to make things worse...er...better, Greg knew the guys behind the beer table and kept bringing us armfuls of free beers, time and time again. (You see why we hang out with him, don’t you?) Suffice to say that at the end of the day, I still had a pocketful of beer tickets.
The past three years have found us bringing the after-event back to 640 South St for a chimenea fire and more camaraderie. This year, however, Kevin’s 40th birthday party required attending, so the chimenea invitation was not an option for us. By luck, it didn’t matter, as every single person had something else going on and wouldn’t have been able to make it back to the house, anyway.
The afternoon sun began to fade and the cooler air was swift to reclaim the land. We said our goodbyes to one another and headed off in our own directions, bringing to a close the 4th annual memorial run.
Final count on the number of bikes came in around 190 – not a bad turnout at all. Each year, this run gets bigger and better, and it’s entirely due to all the hard work that Danno and the rest of Shayne’s family and friends put into it. It’s no small reflection of what this brave Marine meant to those that knew and cared about him.
From those of us who continue to ride in your honor; we thank you for your courage and your sacrifice. You gave the ultimate gift for us and our loved ones, and we honor your memory.
http://www.shaynesrun.com/
Ride Hard, Take Chances, and Thank a Vet!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment